Need help commuting via public transportation to get from downtown Silver Spring to near BWI Airport/Arundel Mills daily.

June 22, 2006 12:44 PM

Need help commuting via public transportation to get from downtown Silver Spring to near BWI Airport/Arundel Mills daily.

Ideally, I'd be able to take a bus or rail from Silver Spring to my office, but I don't seem to be so lucky (and understandably so.) I have a road bike and a pair of rollerblades, and I'd like to continue getting to the office by 7am so I can leave by 4pm. I successfully took the metrorail to Greenbelt, and then the B30 bus to BWI Airport, and then walked a mile or two to my office, but that was a bit long. I'd love to take my bike and do it, but I cannot take a road bike on a Metrobus (no bike rack on bus leaving DC area) or MARC train.

Is there any way to do it? Perhaps take a bus to somewhere and then ride my bike a few miles? I am not averse to riding or blading, but to do so everyday.. ? Thoughts..?

posted by seinfeld to Work & Money (7 answers total)

My sympathies. Perhaps you can leave a beater bike locked near the bus stop and take it from there to/from work. Or carry a skateboard or kick-scooter on the bus.
posted by exogenous at 1:04 PM on June 22, 2006

Maybe kind of expensive, and could take a while, but you used to be able to take the Metro (red line) to Union Station, then transfer to the MARC trains to go to BWI. (My computer doesn't like the MARC site, so I've not tried to dig much deeper on fares and routes).
posted by dilettante at 3:06 PM on June 22, 2006

I second the beater boke solution. i've done it before and it works great.
posted by destro at 4:55 PM on June 22, 2006

Response by poster: dilettante,

I cannot take my bicycle on the MARC train, as I noted in my original post.

Thanks anyway.
posted by seinfeld at 7:56 PM on June 22, 2006

what about amtrak?
posted by elle.jeezy at 9:51 PM on June 22, 2006

Can't you rent a bike locker somewhere near the BWI stop/station. I know using the B30 might not work with a bike locker because I don't think there's one near that pickup area, but the MARC station may have some available. Then you just arrive, grab your bike and go to work, then hop on the bike to come back, park it in the locker and you're good to go. Doesn't make sense to haul a bike from your house each morning. Also, I second the scooter idea. I have a $30 fold-up razor that's perfect for quick trips like that.

Also - a folding bike on MARC is okay apparently. Maybe you could buy one?:

What is the policy governing bicycles on MARC rail?

Due to safety concerns, MARC's bicycle policy allows for the transportation of folding bicycles only. There are no designated storage areas for bikes, and they are prohibited from being stored in the overhead racks. However, folding bikes are no longer restricted to those carried in a case.
posted by ml98tu at 11:33 AM on June 23, 2006

One more thing: the Route 17 bus from BWI to Arundel Mills could work.

Route: http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/bus/routes/bus/route17.cfm

Schedule: http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/bus/schedule/17_weekday.cfm
posted by ml98tu at 11:36 AM on June 23, 2006