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COVID Ground Transport Question - IAD to DC's NoMA neighborhood.

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COVID Ground Transport Question - IAD to DC's NoMA neighborhood.

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Old Jun 19, 2020, 10:53 am
  #1  
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COVID Ground Transport Question - IAD to DC's NoMA neighborhood.

So...my wife started a new job in DC exactly 2 weeks before the world ended.

I'm flying United CLE-IAD today to spend a long weekend with her (United's DCA options make no sense -- I wouldn't want to spend 4 hours in EWR under normal circumstances, let alone with no clubs, limited services, etc...) -- my original plan had been to take the IAD express thing (that I've read about but never actually never used) to the end of the Silver Line and then Metro the rest of the way.

It appears WAMTA has close the silver line and IAD has suspended the express bus service.

So for anyone more versed in getting around DC... best time/cost balanced way to get from IAD to NoMA that's actually running now? Our apartment in DC is literally 2 blocks from the NoMa-Gallaudet U red line metro stop for "where I need to end up"

I'd prefer not to Uber it the entire way for cost and philosophical reasons but its an option -- or Uber to some metro station/line that isn't closed is an option. Worst case would be a local bus which I'd prefer to avoid at all costs.
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Old Jun 19, 2020, 11:01 am
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Take the 5A (express-ish) bus to Rosslyn or L'Enfant. Take the Metro to MetroCenter or GalleryPlace-Chinatown and then the Metro again to NoMa-Gallaudet. Good luck.
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Last edited by Miles Ahead; Jun 19, 2020 at 11:08 am
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Old Jun 19, 2020, 11:15 am
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Originally Posted by lincolnjkc
It appears WAMTA has close the silver line and IAD has suspended the express bus service.
Platform Improvement Project: All nine Orange and Silver Line stations west of Ballston are closed.

https://www.wmata.com/service/rail/P...ject/index.cfm
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Old Jun 19, 2020, 11:30 am
  #4  
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Originally Posted by Miles Ahead
Take the 5A (express-ish) bus to Rosslyn or L'Enfant. Take the Metro to MetroCenter or GalleryPlace-Chinatown and then the Metro again to NoMa-Gallaudet. Good luck.
The 5A is operating weekdays only on a modified Sunday schedule during Metro's response to Covid-19 .

https://www.wmata.com/service/rail/P...el-Options.cfm
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Old Jun 19, 2020, 11:38 am
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Yes it is. But a) it is running, and b) it is the only public transportation out of IAD.
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Old Jun 19, 2020, 12:02 pm
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Weekdays only.
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Old Jun 19, 2020, 12:19 pm
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Take an Uber/Lyft. About $45 each way.
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Old Jun 19, 2020, 12:42 pm
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Please follow the thread as it moves to the Mid-Atlantic forum where transportation questions involving the greater D.C. area's airports are regularly discussed. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator United and Senior Moderator.
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Old Jun 19, 2020, 1:28 pm
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Originally Posted by SPN Lifer
Weekdays only.
He's going today.
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Old Jun 19, 2020, 2:23 pm
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Originally Posted by Miles Ahead
He's going today.
Though to be fair ... Roughy 50% of my US clients are observing today as a holiday so it's entirely possible WAMTA would call it a weekend.

I appreciate all of the suggestions. Just hit the ground and will see what the 5A looks like...
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Old Jun 19, 2020, 3:25 pm
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WMATA's web site is pretty good about real-time schedules and notifications. (Sometimes a little too real time)
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Old Jun 19, 2020, 7:04 pm
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Don't mean to rain on your UA support, but AA flies nonstop CLE-DCA, and then it's short short subway ride or Uber/taxi to NoMa! I'll admit, it is early in the morning, but it is an alternative to CLE-IAD and then a long ride to NoMa...
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Old Jun 20, 2020, 11:34 am
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Originally Posted by AndyPatterson
Don't mean to rain on your UA support, but AA flies nonstop CLE-DCA, and then it's short short subway ride or Uber/taxi to NoMa! I'll admit, it is early in the morning, but it is an alternative to CLE-IAD and then a long ride to NoMa...
I, for better or worse, am far too invested in the UA ecosystem to fly AA unless there are dire circumstances (though AA is my #2 when UA can't) -- before UA dropped CLE-DCA I did it a number of times... it is easy but at least short term I'm willing to forgo that convenience to keep my eggs in one basket (though if UA doesn't start reopening clubs and toning down the dire in-flight announcements I might have fewer reasons to keep the single basket.

What's inexplicable though is my wife -- who is far less invested in the ecosystem and has cousin who is a AA captain -- would rather fly UA DCA-EWR-CLE with a few hour wait in EWR than go AA nonstop from DCA or UA nonstop from CLE (but another cousin is a UA FA so maybe that cancels out the company loyalty )

Just to close the loop -- looking at the schedules when I landed, Uber fares, etc. I wound up just ubering it the entire way. (I would have been waiting 35 minutes for the next 5A and a total 1:45 trip time vs 45 minute trip time on Uber... though the app originally quoted $45, errored out when i requested the ride, jumped to $65 errored out again, sat at $110 for a while, (when a taxi would be ~$80 pre tip), and just around the time I would have needed to hop on the 5A dropped back down to $50).

I head (other home) Tuesday afternoon so might do the reverse via metro -> 5A just to see how it works. Really cant wait until the Silver Line all the way to IAD is an option.
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Old Jun 21, 2020, 8:43 pm
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Originally Posted by lincolnjkc
I, for better or worse, am far too invested in the UA ecosystem to fly AA unless there are dire circumstances (though AA is my #2 when UA can't) -- before UA dropped CLE-DCA I did it a number of times... it is easy but at least short term I'm willing to forgo that convenience to keep my eggs in one basket (though if UA doesn't start reopening clubs and toning down the dire in-flight announcements I might have fewer reasons to keep the single basket.

What's inexplicable though is my wife -- who is far less invested in the ecosystem and has cousin who is a AA captain -- would rather fly UA DCA-EWR-CLE with a few hour wait in EWR than go AA nonstop from DCA or UA nonstop from CLE (but another cousin is a UA FA so maybe that cancels out the company loyalty )

Just to close the loop -- looking at the schedules when I landed, Uber fares, etc. I wound up just ubering it the entire way. (I would have been waiting 35 minutes for the next 5A and a total 1:45 trip time vs 45 minute trip time on Uber... though the app originally quoted $45, errored out when i requested the ride, jumped to $65 errored out again, sat at $110 for a while, (when a taxi would be ~$80 pre tip), and just around the time I would have needed to hop on the 5A dropped back down to $50).

I head (other home) Tuesday afternoon so might do the reverse via metro -> 5A just to see how it works. Really cant wait until the Silver Line all the way to IAD is an option.
IIRC 5A starts from Lenfant plaza in DC.
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