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Metriquette, Part 1: Why I've Given Up on Public Transportation

© Eugenia E. Gratto

It's finally happened. I have been driven away from Washington's Metro system. I used to be a huge supporter of public transportation, and have always tried to live somewhere where I can take advantage of it, but now I find myself driving to work almost every day.

There are plenty of local pundits who lash out at those of us who have abandoned the Metro system. For example, The Washington Post's Bob Levey, who seems to write about the public-private transit dispute at least a couple of times a week, comes down squarely on the side of the public transit. But for me it's not that simple anymore.

I live just across the river from DC in an area called Crystal City, which is better known for its Stalinesque concrete hotel and office buildings than anything that sparkles. You can hear the planes at National Airport warming up from my backyard. And it takes me 20 minutes to walk to the Crystal City Metro station from my house, after which I can either take a Blue line train or a Yellow line-Red line combination of trains to my office downtown.

The total one-way trip, including walking and riding, ends up taking from 45 to 60 minutes, depending on whether or not the Metro system is running smoothly or struggling that day. One day, in a blinding snowstorm it took me nearly two hours to get home. A frozen water pipe and the electric third rail that drives the trains had somehow reached out and touched each other on the bridge across the Potomac between the L'Enfant Plaza station and the Pentagon station, and the system lost a track.

Now, that snowy day situation is few and far between, I'll admit. And if I lived any farther away from the city, I wouldn't consider driving as an option. After all, D.C. is one of the most congested areas in the country, and we do have a cheap, clean, comfortable Metro system.

But I happen to live just close enough that I have a 20-minute driving commute one way. And I've managed to work my job schedule out so that three days a week, I go in and come home before the morning and afternoon rush hour really gets underway. It's much less stressful and much more efficient.

Yes, I'm using more gas and contributing to environmental pollution. Yes, that really bothers me. But I also arrive at work in the summer without needing to take another shower after sweating on the walk to the Metro and on the hot, overcrowded trains. I also get home in time to enjoy my evening, rather than arriving home tired and cranky from fighting my way through inconsiderate area residents and tourists who just don't know Metriquette, the appropriate behavior on the subway trains.

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