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DC has arguably the best metro in the united states and is really small. Aside from getting to Dulles, the Metro is sufficient.

Oban wrote:DC has arguably the best metro in the united states and is really small. Aside from getting to Dulles, the Metro is sufficient.

Yea the Metro is by far the best option for transportation in DC. A lot of the time you could be stuck in traffic so long it's faster to walk. Also, most people who go to school in DC tend to stick around the NW area and parts of SE (Capitol Hill area) and it really is pretty easy to walk if you would rather do that than metro.

No matter what people say, the metro sucks. Yes it can get you around, and it is okay to take, but it still sucks compared to driving. Many of the cars' air conditioning breaks, and there are constant delays.

katjust wrote:No matter what people say, the metro sucks. Yes it can get you around, and it is okay to take, but it still sucks compared to driving. Many of the cars' air conditioning breaks, and there are constant delays.

Metro's still faster than driving, esp. during rush hour and at night. Plus, DC has a ton of one way roads and circles so it can be a pain to drive.

The metro is great especially when compared to NYC subway system. However, if you can afford it I would prefer to have a car.

thanks for the responses! im from LA and i dont really know how to live without my car (let alone walk anywhere) but im trying to cut down on costs and if the metro is worth it ill give it a try at least for my first year... im just worried if im trying to study late or go out and if the metro/other means of public transportation is worth it or if its easier to just ones own car

Ok..which schools are you referring to as far as DC area? American, GW, GT, UDC, Catholic you're good to go. You can survive in Arlington (George Mason) with out one but there might be some destinations in that area that you'd "prefer" to have your car to access.

But per the the first few schools listed, a car would make your life MORE difficult.

Whoever voted for "car" to get around DC must be voting sarcastically. You don't want or need a car.

If you pick the right place to live, you can walk to get everything you need and take the Metro to go anywhere else in the city. A car is an unnecessary expense in a city like DC.

This is especially true when you consider how small and walkable the city proper is. Given how much of a mess parking is, and how expensive keeping a car and parking it in DC can be, it doesn't make sense to have a car there, especially not on a law student budget.

adbabe wrote:thanks for the responses! im from LA and i dont really know how to live without my car (let alone walk anywhere) but im trying to cut down on costs and if the metro is worth it ill give it a try at least for my first year... im just worried if im trying to study late or go out and if the metro/other means of public transportation is worth it or if its easier to just ones own car

if by DC you mean Northern Virginia (George Mason) a car could be useful

if you live in any part of DC proper, you probably won't need a car at all (or want one)

I've lived in DC for 4 years and haven't had a car. I am from Texas originally, and getting used to not driving wasn't hard. Bikes are good too. It takes me 30 minutes to take the metro to work, but only 15 to bike.

katjust wrote:No matter what people say, the metro sucks. Yes it can get you around, and it is okay to take, but it still sucks compared to driving. Many of the cars' air conditioning breaks, and there are constant delays.

This sounds like something an LSAT Author would say

You don't generally need a car to get around within the city. You do need a car if you want to get out of the city or go anywhere fun. Within the city the metro is good if you are lazy and have lots of time, walking/biking is generally faster and more reliable (depending of course on where and when you are traveling). I ride a motorcycle to my office in DC from NoVA every day, takes me about 30 minutes in traffic. When I lived in DC proper I still had the bike, but walked to the office and rode the bike to escape the city.

Re the claims that metro is faster than driving, that will depend entirely on the route. In general its slower (I've done and timed both), but there are a few instances where its faster (red line headed south in AM rush hour for example). The main problem with driving around in the city itself is parking - its expensive. Metro is much, much slower than driving if you are trying to get from NoVA into DC on the blue or yellow lines (metro takes me an hour, driving half an hour at rush hour times. Non-peak times metro takes longer still and driving is more like 15 min).

Driving is definitely faster than taking metro, but good luck finding parking. I think it really depends on where you live/go to school.

Oban wrote:DC has arguably the best metro in the united states and is really small. Aside from getting to Dulles, the Metro is sufficient.

eaglemuncher wrote:The metro is great especially when compared to NYC subway system. However, if you can afford it I would prefer to have a car.

These posts or any others which give praise to the DC Metro are completely false. Do you live and commute in DC? Are we talking about the same metro system?? Public transit in DC is an absolute joke. The unsuckdcmetro blog put it best, "Metro is a system of broke systems."

While I agree that having a car in DC is impractical, I feel strongly against giving any compliments to Metro.

I think the positive comments about the metro are really in comparison with public transport in other cities. Metro probably is better than boston's T and NYC's subway. That's not saying much though.

People complain about DC metro because people are really spoiled in DC. It's public transit. It's cheap, fairly reliable, and it'll do the job.

Anybody know how long the commute would be from the Van Dorn stop on the blue line to American U? I think I would have to transfer to the red line and get off at the Tenley Town stop then take the AU shuttle?

Borhas wrote:People complain about DC metro because people are really spoiled in DC. It's public transit. It's cheap, fairly reliable, and it'll do the job.

The metro worked great when I was in DC. Honestly it is no worse than the T in Boston. In fact, I thought that the metro system in Boston was worse. Granted, the metro in DC is not comparable to say a lot of the metros in Europe. But I found it quite sufficient.

If I end up in DC proper (unlikely now) I would use the metro at least for the first year. You probably aren't going to be working, and therefore, a car is an unnecessary expense. Then figure out if you will need a car for the next two years.

ohhenry wrote:Anybody know how long the commute would be from the Van Dorn stop on the blue line to American U? I think I would have to transfer to the red line and get off at the Tenley Town stop then take the AU shuttle?

If you go to the DC Metro website, you can plug in any two stops and it'll tell you both the trip cost and the estimated travel time.

queenlizzie13 wrote:
If I end up in DC proper (unlikely now) I would use the metro at least for the first year. You probably aren't going to be working, and therefore, a car is an unnecessary expense. Then figure out if you will need a car for the next two years.

thanks that really helps!

I vote bike and metro.

vanwinkle wrote:

ohhenry wrote:Anybody know how long the commute would be from the Van Dorn stop on the blue line to American U? I think I would have to transfer to the red line and get off at the Tenley Town stop then take the AU shuttle?

If you go to the DC Metro website, you can plug in any two stops and it'll tell you both the trip cost and the estimated travel time.

Yea go to wmata.com.

I lived in DC for 2 years UG and also worked from a year. Personally, the metro and bus (and some walking) got me to every area of DC I needed to go. Public transportation is great there.

You can also get a zip car membership if you want to have the luxury of having a car once in a while (for going someplace out of the area or for shopping/etc. I always had a roommate with a car, otherwise I probably would have sprung for the membership.