Disingenuous Advocates of VRE
I was rather interested to see a letter from Prince William's Dick Peacock write a letter in this morning's Free Lance-Star demanding Spotsylvania join the VRE.
Why should 100,000 Spotsylvanians be taxed to support the 900 people who ride VRE?
Of course, I didn't stop there. Who is Dick Peacock anyway? Why he's a member the board of directors of VARP, a group committed to getting as many people to subsidize VRE riders as possible (mostly Northern Virginians). Not only has he been recognized via resolution by VRE itself, he's been riding VRE for 11 years, and every locality that joins eases the pressure on VRE to raise its fares on those who actually use the service.
Not exactly a disinterested citizen, eh?
I'm sure Mr. Peacock is doing what every citizen has the right to do; participate in political activism. The pet cause here just happens to be a government-sponsored VRE system he personally benefits from. Frankly, I have no problems with Spotsylvania joining VRE, provided that (1) VRE pay for the station, (2) the cost of VRE be joined to the price of the ride, and (3) those who ride VRE and use the service pay for it without the subsidization of the local government, and (4) not a dime of public money goes towards the VRE program. In other words, if you ride VRE you're payin' for it.
No one pays my ride to work, the gas in my car, or the maintenance of my vehicle but yours truly. For VRE to expect an exemption and a 2% gas tax on 100,000 Spotsylvanians to pay for 900 riders is utterly ridiculous. Should bus riders get some form of subsidization too? What about carpool drivers? Vans? Who else gets to dip their hands in the pie?
VRE. One more instance of government doing something it was never designed to do.
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Shaun Kenney 
9 Comments:
VRE isn't worth it at all for folks down here. Maybe for the good people of NOVA it's worth it, but it literally takes 1hr 45m to get from Washington to Fredericksburg -- more for every stop VRE makes too.
It takes about an hour to get from the Pentagon to Fredericksburg via HOV.
In terms of time, I'd rather slug home.
Regressive tax hikes on gas not factoring in quite yet, of course...
But VRE is definitely effective as a method of transit from Fred to NOVa. it allows people sit and do work or simply NOT STRESS OUT IN TRAFFIC.
In the words of Borat: "I like. It's nice."
Maybe if you happened to be near a station. For the rest of us, it served no purpose.
I ought to know, my building was evacuated at 10AM on 9/11 (the floor under our feet shook when the fuel tanks from Flight 11 exploded). I remember everything from that day. Traffic on I-95 was not an issue.
I used to ride VRE; when you throw in the multiple instances of delays, and the time it takes to get from the Alexandria station to my office, it actually takes me less time to drive (and that's in the regular I-95 lanes).
We don't need VRE in Spotsy. What we need is more office space, but that's another discussion.
It takes way too long to get from Union Station to Fredericksburg.
Even from Crystal City, it takes too long.
Slug lanes are by and far the best way to commute IMHO. A "free market" innovation, I must say.
I just wanted to point out that any plan to use general fund revenues to pay for roads would do just that.
Not in the slightest. There's a difference between paying for and maintaining the rails/roads (which we all do), and paying for the method of transport on those rails/roads (which is up to the user).
VRE works fine for folks in NOVA, but on the other side of the Rappahannock? 100,000 people subsidizing 900 rides to work? No way...
This is my commute.
House to VRE station: 10 minutes.
VRE Fredericksburg to Alexandria: 1 hour, 15 minutes.
Bus from Alexandria to my office: 30 minutes (unless the train is delayed and I miss the 6:30 bus, in which case I have to take the 7AM bus, and it's 60 minutes).
Total: 1 hour 55 minutes (2:25).
Without VRE, drive from my house to my office: 1 hour 40 minutes.
Next time, don't be so glib.
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