New Vet Advocates and independent
Veterans who are just now
becoming involved in attending
public hearings and other
events for Veterans Rights issues,
would all do well to take the time
to study, read, practice, and
learn the Washington DC Metro
train subway system.

Even with all of your maps
and directions printed out
from your computer before
you leave, it can be a little
unnerving when you finally
get inside of your first
Metro station and are trying
to figure out where to stand
for the train that you really
want to take.

Most hotels and motels are
positioned to be close to
a Metro station either as
a short walk or taxi ride,
or the hotels themselves
will freely advertise that
they sponsor a free Shuttle
Van or "Courtesy Car" which
runs, usually every hour,
to and from the hotel and
a designated Metro station.

By booking only in those
hotels who have bragging
rights to a nearby Metro
station you can almost
guarantee yourself a smooth
sailing ride run during
your stay in Washington.

If you taking the Greyhound
Bus into Washington, simply
step out the station doors,
go up to M Street, turn
right at the corner and keep
walking, and the Metro
entrance is a short walk
on the Left side of the
street. You can't miss it
because the Metro signs
are all over the sidewalk.
Getting to the Metro from
Greyhound will take you
straight to your hotel
station for pickup.

The Metro now has a new
SmartCard which
I highly recommend, and
if you buy those for $5
on the Internet before you
leave, it should arrive
in your home mailbox in
about 3 days. The SmartCard
is the best choice because
it is plastic instead of
paper, and it is reuseable
each time you take another
trip there. Putting an initial
charge of $10.00 on the card
is a good start unless you
know for sure that you will
need much more in ride fees.

Simply wave the SmartCard in
front of a scanner at one of the
Metro Station card machines,
push the button that says
ADD CHARGE, then load your
money into the machine, then
your card is instantly charged
for that dollar amount.

Wave the card in front
of the Gate scanners as you
both enter the Metro train
area, and again when you finally
leave it at the end of your
destination. All of your
transfer points and the entire
fee for the ride is deducted
at the end as you exit the
final Metro station Gates.

You can also scan the card
at the Fare Machines any time
just to see how much money is
left on your card in case you are
getting concerned about not
having enough money charged
on the card for your final
ride. Sinply wave the card to
get a reading and then press
CANCEL on the machine after
you are done reading the dollar
amount left on your card.

Transfer stations are done
by color lines. Simply read
the Metro Map and find where
the 2 colors come together
at the same station.
Metro Center is a
popular transfer point for
the blue line and red line.

When you step off the train
at a transfer point, there
are signs as you approach
the escalators, guiding you
to the place you need to
go for boarding a different
color line.

There are station kiosks
at every gate which has
the rate fares posted on
the front of them which gives
you a price estimate of
how much it costs to
go from that Metro Station
to your final destination.
I rode from Greyhound Bus
Station, all the way to
nearly the end of the line
at Alexandria/Fairfax Virginia
for just under $5.00 and
that was a pretty long
ride. Most rides run between
$1 to $3 in price ranges.

Keeping track of the train
directions is another important
part of riding. The trains
are identified on the front
first by Color, and then
along the side as it pulls
up by Direction. The directions
are fixed according to the
very last stop of that line.
It's easy to learn these directions
and the Metro Maps are posted
inside the stations just in
case you forget which direction
you are headed. Just look at the
very last stop on the Color
line that you will be on and
that will give you the direction
of choice that you want to ride in.

The hotels also carry small
pocket versions of the Metro
Maps that you can carry
around. On some of the
Metro cars, the maps
are also posted but not all
of them have it.

Being sure that you are
standing in the right
Direction is the last
of your concerns before you
get on. The trains
run remarkably fast, just
minutes in between each
other, and there are overhead
signs to tell you how long
before the next train and
what color it will be when
it comes.

When you arrive at your
final destination, there
is a regular exit door
and a buses/taxi exit door
and that is where all of
the Hotel Shuttles pick up
their inbound guests.

By using the Trip Planner
which is provided at the
Metro's internet website,
you can run To-And-From scenarios
to your heart's content
and find out where the
closest walking distance
Metro Stations are. MapQuest
can also add additional
walking directions if the
Metro Map falls a little
short. I have used both
together and all are very
accurate. They pick up the
rest of your trip leaving
from the Metro to the actual
address where you want to go.

http://www.wmata.com
http://www.Mapquest.com

both work on the concept
of To and From addressing
so that you can model a
variety of scenarios for your trip.

On the down side of all
this, there are a couple.
You only have less than
60 seconds to get on or
get off a Metro train.
These move fast, fast, fast,
and there is no loitering
or lollygagging around.
The locals will run you
over if you drag your
feet, because the whole
point of the Metro is to
help the locals keep up
their fast pace.

Second, from time to time
the escalator's at a
station may not be working.
If you are too overloaded
with luggage, and are then
forced to do the incredibly
steep stairs on your own, you
had better be prepared to
take this on. A hands-free
backpack, and a suitcase
on roller wheels is a safe
limit for this kind of
travel. Overdoing it with
luggage and bog you down
if the escalator is out of
service.

There is almost no match
between the Metro Maps
and the geography maps
that you might use in
your car. You have to get
your head in a completely
different place to absorb
the Metro Maps. But one
thing is for sure, you
can go from the outter
boundaries of Arlington
VA, all through the downtown
of DC, and straight up into
the Bethesda north of Maryland
using this Metro train. The
stops are everywhere, more
often than not they are concealed
in the basements of big office
buildings so you may have
walked right by them and never
knew it.

Where the Arlington National
Cemetary is located in relation
to the Pentagon is all just
a little weird as you are
coming through the tunnels.
I would say simply focus on
the Metro Maps and the Trip
Planners that you brought with
you until you feel totally
comfortable enough to wing it.
It took me exactly one day
to learn it and wing it
so that should be an indicator
for you.

Even if you cannot hear the
intercom announcements for
the stops very well, each
Metro stop is marked on
the walls and you can see
what the stop is from your
seat window. Nothing is left
to chance.

Larger transfer stations such
as Union Station, Crystal City,
Metro Center etc. all have
an entire indoor strip mall of
shops and eating places.
If you want to just chill
and stop for a little shopping
before getting back on the
train, then the opportunities
are there.

For the price of one major
taxi ride in downtown DC,
you can pretty much ride
the Metro Train for up to
2 full days and there lies
the best reason to take on
the DC Metro Train subway.

http://www.wmata.com

New Vet Advocates really should
enjoy this experience.