Taking Uber to/from Fredericksburg and the Dulles area on Thanksgiving?

November 25, 2024 3:18 PM

Is this doable?

My friend offered to host me in Fredericksburg for Thanksgiving. This is very kind and gracious of him; however, I'm a bit concerned about the overnight part, given my parcopresis.

Would I likely be able to find an Uber to/from Fredericksburg back to the Dulles area, especially on Thanksgiving day? It's a bit far (1-1.5 hours). Using the Uber app right now shows ~$60-80 one way, which isn't that terrible (might be higher/lower on T-Day depending), but my concern is that the driver will see my destination at either end and balk, or that it'll be hard finding a driver in the Fredericksburg area (not sure how many Ubers there are there, as it's kinda far-flung/rural-y).

Thoughts? Might help seeing input from people who live in either area.

posted by dubious_dude to Travel & Transportation (12 answers total)

I wouldn't count on this working out for the reasons you list. What I would do is contact taxi services in Fredericksburg and D.C. and see if they would be willing to do this, and if so, I would book in advance, both ways.
posted by coffeecat at 3:37 PM on November 25 [1 favorite]

I don't think you can count on this unless you book a car service in advance.
posted by Stacey at 5:09 PM on November 25 [1 favorite]

Could you use an airport shuttle service to get you from Fredericksburg to Dulles and then a cab or Uber to get home?
posted by sciencegeek at 5:40 PM on November 25 [1 favorite]

I have tried to take a long distance (2-hour) Uber which the app would let me book, and then the driver would see how far I wanted to go and cancel. I ended up calling a taxi service. I wouldn't trust what the app says is possible.
posted by attentionplease at 5:40 PM on November 25 [3 favorites]

Fredericksburg VA is a big town in a huge metro area. I looked and there are tons of ubers just waiting for folks right now. I know someone who'd probably look at the large payday and go for it

I would do it, but many folks are more risk transportation averse. Ubers up Dulles can be pricier and longer if they'lll take or not take the toll road.
posted by sandmanwv at 6:10 PM on November 25 [1 favorite]

Is renting a car for the day a possibility for you? You're looking at some pretty pricey fares and renting a car would give you more certainty. Although Thanksgiving can be really trafficky, depending on timing and location.
posted by needs more cowbell at 6:35 PM on November 25 [1 favorite]

Alternately, there are Amtrak trains from Washington (Union Station) or Alexandria to Fredericksburg that might work with your schedule, although that would mean a long Metro ride. Maybe worth considering if you conclude Uber won’t work. The last northbound train is at about 6:30 pm, though, so maybe not.
posted by madcaptenor at 7:12 PM on November 25 [2 favorites]

More expensive and annoying but if you really wanted to do this you could sort of bunny hop from Fredericksburg to Woodbridge to Dulles area (or try to combine with some public transit as you get closer to DC) if you do try to order an Uber and it gets canceled. I’ll say that I forget how other people truly don’t mind driving (I do it, but I’m not a fan, especially around DC) and so it’s still fairly likely that Ubers will be available and around.
posted by raccoon409 at 7:38 PM on November 25

some of these answers seem to think DD is talking about Fredericksburg TX not Fredericksburg VA. Dubious, make sure you don't get too worried by the ones that are answering as if you're flying to Texas and then getting an uber into the Texas hill country or something like that.
posted by Tim Bucktooth at 7:59 PM on November 25 [1 favorite]

Could you rent a car?
posted by nouvelle-personne at 8:48 PM on November 25

Yeah if you're considering paying $160 roundtrip on Ubers, I would seriously consider renting a car for a day (or two!)
posted by AndrewInDC at 6:37 AM on November 26

I’m not local to you, but it is theoretically possible to make this journey by public transit using Metro and Amtrak on Thanksgiving Day, and it might actually be faster, easier and cheaper than driving, especially if your friend lives close to Fredericksburg’s train station and you live near a Metro station. Here’s how you’d do it:

- On the way south:

1. Take Metro to Alexandria King Street-Old Town station, then walk to Alexandria Union Station, which appears to be literally across the tracks from Metro. (The King Street-Old Town station is mapped here on the WMATA site showing just how close the connection is.). Metro will run a “reduced Sunday schedule” — meaning a late-evening Sunday frequency level all day — on Thanksgiving, but trains will run. You’ll want to be at the Amtrak station a bit before your train, so budget more time than you might on a day with more frequent Metro service.

2. Then take Amtrak south. There are trains south from Alexandria at 7:18 am, 11:26 am, 12:18 pm, 3:07 pm, 5:28 pm, 7:17 pm and 7:45 pm. It’s a bit less than an hour’s ride from Alexandria to Fredericksburg. Book your tickets at Amtrak’s site; they can and do sell out, but Thanksgiving itself will probably be more mellow than travelling on Wednesday evening. (Sadly, VRE commuter rail doesn’t run on Thanksgiving itself.)

- On the way north:

1. Reverse your trip. Afternoon Amtrak trains bound for Alexandria or Washington Union Station will stop at Fredericksburg at 3:07 pm, 4:14 pm and 6:34 pm.

2. Metro trains will run toward Dulles from Alexandria all evening long, with the last trains not leaving King Street-Old Town toward Dulles until after 11:00 pm.

If I were you, I would get the 11:26 am train south and the 6:34 pm train back, or, if you could stretch to a very early morning departure on Friday, get a VRE train at 5:03 am, 5:17 am, 5:32 am, 5:52 am, 6:12 am, 6:37 am, 7:17 am or 7:57 am, all of which stop at Franconia-Springfield as well as Alexandria and Washington Union Station. Alternately, take one of Amtrak’s morning trains back to Alexandria or Washington Union Station at 7:22 am, 9:23 am, or 11:17 am; there are three more in the afternoon, too.

Finally, Amtrak has a special site here for its Virginia services if you’d like to know more, and Amtraker has a useful map to check on where your particular Amtrak train is at the moment.
posted by mdonley at 12:56 PM on November 26 [2 favorites]