<p>People starting posting some travel thoughts on the following link:</p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-virginia/1542623-i-95-closed-sat-sun-aug-17-18-delaware.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-virginia/1542623-i-95-closed-sat-sun-aug-17-18-delaware.html</a></p>
<h2>In addition, we should broaden the discussion to any suggestions that people have for traveling to and from UVa by car, air, rail, or high speed vacuum tube.</h2>
<h2>How are people finding other students to share a ride? In the old days, there used to be a bulletin board using a map and push pins in Newcomb, which actually worked pretty well. I guess now people mainly use UVa student facebook pages? </h2>
<p>For Amtrak, try to buy your tickets as far in advance as possible. The prices go up as more of the tickets are sold on a particular train. You will also see that the prices sometimes vary tremendously depending upon the time of day that the train leaves. The highest prices are around Thanksgiving. They also sell out of seats for Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>In brown college there was an email list we used to ask for rides.</p>
<p>Amtrak was terrible when I was on grounds - one time I had to walk all the way to the station because the trolley was not running at that time (back when they did not run on Sundays) and then the trains were always delayed. However now that they have internet it is much better for travel.</p>
<p>My d’s boyfriend, who lives in DC, uses Amtrak to visit her every few weeks. I was surprised that: 1, there is regular Amtrak service to Cville from DC (three trains per day, including weekends, I believe); and 2, trains run at reasonable times, by which I mean somewhat compatible with a typical work schedule. </p>
<p>Re traveling by car - someone recently posted on another thread that traffic on 29 is way more congested than you’d think it could possibly be, considering the total number of people in the area. I couldn’t agree more.</p>
<p>My son regularly takes Amtrak and seems happy with it. He does enjoy the free wireless and the ability to get up and walk around and stretch (unlike a bus). Amtrak is particularly useful during Thanksgiving week because you can bypass all of the severe traffic congestion. Amtrak is also a great way to travel during snowy and icy conditions.</p>
<p>However, he has learned to take the straight trip from Cville by train, as opposed to bus/train combination. During certain times of the day, Amtrak offers a bus to DC that then connects to the train. However, twice that bus arrived very late in Cville and once there wasn’t enough room on the bus for everyone who had “reserved seats.” If you do take the bus/train combination, make sure there is a later Amtrak train available in case the bus is too late for your scheduled connection. Usually there is another Amtrak train leaving an hour later from DC, which works out.</p>
<p>That bus is terrible. Definitely avoid the bus. I did it once and that was enough for me!</p>
<p>I think there’s a train that goes to NoVa metro and stops at the East Falls Church stop. Not sure</p>
<p>I don’t know of any train that goes from Cville to a Metro station stop, other than Union Station in DC and New Carrollton MD. As of a couple years ago, there was a weekend bus service that connected from UVa to a Metro station in No.Va. I haven’t checked to see if it still runs.</p>
<p>HomeRide ([Home</a> Ride of Virginia](<a href=“http://www.homeride.com/]Home”>http://www.homeride.com/)) provides buses from VT, UVA, JMU, VCU, and Hamtons area to NorthernVA, dropping off at Vienna Metro. The buses run north/east on Fridays and south/west on Sundays. They seem to have expanded service a little bit too. I used it a couple of times in college and it was clean, safe, and somewhat economical. It was great for folks without cars, but a trip back to NOVA is cheaper in gas than the bus</p>
<p>Just as a fyi, even when portions of I-95 are not officially closed, I avoid it like the plague. ;)</p>
<p>There is the state’s VRE rail service from Manassas to DC and from Fredericksburg to DC, but that only operates weekdays and is timed mainly to serve commuters. I mention it in response to a comment above about rail service that connects with NoVa Metro stations. It connects to the Springfield station for example. However, VRE does not come close to Cville.</p>
<p>For Maryland folks, they could Amtrak to Union Station and MARC to wherever. VRE also connects with Amtrak there. Both are during the week only though</p>
<p>Also, for airports:
- CHO: this will almost always require a connection, unless you’re going to one of the hubs of the major carriers out of CHO. Small airport, easy security though. Can cab/catch rides up there
- DCA: you can a) Amtrak to Union Station and Metro down to the airport easily or b) HomeRide it to Vienna and catch the Metro or a bus straight to DCA
- IAD: you can a) Amtrak to Union Station and catch a bus straight to IAD from L’Enfant (two stops away) b) HomeRide to Vienna and catch a bus straight there
4)BWI: you can Amtrak to Union Station and catch a MARC train ($6) straight to BWI terminal. Very easy, but limited to weekdays. Weekends requires Metro…</p>
<p>I live/work in DC and will be happy to provide Metro/bus info for folks. It’s really quite easy and DCA/IAD/BWI can yield cheaper tickets</p>