The daily NY->DC Amtrak route is being extended to Lynchburg experimentally for the next three years. Which is good, because I’m sick of taking the bus to DC to catch the train. #
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
-
Archive for Sideblog »
Here’s hoping I can score a ticket on the first run!
No body in their right mind takes a bus to D.C. to catch an Amtrak train. Who comes up with the malarkey, anyway?
If you buy a ticket to north of DC leaving from Charlottesville, about half of the time they put you on a James River bus for the leg to DC. You can explain to the ticket agent that “nobody in their right minds takes a bus to catch a train,” but that won’t get you where you’re going.
Waldo,
I thought the Crescent and Cardinal lines came through Charlottesville. Do you take the bus because of timing or because those train seats are full? Is your experience with the bus poor because of the switch over from bus to train? For me they would be about the same especially if my destination was just DC.
I take the bus because that’s quite frequently substituted for the Crescent line. If you buy a ticket from Charlottesville to, say, New York City on the Crescent, you’ll show up at the train station at 7:00 AM. Rather than a training pulling up, you’re likely to find a James River bus appearing. The station agent will inform you and your fellow travelers that the Crescent is running behind, so you’ll all be taking this bus to DC, where you’ll catch another Crescent train north.
If I wanted to take a bus, I’d buy a bus ticket. Buses are cramped and featureless. Trains are spacious, comparatively well-appointed and, best of all, allow for relaxation for the entire journey. Taking a bus and switching to a train involves the hustle and bustle of the modal switch midway through, and that’s no fun.
You guys are making great arguments as to why mass transportation still has a very, very long way to go before it will, if ever, be accepted by the masses as a normal mode of transportation.