Ride or Drive? Revisiting the Cost of a Metro Commute.

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

When I arrived at the Shady Grove station, my SmarTrip card was locked out, and I was told to see the station manager, who informed me that I "had left the station on Sept. 29 without paying." I explained what had happened in that situation, but he held firm.

I would love for someone from Metro to explain why I am being charged for services not rendered.

Gordon Harold Mehlman

Rockville

Here's what Joanne Ferreira, a Metro spokeswoman, said about that in an e-mail:

"First, let us offer an apology to Mr. Mehlman because the station manager he talked to should have been more accommodating and reset the customer's SmarTrip card at the kiosk."

If passengers who use SmarTrip cards must evacuate a station, they can phone the SmarTrip customer service center at 888-SMARTRIP (888-762-7874) or send an e-mail to smartrip@wmata.com to request an electronic refund.

If you have the opportunity when leaving a station after a disruption, touch your SmarTrip card at the fare gate to avoid delays the next day.

Which Way?

Readers said they enjoyed the recent Sunday "Which Way" commuter page feature [Nov. 4] comparing trips on Maryland's Route 29 and Interstate 95.

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

I love the idea of comparing different commuter routes. How many times have we stewed in our cars, convinced that the route we didn't take would have been faster?

Pitting Route 29 against I-95 from Columbia to Silver Spring was a good choice, and I was with you until the last bit of the I-95 driver's commute. He reached the Capital Beltway, then drove past Route 29, exited at Georgia Avenue and then backtracked to Route 29.

That part of the comparison was not realistic. A real commuter would have exited at Route 29 and probably matched your time getting to the restaurant.

Patty Hardee

Falls Church

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

Since I live on Burnt Mills Avenue, I was very interested in your "Which Way" feature.

I, of course, was hoping that the I-95 route would win so more drivers would not be encouraged to take Route 29. Although it does not appear that the I-95 route would have won, I was dumbfounded that Steven Ginsberg chose the Georgia Avenue exit off the Capital Beltway.

Why on earth did he do that? No one intending to go to downtown Silver Spring coming from the east would stay on the Beltway for one or two additional exits.

He could have gotten off at University Boulevard or Route 29 South instead of taking the farthest exit to his destination. He spent a total of 20 minutes on the Beltway, which could have been significantly reduced if he had not bypassed the other exits.

Kathy Pace

Silver Spring

These readers are quite correct about the shortest route. But we weren't racing. Ginsberg was always going to buy breakfast in downtown Silver Spring. We wanted to give you a couple of different looks at morning traffic in the area and avoid duplicating the drive on Route 29 inside the Beltway.

We'll do more of these comparisons, so please keep watching the commuter page in the Sunday Metro section.

Dr. Gridlock appears Thursdays in the Extras and Sundays in the Metro section. Send e-mails todrgridlock@washpost.comor write to Dr. Gridlock at 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Include your name, community and phone numbers.