flyingmike

Hi,

I have a meeting right next to Dulles next week, with a need that evening to stay near Newark Airport.

I'd rather train it to Newark than fly partly to avoid hassles, because Amtrak regional is a third the cost of flying, partly as I haven't been to WAS yet and am curious to see it, and partly as I am woefully behind on renewing select plus status for next year.

My problem is getting to WAS station without my colleague having to drive me all the way downtown as he'll be stuck in rush hour(s) traffic getting back to the airport.

Other than a taxi is there a way to get to WAS from within about a 10 mile drive of Dulles Airport?

If I do take a cab any estimate of the cost?

Hope you can help.....Mike

CHIC SILBER

There is a Washington Flyer bus that connects IAD

to the West Falls Metro station on some irregular

schedule (please check online) and from there (with

escalators & elevators at all stations) it will take one

connection to the Red Line at Metro Center to get

to Union Station (WAS) in about 45 minutes

Not a terrible trip at most hours

Good luck

NovaEngr

Washington Flyer Schedule

$10 one way.

Global_Hi_Flyer

One other thing to keep in mind: if your colleague has "business" at IAD (e.g. he's flying out of there that evening, or he wants to have a drink with someone at the Airport Marriott 1), he's entitled to use the Dulles Access Road and the HOV/Carpool lanes on I-66. Both are much faster than the alternatives at rush hour.

So, he could drop you at either West Falls Church (please note that IIRC - and I may be wrong- access to WFC from the Dulles Connector is limited to buses and - I think - taxis) or East Falls Church metro, turn around and head back to catch his flight. Word of warning: the ramp from the Dulles Connector to I-66 backs up during afternoon rush... a LOT. Saavy locals know the back way from Reston to Vienna metro, not recommended for a novice.

A cab should work fine from the airport, or take the Dulles/Washington Flyer bus to West Falls Church metro station, thence inbound to Metro Center where you pick up the RED line train to Union Station. Figure 45 minutes or so ONCE YOU GET TO METRO if Metro is working well, an hour to be safe. Add at least half an hour from IAD to Metro.


1 Some enterprising commuters have found that a mere cup of coffee at the gas station at the airport near the long term parking lots qualifies as "airport business" and allows them to skip both the carpool restrictions AND the tolls

flyingmike

Great information, I appreciate it all.

Mike

ibrandsguest

I've taken a taxi from IAD to Union Station- about $65. RIPOFF.

ambyr

If you go to the DC folder (where I suspect a mod will transfer this soon anyway), there's a ton of info about how to get from IAD into the city in the sticky post "A basic guide..."

If you give me a clearer idea of where your meeting is and what time you'll be traveling to WAS, I might be able to give you more targeted transit info--I work next door to Dulles and live next door to WAS, so I've got a lot of experience doing that particular trip.

GoingAway

It sounds like you'd like to see a bit of DC - no idea of the time you'll be travelling and keep in mind that DC can be a traffic nightmare at the best of times, but if you want to drive around the monuments a little bit between your meeting and your train (and likely push for a later train), you can also rent a car at Dulles and return it at Union Station.

Global_Hi_Flyer

Depending on the company.

Hertz has no locations in DC proper any more. Best you can do with Hurtz is drop at DCA and take the subway in.

GoingAway

Interesting - didn't know that about Hertz, but alamo, avis and budget are listed in the directory for union station still

paytonc

There's also WMATA bus 5A, which stops at park&rides in Herndon and Tysons before connecting with Metrorail at Rosslyn. For getting a quick look at DC, a one-way rental car (in DC traffic!) sounds like too much of a hassle: just walk the three blocks to the Capitol from Union Station and take a look down the Mall from there.

Global_Hi_Flyer

The things I learned when commuting up here last year....

ZeppoX

Just adding history, since the OP probably has traveled already ...
the former Hertz location at 11th and NY Ave NW, which was adjacent to the old convention center, was razed and and office building is nearing completion on that site. From there, one would have faced either a 13-block walk to Union Station (11 east and two south) or a two-block walk to a brief ride on the Red Line of MetroRail.
And despite the years-out-of-date image on Google's mapping, the old convention center also was razed and that two-city-block area is now an underutilized parking lot and frequent site for special events such as Circ de Soleil and most recently a tennis competition.

DCBob

The trip from IAD to WAS (Union Station) is a full 30 MILES, so I would not call $65 a "rip off" - unless you simply want to pay the least amount of dollars possible, which will require a minimum of TWO changes - from bus at the terminal (requiring up to a 30 minute wait) to one metro line to another metro line. It's all relative and how much you value your time at.

You can also use the SuperShuttle, which at times can take over TWO hours to get to your destination in DC. I know because I have had to do it after the bus and/or Metro stops running. If you do use the SiperShuttle, prepay online and earn 50 miles each way on Frontier, Northwest, or USAir. I earned 100 miles each way on NW last week at DEN because NW is having a SuperShuttle Double Miles Promotion through September 30:

http://www.nwa.com/features/ssdouble/

abefroman329

I don't really recommend this if you have a lot of luggage - though they've recently added some buses with luggage racks, the route was never intended as a cheap way for travelers to get to Dulles.

Hertz now has a location at Union Station, along with Alamo, National and Avis. I know for a fact that Avis will let you do a one-way rental to Union Station with no one-way rental fee, not sure about the others.