Afternoon Poll: Will You Take The Silver Line Daily?

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by Karen Goff — July 22, 2014 at 2:30 pm 10 Comments

Four days until the Silver Line begins carrying passengers. Reston Now wants to know: Will it change your commute?

While the Silver Line will connect Reston and Tysons Corner each other and to points inside the Beltway, in D.C. and beyond, it is not the workday answer for everyone.

For instance, a large number of Reston-area workers travel within Reston or other areas of Fairfax County not served by Metro. Those who can now take Metro to Reston from Arlington or D.C. to get to work, still would have to find a way to get from Wiehle-Reston East to, say, offices in Reston Town Center.

And still others say parking at Wiehle-Reston East ($4.85 daily) combined with rush hour Metro fares ($11.80 round trip daily to Farragut North, for example) make carpooling and parking downtown a more attractive option.

Take our poll and tell us in the comments below where you go for work and whether how you get there will change.

RestonChris

There is another option that should be included here. It is faster and more convenient to drive to my office even though it is relatively close to the Metro on both ends of my trip.
emchugh08

Or this option: Yes, but my commute will become more expensive and longer. I am not looking forward to it.
Agnes Nutter

I will take it every day because I have no choice. My commute is going to cost $2+ more per day, however.
Ken Fredgren

I’m retired, and I don’t see myself ever using it. I will of course be taxed for the service by the increased cost of the toll road, which I will use.
sleonard

I’m retired and “can’t hardly wait” for Wiehle Ave. to open. Looking forward to the ability to easily get to DC mid-day.
Robby Joe

I’m semi-retired and go to McPherson three days a week via Fairfax Connector and Metro–no need for a car! Silver Line will shorten my bus trip and lengthen my train ride and probably save time overall, albeit at a higher price. Silver lining–always available seating vs. West Falls Church! Bonus–more likely to shop at Tysons.
Lisa

Yes, we’ve lived in Reston since 1987 and have been commuting into DC and back all of those years; we are looking forward to a “one seat” Metro commute from Reston to Farragut West and McPherson Square. Yes, it will cost about $2 more per day, but I still can’t wrap my head around people choosing to sit in traffic (which gets worse every year) and burn gas and put additional wear and tear on their vehicles for a ~20 mile commute into DC. It’s the “car culture” I suppose. I am thankful for any opportunity to not have to use the car, which translates into less fuel consumption.
Nicole ImdoingmeWilliamson

it still seems like the better choice. I’m just hoping it will save me time so I can get a few more mins of zzzzz. I’m waking up at 5 am every morning so I can get to work at 8. Then working 8-10 hours and then 1hr+ commute just to go to back and forth to Fairfax city makes for a long day. If I can literally walk to the metro and hopping on then I’m hoping I can save me some commuting time. Then it would be worth the extra $2 dollars.
Jon Benigno

This is a #metroFAIL. I live in Herndon and am a seasoned commuter and WAS happy with the 950/980 Fairfax Connector bus service until now…we are FORCED to ride the Silver Line with no benefits. For riders of the 980 service the move to silver line is making commutes longer and more expensive! My commute to Ballston metro just got 15 minutes longer – that translates to 30 minutes a day longer once you add in the afternoon ride home. I’ve got a baby at home that I get to see less of now because of this. Here are today’s fails on my first official commute to/from Reston/Wiehle station:

1) The bus has to waste time in the morning by making 2 left turns at lights just to get off from the DTR and on the overpass to make it into the Metro station. And then after that, we have to get off and walk back over the overpass (Which the bus just crossed) to waste more time! They should have designed it so buses can detour on the left of DTC and drop off right at the trains!

2) In the afternoon, the signs for buses are confusing. The main sign says all buses on the south side..FAIL! every bus except the Fairfax connector and others…This wasted lots of time for many people today.

3) Local buses to the Reston station all run less frequent – again adding more time to commute. Before the 980 bus ran every 6 minutes, now every 10. They really need to bring at least one bus service from Herndon Monroe park and ride to WFC metro..that would ease many peoples pocketbooks!!

4) My commuting costs just doubled because of the Silver Line metro. I used to pay $2.60/way to go from WFC to Ballston. Now Reston to Ballston is a ridiculous $5.45 each way just for 6 stops. We are limited to $130/mo for pre-tax deductions for mass transit. Can they at least bring back the $260 pre-tax limit !?!?! That’s $120+/mo MORE that I’m spending to commute and NO tax benefit!!! Either that or lower the metro fare to $4.00??? This is how much the Orange Vienna metro charges to the same spot!

5) Paying more (double for me) and spending more time on commuting…what are the pros??? There are absolutely ZERO benefits for riders of 950/980 going to Wiehle..unless your work compensates for your commute. PLEASE bring back the WFC metro bus routes!!!
- Ffxcommuter
  
  Completely with you there, Jon. We need to have some option open to go from herndon/reston to West falls church. My commute after silver line takes away at least 30 minutes MORE from my day. Not to mention it is more expensive too compared to before silver line. I wish there was a way to let FFX County know about this (official forum of sort)

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