Do you think Metro has grown unreliable and become downright unpleasant? Or are you happy with your commutes on rail and bus? Does the thought of the intercounty connector (ICC) keep you up at night or does it seem like it's long overdue? And what of the moves by Maryland and Virginia to encourage the private sector to build road projects, such as widening the Capital Beltway?

Washington Post staff writers Lena H. Sun and Eric Weiss were online Monday, June 30 at 11 a.m. ET to answer your questions, feel your pain and share the drama of getting from Point A to Point B.

A transcript follows.

Discussion Archive

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Eric Weiss: Good morning commuters!

What's on tap for your July 4? Some long driving vacation in your Land Rover? Or just going back and forth on the Orange Line, hereafter referred to in this chat as the "Orange Crush."

Hit us with your questions (which we will pretend to know the answers to) your complaints (which we will validate) and your suggestions (which we will steal as our own).

Go ahead!

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Bethesda, Md.: Yesterday I saw something that's far too common: someone crossing the street when they DIDN'T have a walk sign, and almost getting hit by a car. Naturally this pedestrian had a few choice words for the driver's mother for not slowing down and letting him cross, but it strikes me that the pedestrian was in the wrong for crossing the street when there was clearly traffic, and when the signals did not give him right of way at the time.

But I later got to thinking -- what if (God forbid) an accident HAD happened, whereby a pedestrian crossing the street when he wasn't supposed to gets hit by a car that actually had right of way? In such a scenario, who would legally be at fault?

Eric Weiss: Good question. If a pedestrian is in a crosswalk, driver is in the wrong. If pedestrian is jaywalking, pedestrian is in the wrong. However, the driver of the car (which weighs a lot) should yield if at all possible if he sees the scofflaw.

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Penn Quarter: Any information about why there were transit police lined up on the Shady Grove side of the Red line platform Sunday afternoon around 4:30 pm?

Eric Weiss: There were both Washington Nationals and DC United games yesterday afternoon.

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Fairfax - bikes on buses: I wrote in about how the bike racks work on the buses. I decided to go to a bus waiting area, and the driver could not have been nicer. He showed me how it works, then I did it a couple of times - sans bike- but the driver was very patient. I'll let you know the result next week!

Eric Weiss: Since we got the question last week, I looked more closely at the bike racks on the buses and there are printed directions on there.

They are pretty easy to pull down, and then it's just a matter of plopping your bike's two wheels in the slots (it's pretty obvious where they go) and then securing it with an arm that goes on top of one of the wheels.

Good luck!

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Washington, DC: With gas prices not expected to really ever drop, what plans does metro have to accommodate the new users? Aren't they already at capacity? Is that horrid senator from Oklahoma still preventing a source of dedicated funding??

Lena Sun: Hi there. That thought has also occurred to Metro. General Manager John Catoe has asked his planning staff to come up with a contingency plan, which is being worked on now. Some of the topics they have said they want to address include working with employers to mandate more flex-time, figuring out a way to increase parking at end-of-the-line suburban lots, dedicated lanes or right-of-ways for buses.

There is more capacity for the train on either side of the height of rush hour, but not everyone has the job flexibility to get to work later. Lots of capacity on Metrobus though.

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DC: Is anyone at the Post, either on the transportation or DC beat, going to do any follow up reporting on Marion Barry's "accident" with a Metrobus and Metro's $3000 payout for the $2000 in damages to his Mercedes? This story involves only a small amount of money, but I think it has an outsized impact on the perception of members of Congress regarding further investments in DC transit.

Lena Sun: Hi. I'm the reporter who wrote the story about Mr. Barry's accident claim. At the moment, I'm not planning to do another story unless Mr. Barry decides to give back $1,000 of the $3,200 Metro paid to cover his Mercedes repair bill of $2,200.

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Washington, DC: I recently moved from Virginia to the District, and simultaneously have sold my old car (registered in VA) and bought a new one (now registered in DC).

I want to keep my EZPass, which is a godsend on the drive up to New York - but it doesn't appear that DC offers EZPass? Any ideas on what I can do here? There must be DC residents with EZPass, but I can't find anything on the Internet on how to get one (or transfer my Virginia one).

Eric Weiss: You can register for EZ Pass anywhere (I did it in New Jersey because we go up there all the time) but many in the DC area register in Maryland.

You can also register in Virginia at:

https://www.ezpassva.com/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

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66er: I travel 66 in the mornings and have so for about two years now. What is the deal with the increased traffic once school lets out? Last year, it would take nearly 90 minutes for me to commute from 28 to Tyson's. Today, it was at 70 minutes. During the winter, it's between 35 and 45 minutes. It saves me time to drive all the way up to the toll road and come in that way now. Can anyone tell me why this is

Eric Weiss: Hmm. I though school's out means fewer cars on the road.

Anybody else notice this?

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Rockville, Md.: I have asked about this before, but really I don't remember the "track noise" between stations that we have now. Many places are too loud for conversation and may even damage our hearing. In the first years, it seemed very quiet. What has caused this change? Can they fix it? Or pay for the fix?

Lena Sun: Where are you riding from? If you can give a specific location that would help.

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Washington, D.C.: Every article about the increased use of public transit due to high gas prices talks about how it is hard to add capacity because it takes years to get new buses/trains even if there is funding. Why? Why should it take so much longer to manufacture buses and train cars than automobiles?

Lena Sun: It takes a long time to order new rail cars because they are custom-made and there aren't very many manufacturers left. You can't go to Wal-Mart and get these off the shelf. Each transit system has different specifications for their power, train automation and a gazillion other systems. So transit agencies have to decide what they want, put the contract out for bid, and then the cars are built. Start to finish about 5 years.

Buses take less time, I think, maybe 2 to 3 years. Same deal, although there are more buses out there, but again, everybody has different specs.

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Alexandria, Va.: I ride the 21 bus to and from Alexandria to the Pentagon. Most of the time, the buses are older models (the rehabilitated models). These buses are fine except when there is heavy rain outside it rains a little inside the bus as well. Do you know if Metro plans to phase out these older buses any time soon?

Lena Sun: Metro is buying about 100 buses a year, I think, over five years, and the idea is to replace the older buses.

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Rockville, Md.: Are we planning or building for the past?

How many of these road projects (ICC or HOT) will even be needed in five years? How many cars do we expect on the roads? Who will be able to pay the tolls? Why decides what numbers to use? Will this turn out to be a mistake? Or will things stay the same?

Eric Weiss: How much time do we have? Are you a book agent?

"According to projections by the Council of Governments, although the region's population will increase 25 percent over the next 25 years, traffic -- measured in lane miles of congestion -- will increase more than 40 percent. In the outer suburbs, congestion is projected to double."

That was from a story I wrote in May.

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If a pedestrian is in a crosswalk, driver is in the wrong.: Even when the ped is crossing against the light? This doesn't seem right.

Eric Weiss: If a pedestrian is in a crosswalk and walking against the light, they are jaywalking. However, try to convince a police officer who responds to the scene of an injured pedestrian lying in the middle of a crosswalk.

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Washington DC: I had the opportunity to take the Baltimore subway this morning from Penn Station to Johns Hopkins Hospital. I was struck by how much cleaner the stations and cars seem to be -- All though not as sleek from the outside. They have automated station announcements, clear and easy to understand unlike most of the manual announcements in our city. I also noticed that the tunnels are extremely well lit (great in an emergency), again unlike our fair city that has an arguable greater emergency potential.

Even on our new cars we seem to be falling short of "Baltimore" standards. What gives?

Lena Sun: The Baltimore system is much newer, built in the early 80s, I think, compared to 1976 when Metrorail opened. It is also a far smaller system, with a lot fewer passengers and trains. That being said, I agree with you that there are some fixes Metro can make to communications that won't cost an arm and a leg.

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Rockville, Md:. How expensive would it be to make the stations long enough for 10 or 12 car trains? Or should they stop twice?

Lena Sun: Sounds like you have been on one or more of those eight-car trains that didn't stop at the right place on the platform? It would be prohibitively expensive to make the stations "longer." And I'm not sure it's a good idea to have a train stop twice. Some of the operators are having a hard enough time stopping the train once.

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Franconia, Va.: I showed up at Franconia-Springfield on Saturday morning to learn that they were single-tracking due to "previously scheduled maintenance".

Did Metro inform anyone of this? It was news to me, and I ride Metro every day. There was also Orange Line work that also didn't appear to be publicized.

Lena Sun: Yup. Like death and taxes, it's a pretty sure bet that Metro will be doing weekend track work. They finalize the locations in the latter part of each week and usually put out their notices on the website by Thursday.

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Alexandria, Va.: I am REALLY frustrated with the construction that is part of the Telegraph Road interchange project. In some respects I think it's even WORSE than the Wilson Bridge construction. It looks like they're currently in the process of removing the soundwall between Eisenhower and Telegraph to widen the road in that stretch. However, it makes absolutely no sense why BOTH loops of the beltway need to be reduced to 3 lanes between these 2 exits. What are they doing on the inner loop in that stretch, and why in the world do they decide to add the 4th lane back just before the Eisenhower merge? This has got to be one of the worst configured construction zones in the area. Has the success of the Wilson Bridge and Mixing Bowl construction management spoiled me, or should we be expecting better traffic management from this project as well?

This project has also seen a lot of daytime construction that has ruined many afternoon rush hours (more than any day of the Wilson Bridge construction aside from the weekend re-allignment activities)!! VDOT needs to hold the contractors in charge of this project up to the same standards as those who worked on the Mixing Bowl and Wilson Bridge, because all the hard work and time that went to smooth those projects has been lost in this project.

Eric Weiss: In their defense, project planners held off on ramping up work on Telegraph Road until the work on the bridge and other interchanges were well on their way. They have also put in place a dynamic speed limit system that will hopefully allow traffic to flow through the construction easier.

It ain't gonna be pretty, but it seems the same attention to detail and staging has been given to the Telegraph Road portion of the project as to the bridge and Routes 1 and 210 work.

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Fairfax, Va.: Are we ever in our lifetimes going to see 4 lanes on I-95 between DC and Richmond, and improved interchanges in Fredericksburg?

Sunday night drives seem to only get worse through this stretch, and aside from adding more exits, more houses, and more stripmalls, NOTHING is being done to reduce what is now a 2-3 hour drive to go about 30 miles!

Eric Weiss: My colleague, Mike Shear, who used to cover the General Assembly in Richmond had noticed the same thing. Every year that drive gets worse and worse. Maybe that's why he took the easy way out and is now covering John McCain.

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Alexandria, VA:1 hour and 20 minutes there and 1.5 hours back!!!!

That's how long it took me to get to and from the Nats/O's game yesterday from Huntington. SIMPLY ABSURD!!!! I'm not a normal rider, but I didn't want to take the Nats Express because of the soccer game at RFK.

Metro has got to step up to the plate. It wasn't like the trains were empty (there wasn't an empty seat on any of the trains I was on). They were still running trains 15 minutes apart, stopping before platforms, and sitting 3-5 minutes on platforms before moving (both lines and both directions so it wasn't isolated to one driver).

I could have rode my bicycle or jogged to and from the game faster. How can people stand to ride this incredibly inefficient system! I can only imagine how long it would take to get to a game from Shady Grove (2 hours+ maybe).

Eric Weiss: Big crowd for the Nats-Os--38,000 plus. Also, DC United was playing that team that has that British underwear model on it.

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Alexandria, VA: Actually, a (vaguely) famous person was hit not too long ago in D.C. A cop immediately cited him for jaywalking, which raised hackles but was the correct call (and the driver probably appreciated it).

Eric Weiss: Yes, I remember the case. He was jaywalking across Connecticut Avenue in front of the Uptown.

I've done the same thing and I am ashamed.

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Arlington, Va.: Lena, have you had any updates or followed up on the story you did last year about rowdy youths on the Metro trains? Any word on the success or lack thereof of Metro's campaign of "Respect: Give it. Get it."?

Lena Sun: Sigh. This is a tough one for General Manager John Catoe. Kind of like that boulder poor Sisyphus was forever pushing up a hill. This is a bigger problem during the school year, but I have heard from a few riders recently who said they were appalled by the behavior of rowdy teens who were cursing aboard a crowded train on the Green line headed to a Saturday night baseball game.

Are many of you out there finding this to be the case now on the weekends or weeknights on the way to baseball games? If so, message me directly at sunL@washpost.com

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Re:"Yesterday I saw something that's far too common: someone crossing the street when they DIDN'T have a walk sign, and almost getting hit by a car."

Am I the only person who thinks that jaywalking in the DC area has gotten bad to epic proportions? It's as if so many people feel they are the only person in the world and should be able to walk wherever and whenever they want. D.C. now has to post "traffic managers" at key intersections downtown to keep traffic flowing, and I walk across the K Street/Connecticut Avenue intersection everyday, and it seems they have to be there to keep jaywalkers from shutting down traffic! What gives?

Eric Weiss: Actually, I think jaywalking has gotten better in the District with the countdown signs. But since everyone has a cellphone or ipod connected, distraction is way up.

The rules are clear: Only vehicles are allowed in the streets and pedestrians are only allowed in marked crosswalks.

What is really annoying (hello, Silver Spring) are traffic lights that make pedestrians wait and wait and wait until they get the all-clear.

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Arlington, VA: Several years ago, New Jersey E-ZPass began imposing a $1/month administrative fee. (They call it a "membership fee") I grew up in the Garden State, but I have no loyalty where junk fees are concerned, so I switched to Maryland; this was before Virginia joined the system. I don't think there are any residency restrictions on where you can sign up for an E-ZPass account.

Eric Weiss: You are correct and I still hate former Gov. Jim McGreevey for instituting that fee. However, I'm too lazy to investigate fee-free states, turn in my EZ-Pass transponder and fill out more paperwork.

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Washington, DC: What good is more "flex time" going to do when the Metro parking lots and garages are full so early in the day?

Lena Sun: EXACTLY the point. When I asked the planing folks, they said one of the things they are looking into is setting aside parking spaces for car-poolers.

Which brings up another host of issues. How many of you are seriously looking to change your behaviors and ways to get to work because of the gas prices? What are the factors in your decision as you have this conversation (with yourself, your bosses, friends and relatives?)

Would love to hear from you. Please email me directly: SUNL@washpost.com

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takoma DC: My 4th of July plans? Walk from my apartment to the Takoma Park parade...walk in the parade...walk home...walk to the Takoma Park fireworks...walk home again. Ah, I brag. Sorry.

Eric Weiss: Dodge speeders on Philadelphia Avenue, walk home.

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Gaithersburg, Md.: I wanted to commend Metro on finally starting to clearly announce problems on Metrorail. Twice in the past 2 weeks I have heard announcements that clearly stated the problem, where it was, what the delays were (and they sounded like reasonable estimates, not just the standard 10 minutes), and when the problem was expected to be resolved. Neither issue affected my commute directly, but it was nice to hear that Metro is trying to communicate more quickly about issues and delays and to give out thorough and hopefully accurate information.

Lena Sun: Thanks for that comment. I assume from your post that you are on the Red Line?

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Chevy Chase, MD: Hi,

I commute from Friendship Heights to Reston for work daily. I have a few questions for you... Is there any available public transportation to get from my area to Reston so I can cut down on my auto usage? Also, is there any way to avoid the traffic exiting the toll road and getting onto the beltway at drive home time? I've noticed the traffic has been unusally bad lately. Any advice?

Thanks!

Eric Weiss: You would have to take the Red Line downtown from Friendship Heights station and change to the Orange Crush outbound to West Falls Church Metro.

Then you can take Fairfax Connector bus 505 951 or 952 to Sunset Hills Road and Wiehle Avenue.

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re: "stopping twice": I think that Rockville was actually asking whether it was possible that trains that are longer than the station could be used where the last two cars are outside the platform and then the train moves forward to discharge passengers in those two last cars. It actually isn't a bad suggestion, although I believe that it would require giving the operator the ability to open the doors of only specific cars, which doesn't exit now, as far as I know.

Lena Sun: Running trains longer than 8-cars presents a power issue for Metro. At the moment, Metro's power substations are in the process of being upgraded to allow them to run more eight-car trains during rush hour. An 8-car train uses 30 percent more power. At the moment, there's only enough electricity to allow them to run every third train as an "eight-pack," as the transit guys call them.

The power is being upgraded and I believe the plan is to be running every other train as an "eight-pack" by next year, when all the new rail cars will have been tested, the power stations upgraded, and the precision-stopping mechanism fine-tuned as well.

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Arlington, Va.: I had a really unpleasant experience with my bicycle on a bus on Friday. I use them a lot, but this was the worst. I was waiting for the bus to Herndon in Rosslyn. I was about the 6th person to arrive at the stop. I pulled up next to the person waiting at the stop sign (most people were not in line yet, but were sitting in the stop). By the time the bus arrived 30 minutes late, I had not moved, but there was quite a line. Even though I was the second person in line, the bus driver screamed at me to remove my bicycle from the rack and leave because I was not at the end of line (of people who had arrived after me).

I don't mind riding my bicycle to Herndon, but not when I am not planning to. I was 2 hours late for my camping trip and had to put together my campsite at 11pm. Thanks to a jerk bus driver, I had a horrible start to my vacation.

Eric Weiss: That is bizarre. If you got the name of the operator or the bus number or anything I would forward it to Metro.

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Washington, DC: Weird question here. Over near Catholic University just past the train tracks there is a Puerto Rico Avenue NE. Obviously DC has avenues named for all 50 states, but that's the only one I know of named for a territory. It doesn't bother me, just strikes me as weird, and my questions are (a) do you know why there is this odd exception and (b) how come there is no Guam Avenue, Virgin Islands Avenue (OK, that street sign might get vandalized), American Samoa Avenue, etc? What makes Puerto Rico special?

Eric Weiss: Puerto Rico is the shining pearl of the Carribbean filled with wonderful, warm people. The perfect place for a wedding, honeymoon or business meeting.

http://www.gotopuertorico.com/

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Silver Spring, Md.: I just want to let people know that the traffic people in MoCo actually do answer emails. I wrote to them about the lights being out of sync along Georgia Ave. and they responded twice; first with an acknowledgment and the second (about two weeks later) with the actual reason for the problem and solution planned. So keep writing.

Eric Weiss: Let's have a cheer for MoCo public servants!

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Alexandria, Va.: I went to Saturday night's baseball game and yesterday's soccer game. Drove to baseball after seeing that the traffic for games earlier this year wasn't bad, and it turned out to be fine on Saturday night (and we were very glad to have the car there when the storm rolled in).

For soccer, we drove to my office downtown, parked there, and took the Orange Line. After the game, Metro didn't run any extra trains, so the platform at Stadium-Armory quickly became rather overcrowded to the point where I noticed that people were having trouble moving off the bottom of the escalators onto the platforms. When a train came, it was a 6-car train. What was the story here? Obviously I know the Nationals were playing at the same time, and obviously I know yesterday was probably the second-biggest crowd United will draw this year (CD Guadalajara will draw a HUGE crowd on July 12) and thus Metro doesn't necessarily plan to accommodate soccer, but when you have people stacking up on moving escalators, it seems to me you have a problem.

Lena Sun: Just doublechecked with Metro and they said they were supposed to be running extra 6-car trains and 8-car trains after the soccer game. It's possible that soccer fans stayed until the end (unlike baseball when people dribble out at different times, especially when the Nationals are doing so badly), causing the additional crowding at the station.

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Washington, D.C.: I work downtown near Hecht's and I've noticed recently that F Street between 14th and 15th has frequently been blocked off with fences. The closures don't appear to be related to the construction at the Hotel Washington because there are cars parked on the street and the cops (or maybe they are rent-a-cops) will allow some vehicles to use that block. Do you perchance have any idea what these closures are all about?

Eric Weiss: Hmm. Might be a security issue. Checking with the District Department of Transportation.

Maybe you found Cheney!

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Eric Weiss: For the questioner

There's a Trinidad Avenue, Jamaica Street, Andrei Sakharov Place and Unicorn Lane.

But still no J Street.

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Gaithersburg, Md.: Energy consumption is a big issue for Metro, and getting more so. I inquired recently of Metro brass if they'd thought of getting motion detectors installed to control lights in parking garages (the Grosvenor garage is a huge energy hog) and got the brush off. Does Metro have an energy strategy for those of us who don't look forward to another fare and/or parking fee hike anytime soon?

Lena Sun: There was a proposal that staff had suggested some time ago to overhaul the headquarters building, which is very energy-INefficient, and other measures, such as switching to energy-efficient lights that cost more up front but provide savings in the long run.

But I don't think the board has made a final decision yet because there are considerable upfront costs.

Metro is already in the process of doing that with the flashing platform edge lights. Stations with red ones (instead of the white ones)are the newer energy-efficient kind.

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Lena Sun: Thanks folks for all your good questions and helpful comments. Please keep us posted about your commute as we head into this new and scary territory of ever-increasing gas prices.

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