Author Topic: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park  (Read 22867 times)

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Offline MarquisDeSade

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #50: January 27, 2012, 06:46:08 PM »
alt 0153

Offline Nathan

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #51: January 27, 2012, 06:46:38 PM »
I know, that's how I typed it in my post ;)

Offline tomterp

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #52: January 27, 2012, 07:13:51 PM »
That was my thought about the Wtaer Taxi - it was a little pricey, and if you have a group of four (wife and kids), it gets real expensive real fast.


Right, especially since from National Harbor you're 12 minutes from parking for $15 across the street from the home plate entrance.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #53: January 31, 2012, 05:02:26 PM »
Here's what we really need, a pedal wagon, ride with 15 other fans to the park on a rolling bar.  One of the Capitol Hill bars would be wise to buy one of these bikes, slap their logo all over it, and serve up the suds on the way to and from the game.

The pedal wagon in action

http://www.soapboxmedia.com/features/013112pedalwagon.aspx

Offline tomterp

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #54: January 31, 2012, 10:13:15 PM »
I would definitely do that for free beer.

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #55: February 01, 2012, 09:36:07 AM »
Here's what we really need, a pedal wagon, ride with 15 other fans to the park on a rolling bar.  One of the Capitol Hill bars would be wise to buy one of these bikes, slap their logo all over it, and serve up the suds on the way to and from the game.

(Image removed from quote.)

http://www.soapboxmedia.com/features/013112pedalwagon.aspx

One of the bars has a six-seat pedicab. This is way cooler though.

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #56: February 12, 2012, 12:28:21 PM »
From their Facebook page

Ballpark Bus to Nationals Park
We are pleased to announce that Velocity Five Centreville is now an Official Ballpark Bus Station! They're conveniently located right off of I-66 near the intersection of Rt 28 and Rt 29. More details coming soon…

Offline OldChelsea

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #57: February 12, 2012, 01:01:08 PM »
Something that might affect some people's decisions (good to know generally as well if, like me, one takes Metro to the matches) - proposed Metrorail/bus fare increases with effect from this coming July:

Fare Changes

The General Manager’s operating budget projects $66 million in new revenue from fare changes that will be the subject of public hearings in February and March. In addition to generating revenue to balance the budget, the proposed series of fare adjustments are designed to simplify the fare structure; create more user-friendly fares for out-of-town visitors and occasional riders; encourage the use of SmarTrip cards; and improve boarding time on bus for cash fares.

The proposed rail fare adjustments would:

Eliminate the peak-of-the-peak (POP) surcharge
Increase peak-period SmarTrip fares (used by 4 out of 5 riders) by an average of less than five percent with a maximum peak fare of $5.75
Better align off-peak SmarTrip fare structure to peak-period fare structure, which would:
           Increase base off-peak fare from $1.60 to $1.70 per trip
           Index off-peak mileage fares to peak fares
Set the maximum off-peak fare at $3.50.
Simplify paper farecard pricing to two-period flat-fares – a $6 flat fare during peak periods and $4 off peak (Paper farecards are primarily used by occasional riders and out-of-town visitors.)
Eliminate the short-trip pass and day pass

The proposed bus fare adjustments would:

Increase SmarTrip local bus fares by a dime, from $1.50 to $1.60
Round cash boarding to nearest dollar -- $2 for local/limited stop bus; $4 for express bus (no change to airport routes)
The proposal also includes a 25-cent increase in parking fees, rebalances the number of reserved parking permits, and decreases the bike locker rental fee to $120 annually. MetroAccess fares would be adjusted commensurate with rail and bus increases, with a maximum of $7.40 per trip.

[Full page from which above was excerpted: http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=5122]

Offline CALSGR8

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #58: February 12, 2012, 01:42:33 PM »
Going to Nats games would be Peak going there and non-peak going home.  Weekends would be all non-peak.

Offline Obed_Marsh

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #59: February 12, 2012, 02:42:55 PM »
I'd be much more interested if it was a Keg Bus. Granted the only time I seem to get out to the burbs is for a crazy house party.


Offline CALSGR8

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #60: February 12, 2012, 06:04:21 PM »
I read on Facebook they will have a bus from Velocity in CENTREVILLE!  AWSOME!

Offline RobDibblesGhost

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #61: February 12, 2012, 06:57:21 PM »
They also announced Greene Turtle in Ballston and Velocity Five in Centreville as stops.  Both of those work pretty well for me coming from both home and work, so I might give it a shot.  It'll be interesting to see how much they charge...

Offline comish4lif

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #62: February 12, 2012, 07:02:30 PM »
They also announced Greene Turtle in Ballston and Velocity Five in Centreville as stops.  Both of those work pretty well for me coming from both home and work, so I might give it a shot.  It'll be interesting to see how much they charge...

Anyone see what their pricing looks like yet?

Offline NatsFanSince2005

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #63: February 12, 2012, 07:11:29 PM »
Anyone see what their pricing looks like yet?
Yep. I feel like it needs to be not more than the metro for me to feel like it's justified using it. I know it's a bit  more convenient and fewer people use it, so that means it won't be equal to or cheaper than the metro.

Does anyone know if it's available for EVERY home game?

Offline RobDibblesGhost

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #64: February 12, 2012, 07:22:34 PM »
From the western suburbs, it costs $4.50 to park at Metro, then roughly $8.00 (rounding up slightly) for roundtrip fare.  That'll be my baseline - if it's much more expensive than Metro round trip, I'll be hesitant to use it.  It sounds like a really good concept, so I hope it works out.

I imagine they will have to have more than one bus.  I can't imagine a bus leaving Dulles Town Centre, going down 28 to Centreville (a horrible mess during evening rush hour), than in on 66 with a stop in Ballston en route.  Does anyone know if there are more stops to be announced?

Offline NatsFanSince2005

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #65: February 12, 2012, 07:37:37 PM »
I typically pay $12-13 round trip plus parking each time I visit Nats Park. I can't really see myself spending more than $15 for a bus, plus often times bus drivers expect tips, that raises the cost even more.

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #66: February 12, 2012, 08:02:21 PM »
The three stops so far:

Green Turtle Ballston
Green Turtle Dulles Town Center
Velocity 5 Centreville

I suspect they will have separate buses for each stop. And you won't have to tip, I bet.

Cost would have to be competitive with Metro but I would pay a bit more for the convenience.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #67: February 12, 2012, 08:36:31 PM »
Cost would have to be competitive with Metro but I would pay a bit more for the convenience.

I think that the fun factor is the bigger selling point over convenience. 

It does sound like they will have separate buses for each stop, although for a place like Arlington they may want to consider making two or three stops along the Orange line corridor, and even for the other stops further out they may find it easier to fill the buses if they make more than one stop.  I'd be a big fan of taking a bus if I lived close enough to a stop where I could walk home.

Offline NatsFanSince2005

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #68: February 12, 2012, 08:42:32 PM »
The three stops so far:

Green Turtle Ballston
Green Turtle Dulles Town Center
Velocity 5 Centreville

I suspect they will have separate buses for each stop. And you won't have to tip, I bet.

Cost would have to be competitive with Metro but I would pay a bit more for the convenience.
It's great that they are getting this going, but are these the only options for the forseeable future? They're all in the Western direction, how about South, or North into MD?

Offline jwmann2

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #69: February 12, 2012, 08:55:07 PM »
Hopefully this will help the attendance a little bit. Parking in D.C is a headache and I'm sure many people just don't want to deal with the traffic.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #70: February 12, 2012, 09:05:54 PM »
Hopefully this will help the attendance a little bit. Parking in D.C is a headache and I'm sure many people just don't want to deal with the traffic.

Parking is a headache?  Only for a few games a year, for the most part it's a breeze.  Can't argue on the traffic getting to the park but going home to the far side of Alexandria it's 20 minutes after getting in my car.

Offline tomterp

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #71: February 12, 2012, 09:34:49 PM »
It's great that they are getting this going, but are these the only options for the forseeable future? They're all in the Western direction, how about South, or North into MD?

They are planning based on response to their surveys.  Vote for the corridor you'd be interested in traveling in from.

Offline Nathan

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #72: February 12, 2012, 09:44:37 PM »
They are planning based on response to their surveys.  Vote for the corridor you'd be interested in traveling in from.

I missed the survey, is there a link?

Offline tomterp

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #73: February 12, 2012, 10:29:15 PM »
I missed the survey, is there a link?

Yeah, it's buried in their facebook page.  They ask a question every week or so it seems.

http://www.facebook.com/ballparkbus#!/ballparkbus?sk=questions


Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: Ballpark bus to Nationals Park
« Reply #74: February 13, 2012, 08:28:05 AM »
I think they are planning on a bus from Hagersburg as soon as they can find it on the map.