Red Line

Gallery Place China Town

Transit has a different feel this year.

I’ve been off and on the D.C. metro very infrequently the last three years. Now that I no longer have to contend with the daily rush-hour traffic, and the pre-Rona rituals of making sure I time my train correctly and download various texts and audio files, in case of an underground delay, the metro seems less draining.

There have still been a few delays and random pauses throughout my trips, but they’ve been less irritating since my time on the train has lost the repetitiveness of a commute.

I no longer feel the need to position myself in a specific car to shorten my schlep to the escalators, the delusion to feeling that I’m shortening my trip, being purposeful with steps, saving time. Transit math?

Granted it’s been just over a month and most of my travels have not had hard start times. I also haven’t had to read through, and respond to emails while commuting, so perhaps that has improved my experience.

For years now I have been talking about learning to navigate the bus lines, and I’ve done it twice so far this year. Both times the card reader was malfunctioning so the rides were free, but there’s something about highway traffic, or really just car traffic in general, that I take annoyance with.

The busses — at least the ones along my routes — also lack the demarcation of an arrival clock. The stationary non-digital pole with lettered routes just throw me for a loop.

Sure the “DLY” sign isn’t all that helpful, but its still an interactive message as opposed to a scudzed over bus map, weatherd by time and nature.

Somewhere near metro center.

This is a red line train to Shady Grove the next station is