RWBlue01

Talk to me about using a bus for a partial bicycle commute or if I decide I am not able to ride home and need ride the bus home.

How does a mountain bike or Road bike to the front of the bus?
What about the pantiers on the bike? Stay put, have to remove?
Cost for a bus ride?
Will my Metro card work with a bus?
How do I read the bus map?
How far out of DC can I go? End of the W&OD? End of MT Vernon?

As I understand it I can not Metro during big events and during prime commuting hours which kind of defeats the purpose for me.


Yes, I am this clueless. I have not ridden busses in a long time. I am just trying to see if I can leverage public transportaion to travel some different areas.

alan s 

Big Lebowski

I bike and bus commute daily. I never leave anything that I can remove (bags, lights, water bottle, etc.) on my bike when it is on the front of the bus.

RWBlue01

I would rather talk to bicyclists about the reality, vs. the help desk about what they think happens.

RWBlue01

Requirement or because you want to?
Some of my stuff doesn't remove easily.

Then again, you are not in the DC area are you?

Thomas Brock

In Jacksonville, NC I can strap my bicycle to the front rack of the transit bus and ride to a stop, then unstrap and ride. It's not extra. If your gear is adequately attached to your bike, you really don't have to worry about bags and whatnot.

Every transit system is different, though, so you really may want to either call the help line or experiment.

RWBlue01

That is kind of what I have done. I made sure everything is attached very well. This way I don't have things falling off while riding or when I load it on the vehicle, but I don't know what the rules are.

According to what I have read, they want me to remove everything from the bike. This isn't going to happen without me changing things around and buying some new stuff. I am wondering if the rules are the rules OR if it is more practical at the stop. Hopefully a local can tell me how it really works.

napes

I'm assuming you have already looked at all the helpful articles at these pages.

https://www.wmata.com/getting_around/bike_ride/
https://www.wmata.com/getting_around/.../bikes_bus.cfm
https://www.wmata.com/bus/maps/

I've never removed my panniers when I've used the bus rack, and I've always hoped that things would still be there after the bus stopped. Thus far things remained intact.

I'd recommend calling up Metro, if you can't figure out your answers from the above sites. The 924 Fairfax Connector bus line from West Falls Church is the least expensive present route out to the Herndon area. That's about as far out on the WO&D as you'll get without mucking with Loudon County bus lines.

Artkansas 

Read the WMATA web site links that napes provided. They are good. The reason that other riders are telling you to remove whatever can be removed EASILY, is pretty common sense, it prevents it from being shaken loose by the buses motion or being removed by a quick fingered thief. If objects are as attached as firmly as you say they are, they won't get shaken off and no one will have the time to remove them (think seconds), so you're good. I'm not in the DC area, but I've used the bus racks in several cities, and these are common sense guidelines used everywhere I have taken my bike on a bus, not regulations.

Big Lebowski

Correct, I am in Kansas City. I've never seen any policy on items, but I usually have a laptop in my bags, so I always keep it with me. As for the lights and such, they are secure on my bike, but more secure with me and they remove quickly. I bought the Cygolite models for this reason.

acidfast7

rear wheel lock would be useful, so that someone can't ride away with your bike.

JCFlack

I've taken my bike on Metrobus - not a big deal. I carry my water bottle and helmet onto the bus, but the panniers stay on - they are firmly attached and won't come off easily. There are buses as far out on the W & OD as Reston Town Center, where there is a transit hub. The MV does have a few places where you can get on or off a bus, but not as many - try Belle View or Old Town Alexandria. The only problem I've had with bike on bus is that the racks only have room for two bikes. The other day, I saw two men waiting for the bus with their bikes (I was on foot that day) and when the bus arrived, there was already a bike on the rack. They decided to wait for the next bus - a half hour wait. You can take your bike on a bus in weekday rush hours, but not on Metrorail unless you ride a folder which must be folded and secured so it won't open up accidentally. Off peak, you can take any bike into the subway.

RWBlue01

I hate to admit it, but after stairing at the maps for a while I can not figure out what bus will take me where. I am thinking with a couple examples I will learn how to read this map.

Lets assume I parked at the Ronald Regan airport. What bus takes me as far out the W&OD as possible?

Lets assume I parked at the Ronald Regan Airport. What bus will take me to the national mall?

I figured out the metro, this should be this hard!

Ira B

I drive for the county transit and on a county connector run today had two bikes with lots of bags ect.. on the front rack. While at speed on the State hwy I saw "something" out of the corner of my eye come flying off one of them while I was scanning mirrors.
Kind of startling/distracting really and when driving a bus load of people I do not need that, so please make sure anything you leave on a bike you put on a transit rack is securely attached.

napes

Lets assume I parked at the Ronald Regan airport. What bus takes me as far out the W&OD as possible?
None, directly.

Lets assume I parked at the Ronald Regan Airport. What bus will take me to the national mall?
None, directly.

The bus system around here is unfortunately reasonably complex and built around transit and commuting centers. The biggest ones that would concern you are the Pentagon bus center, West Falls Church Metro, and the Huntington Metro Station. If you really want to do this, you are going to have to spend time at the WMATA site to figure out the available schedules and probably get lost some. A scary number of buses are rush-hour times only.

Personally, I wouldn't start at the Reagan airport parking lot, since the free lot at Gravelly Point Park is limited to three hours to prevent commuter parking. You could pay at the all day lot at the Airport should you choose, but it seems you are trying to do this on the cheap.

Personally, I would aim for this parking lot or along Ohio Drive SW, along the East Potomac Golf Course. Last I know, there are no time restrictions there, apart from no overnight parking.

From here, if your plan is to get to Mount Vernon and bike back along the river, you will have to make your way to the Huntington Metro Station, where you can switch to the REX bus that will take you to the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway near Fort Belvoir. If you can't take your bike on the Metro because of peak hours, I'd recommend you look at the 9A/9E lines and then the REX line. How do you get to the Pentagon Bus area from the Jefferson Memorial? Try Google maps. I've not tried all of that particular route myself, so I can't vouch for it.

To get as far out on the WO&D as possible with local bus lines, I'd recommend you get the 950 bus from West Falls Church Metro Station. You could get off where the WO&D crosses Elden, or just wait until the end of the line at the Reston Town Center. How do you get to the West Falls Church Metro Station? You could try the 3A line from Rosslyn. How do you get to Rosslyn? Try Google Maps. The 950 won't put you to the end of the WO&D, as you probably know, but it would get you about halfway there.

FenderTL5

I can't help with routes or DC specific questions, I live in Nashville.

I use our MTA bike/bus routinely. I take anything off that is not securely fastened or would distress me too much if it were lost.
That said, lights mirrors, saddlebag all stay on. I currently use a backpack, no panniers (yet).

I keep an extra bungee chord just for an additional connect to the bus rack.