Hyattsville's unofficial guide to taking the bus

When I had a car, I had no desire to take a bus or the metro.  But now, I have (almost) no desire to own a car.  Driving and parking was very stressful for me.  Having a car was also extremely expensive.  Between parking everywhere (work, home, public), car payment, insurance, gas and maintenance -- I was spending nearly $1,000 per month.  Using Uber Pool, I reduced it to $500 per month.  Using local buses and Metrorail, it's down to less than $100 per month.  And I don't want to go back.

It just takes a little planning

Revolving your life around public transportation takes planning and patience.  It's been helpful for me to realize what's around where I have to go, such as if going home can easily involve the grocery store or library.  I plan out my routes to places I haven't been to yet.  That's how it started out -- taking the bus from my apartment just up Route 1 to Whole Foods.  Now there are so many places I go without having to plan. Don't get overwhelmed, just get on the bus once.  And then do it again.  And again and again.  You'll figure it out.

The bus does take a little longer.  I often have to leave earlier or leave later than if I took a car.  In those moments are opportunities. The opportunity to be a little earlier to where I'm going. The opportunity to get a cup of coffee, read a book, or run another errand nearby.  The opportunity to sit at home for a few more minutes without rushing out the door.

I look at the weather every morning and for a couple of days ahead.  I have an umbrella ready.  I know my schedule for the day and I might take something with me I'll need later.  For example, a reusable shopping bag, my workout clothes, or something to put in the mail.  I usually pack my phone charger for longer trips.

Know your options

Everyone can figure out Metrorail.  We love to throw millions of confused tourists on it every year.  But there are lots of bus options that run through our local neighborhoods that make ditching the car possible.  You can almost get to and from anywhere notable in the region via bus and rail.

Metrobus

WMATA runs buses through the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.  These buses run seven days a week, though not all lines run on weekends.  Most Metrobus service ends around 6 p.m. on Sundays (don't get stuck!).  Some lines cut off early in the evenings and some lines run as late as 11 p.m. or midnight.

Prince George's County "The Bus"

The Bus operates Monday through Friday.  They often have different, but similar, routes and times as Metrobus.  It adds to the options.  They also take riders farther out into the county.  For example, Upper Marlboro, Fort Washington and Brandywine.  Bring a book, because those are long hauls, but doable.  (And you don't have to drive!)  I've taken the bus to Upper Marlboro a couple of times this year, which I'll talk about shortly.

Shuttle-UM

This is the student shuttle for the University of Maryland.  It is free to ride with a pass. Just show your pass when you get on the bus.  Pass are free for Hyattsville and College Park residents and Greenbelt residents pay a $10 fee.

Route 113 is a loop that runs through Hyattsville Monday through Friday only.  It is a great option to get somewhere in Hyattsville or on Campus.  To get to anywhere else, including the College Park Metro, you have to go towards the Regents Garage and switch bus lines there.

Riverdale Park Station metro shuttle

If you get yourself over to Riverdale Park Station (where the Whole Foods is on Baltimore Avenue) and you need to get to the College Park Metro Station or Prince George's Plaza Metro Station, this free shuttle is an option.  It runs daily, every 15 minutes, between 6:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m, as well as 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

It picks up and drops off in front of Whole Foods.  Look for the sign in between the two entrances on 45th Avenue.

How to pay

First, the entire system is integrated with SmartTrip cards.  One SmartTrip card will get you on all Metro and county buses.  It's important when riding a bus that you have a SmartTrip card, because some of your trips will be discounted or free.

The base fare on a Metrobus is $2.  The express and airport buses are more expensive.  The base fare on The Bus is $1.25.

There is a two-hour window where you can transfer between bus and rail for free or a discount with the same SmartTrip card.  Bus-to -rail or rail-to-bus is a $0.50 discount.  All your bus-to-bus swipes in that two-hour period are free after the first trip.  It means you can run to the library, Whole Foods and back home for $1.25 or $2, if you do it in two hours.  It means if you have to take three buses to get somewhere, you can do it for just $1.25 or $2.

It is possible to get your transportation spending down to $70 per month via bus only and $135 or $185 for unlimited bus and rail use.  Metro passes are a beautiful thing.  For $17.50, I ride around everywhere on the bus all week.

Some of the biggest hurdles I had were understanding what the SmartTrip noises were, how to pay if your card is out and you don't have cash or exact change, and how to reload your SmartTrip card if you can't get to a rail station.

There are three or four different noises when you scan your SmartTrip card.  I am still figuring them out, because the driver is driving and doesn't have time to answer everyone's questions.  I think they are that the card was accepted, the card is on a transfer, the card is low, and "yo, pay up, there's no money on this thing."

You can pay a fare in exact bills, coins or a combination.  What I have learned is that you can add money to your SmartTrip card on the bus.  Scan the card, get the rejection buzz, add whatever amount of cash you want ($2, $5, $20, etc.), and rescan your card to get the accepted beep.  And there you go!  A reloaded SmartTrip card -- or at least a SmartTrip card with a two-hour transfer window.

SmartTrip cards can also be reloaded online.  If you reload online, then tap your card to get into a rail station, it will automatically load the card.  However, if you tap your card on a bus, the system takes several hours to load funds, and up to three days for bus passes.

If you find that your funds are not yet accessible to you, the Metro drivers are understanding.  Just explain you bought a pass or reloaded online, you don't have any cash, and you're waiting for it to kick in.  They will still let you ride.

So, you want to get off the bus?

To signal the driver you'd like to get off at the next stop, there are yellow cables on both sides of the bus that you pull.  It's important to know what your stop is and what the stop before your stop is.  Even though most buses have visual and/or audio prompts for the stops, those aren't always accurate.  The bus driver mostly relies on the red Metrobus signs and expects you to pull the cable just after the stop before yours.  Pulling too early or too late can result in the bus ending up at the wrong stop.

Some bus drivers know their routes well and if you tell them where you want to get off, they can make that happen.  However, some bus drivers don't know the routes or the stops and won't be able to help you.  If you make a mistake, just keep trying.  You'll get it.

How to get where you want to go

WMATA Trip Planner and Google Maps (using the directions function, then hitting the bus icon) help me plan my routes.  If I don't like my options on one, I will check the other.  Trip Planner is available on the WMATA homepage, as well as on several DC Metro Transit apps.  When unfamiliar, I will take paper notes of my route options with me, so that I can focus on bus times and not do research when I'm on the move.

I use BusETA and NextBus to scout bus routes, times, and stop locations (which can be tricky!).  BusETA is for WMATA buses.  It gives real and scheduled bus times online and often integrated on DC Metro apps.  I use BusETA on mobile web (not the app), because the times are more reliable.

NextBus is a website and a mobile app that applies to Prince George's County "The Bus," Shuttle-UM, and the DC Circulator.  It gives real time predictions and maps with bus locations.  Pretty cool!

Pro tips

• Bus drivers are really friendly most of the time and they try to be helpful when time and patience allows.  I can't imagine what they see on a daily basis, but they manage to keep their spirits up.  Bless their hearts.
• Metro stations are known for not having bathrooms, however, I had a long trip one day and discovered a nifty compilation of best options.  I absolutely scored at New Carrollton and Wiehle-Reston East.
• Lots of people roll strollers, food carts and suitcases right onto the bus.  Almost all the buses are kneeling buses, which means they can lower down to attempt to meet the curb.
• The buses come at regular intervals (but also earlier and later), so if you don't have a smartphone, they are still pretty reliable.  Each bus line has it's own interval for the time of day and day of the week.
• From approximately 11am to 3pm, it takes longer to get around depending on the line.  There is faster bus service during rush hour.
• Some of the rail stations have lots of bus stops on both sides.  I have missed a couple waiting on the wrong side for a bus.  If there are two sides and it's not easy to figure out, find the bus map, find your route and look if your bus route is on the N/S/E/W side.
• NEVER FORGET: All bus service cuts out early on Sundays. Don't get stuck!

Example long trip

Prince George's County Circuit Court, Upper Marlboro -- Several times, I've taken the bus to and from the Upper Marlboro courthouse.  I cut out Metrorail to save $2-3 each trip.  No matter what, riders have to catch the 21 county bus.  There's a couple of places to meet it, and it was trial and error until I found my best option.  The trip is a total of two hours one-way using public transportation. Beats the $15 to $20 via Uber Pool.

First, I took the F8 Metrobus south towards Cheverly and got off at Hospital Drive & Landover Road.  Then I picked up the A12 county bus south towards Addison Road Metro and got off at Brightseat Road & Maple Ridge Apartments.  Crossed the road to grab the 21 county bus south towards Upper Marlboro.

I recently discovered that if I picked up the 21 bus at New Carrollton, I had access to the Amtrak station, which means bathrooms, indoor seating, places to charge phones, and a full cafe stand.  Spoiled.  To get there, I just grab the F4 from Hyattsville or the T18 from Bladensburg, and I'm set.  It's still two hours, but there's a bathroom and food along the way.

Mistakes

I have made some pretty fatal bus errors. In January, I worked a lot during that snow storm. I was able to take the bus one place and didn't even think about Metro suspending bus service. That was a bad night. 

I have also been caught twice by not realizing bus service cuts out really early on Sundays. One of those Sundays, I was stranded at Starbucks after a Whole Foods shopping trip with no bus, a phone that wouldn't charge, and freezing temperatures. Pastor Ishmael Wilson and associate from Fresh Dry Cleaners drove me home. Thank you!

Then there was a lot of rain one day and I wasn't sure how to get from A to B.  I just missed the 86 bus I needed to catch at 38th and Hamilton. I watched it drive by me as I was almost at the stop.  I ended up just walking to Brentwood in the rain from West Hyattsville Metro. Whatever, I got home to Bladensburg via T18 and found my basement apartment had flooded and knocked out half of my belongings during my last big move. I eventually dried out a few days later.

Take the bus!

I am learning from my bus mistakes, and everyone can, too. I love taking the bus and almost all of my experiences are positive. I love having time to read, encouraging myself to walk if I want, as well as not dealing with the stress of owning a car and driving. I am zipping around the region, as usual.

My challenge to everyone reading this: the next time you see a bus or a bus stop sign near some place you go, get online and figure out where else that bus goes. You just might find you go there, too.

Easter Edition: My love-hate relationship with holiday closures

Another holiday came and went.  There are always people who have to work on these holidays we don't see.  We will still always be able to get gas or watch TV news.  We're always going to be able to go to the movies or order Chinese food.

I've worked in TV news for so long, I only get excited about holidays that happen on old days off.  Like Thanksgiving -- I used to have Thursday/Friday off.

We expect closures on a holiday so people can observe their religions or with their families.  BUT -- and I am so guilty of this -- so many of us are planning for closures, while expecting everything to be open.  This is causing businesses to keep employees working when we should all "be with our families."

My experience yesterday was that Chipolte was closed, but the patios at every nearby restaurant were full.  It caused me to step back and start a discussion.

Your choice to maximize your Airbnb is not my problem

I have empathy.  So much of it, it will be the thing that ultimately kills me.  My empathy causes me to complain about myself on my own blog instead of write a bad Airbnb review about you. 

Because I know you're human and you really act like you care.  I know that your family owns this building.  I know you have several units in here under similar setups.  I know you're working in a family business and doing some pretty cool things with the resources you have.  You didn't have to tell me — I get pretty scary about what I know and what I can do when I want to be. I could be a better guest and just eat this and walk away.

None of this is my problem.

But that ten days of hell was my problem.  Two nights had me finished, but after that point, I'd have to move my bags yet again — and fight you to get my money back.  Fighting requires sleep.  I think sleep is under my bed.  Or wait, did I leave it under my donkey.  Wait, someone said donkey.  Are we in the desert?  No wait, I would probably get more sleep in the desert.

You advertised an upscale hostel-style place to have access to a full kitchen, bathroom and workspace.  I had none of that.  I haven't slept, worked or barely ate this whole time.  You know this.  You know this.  You know that my one bad review will mess up everything you're trying to build, so you are super-nice and super-accommodating, and super-know I just want to get the fuck out and not have to deal with you ever again.  I know you're being a jerk to me trying to make ends meet.  You're setting boundaries.  That's something I should do.

Damn it, stop trying to teach me life lessons with your failures.  It still wasn't okay.

Your entire model was misleading and you are messing with people's lives.  I want to say a lot of swear words here, but I want the soccer moms to read this crappy blog (I am too tired to care to write anything graceful or with purpose or with good PR value.  F*** that, you a******).

Upscale in DC does not mean "we haven't updated a darn anything in the unit since 1993."  Tim Allen had better cabinets on the set of Home Improvement.

A "full kitchen" does not mean "you can't use the kitchen."  I'm sorry, it doesn't.  The very basic things here were left here by the weary travelers of the past.  "Cook full meals here," does not mean "by the way, bring your own can opener and cups."  On top of the fact that if I had to use the kitchen ever -- THERE WAS SOMEONE SLEEPING IN IT.

"Space to work" does not mean that you can never use the workspace.  Crap, I forgot what I was going to write about that.  No, wait.  It was donkeys.  ********* I need some ****** sleep.  ********.

Oh wait.  I remember.  It's that the workspace is also the kitchen table.  And the second bedroom.  The space was not conducive to any two people needing to do anything at the same time.  I wanted to make this post more productive, but after ten days of not sleeping and two days of sleeping in my new space, I just need to dump the rest of what I messaged the Airbnb host (not a review):

I am going to stay through my check out date, but wanted to bring a lot of things to your attention for future guests. 

I appreciate how you all have taken the Airbnb platform and done so many wonderful things to make it simple for hosts and guests.  That is very amazing and necessary gift we all get to share in 2019 that wasn’t possible just a few years ago.

The door codes do make easy entry/exit.  I do appreciate that.  I appreciate the ease with which you’ve made instant booking.  I had a space emergency and needed that -- thank you.  I appreciate the large rug and the ironing board (not used by me). I appreciate the colorfulness ... of the sheets and how they change as people drop in and leave.  I appreciate the attention the cleaning crew gives to this space. 

This setup is not good for long stays.  Everyone is too on top of each other for the price, should be lower or less people.  No privacy at all.  Too overwhelming on some days for not just me. 

Blinds need updating, too old/cheap, hard to manipulate on large windows.  The bathroom blind needs the most attention — won’t close all the way anymore, but the blinds have to be opened to open the windows.  And the windows need attention.  They are difficult or impossible to open, and manipulating them when other people are sleeping is inconsiderate of others. 

Eight people in this situation is too much, especially if you have multiple units in this building set up like this.  One night, some maniac was screaming outside our window for more than 30 minutes, because his girlfriend was staying in an Airbnb you guys also manage.  He wanted to be let in.  And someone else staying here let him in — but while we checked to make sure the other guest was okay, she didn’t want him there.  There are lots of travelers who aren’t necessarily street smart or familiar with other cultures and that puts everyone else at risk.  I advised that person they need to just call police next time. 

But that situation would also have been avoided if the blinds and windows weren’t so difficult to operate.  We could all hear him through the entire condo, because we gave up on trying to shut them. 

One bathroom for 8 people in this setup is not enough for the price.  I had an important meeting early on Saturday morning and two guests who came in at 3am and couldn’t find their door code locked us all out of the bathroom for hours.  I understand this is a rare situation and not your fault, but not only could I not shower, shave, brush my teeth, do my makeup or get my clothes out of the dryer, but I also couldn’t use the other mirror, because turning the light on would have woken up everyone sleeping in the common area.  

The bathroom door needs to be able to be unlocked from the outside.  It can be locked accidentally.  However, on Saturday when two people were sleeping in there, I knocked several times and then tried to unlock the door — but the unlock mechanism does not work.  I couldn’t open the door.  I did text you with no response.  I did not call, because I did not have time to wait to find a bathroom and make due with the situation we were in.  I warned the other folks, who started to leave to make other bathroom plans at 6am on a Saturday morning.  

In talking with another guest, we decided that I should bring the door to your attention, because those guests told us they fell asleep in that deep bathtub after soaking.  That meant that if they had a medical emergency, none of us could get in there and deliver life-saving techniques.  It would have been hours and hours later they were found. 

Not all the disruptions can be managed with ear plugs. 

Bunk beds are too cheap and squeak, shake constantly — when anyone makes a move in bed.  No one can move in bed without waking up someone else or everyone else.  Almost all 8 of us slept horribly last night as a result.  That is separate from all of the noise around.  People with different schedules leaving earlier/coming in late — with no opportunity to not disturb everyone.  Common area should not be intermingled this poorly with major sleeping space.  There is no place to relax or work without disturbing everyone.   

The music at the space on weekends is ridiculous.  The bass coming through the floor has disrupted quite a bit of sleep around here.  It can’t be helped, but we all would have gotten sleep last night if simple things to prevent weren’t an issue.   

Not a good place if anyone needs to do any amount of work.  The dining table is everything for everyone.  The only place to actually work, eat, organize, set something down quickly.  Two of us were working and we both couldn’t help but constantly shake the table on each other.  No place to make a phone call without disturbing anyone else around.  I found a small amount of quiet time before the cleaning crew came in and I was then having to accommodate them. 

Barely any basic kitchen amenities require anyone wanting to have to buy way too much extra stuff to make use of a full kitchen.  For example, a can opener or a steak knife.  I am leaving a couple of extra things that I had in my storage unit.  

The washer is horribly loud.  It would be nice to have detergent available, as that is difficult to travel with and expensive to have to purchase all of these things if needing to use them. 

Many of the lights are out.  Most of the bathroom vanity lights, and it took me four days to figure out another light switch was behind the door.  Poorly positioned, have to close the door to access it.  A note on the door or on the light switch about the location of the other switch would be appreciated by many guests. 

The closet light is out or not working, which makes it very difficult in the dark to see what’s in there without turning on the bedroom light and again waking everyone up.  
There were no hangers in the closet, as advertised.  Someone went and purchased a few.   

The bathroom does need some kind of mat solution.  Anyone getting out of the shower/tub winds up leaving a dangerous amount of water on the floor.  Twice, I’ve gone in after someone else and almost slid across the floor. 

There is no hair dryer, as advertised. 

It was very difficult to take a bath with the shampoo/conditioner/soap dispenser only being located in the separate shower.  It is not easy access for the bathtub.  I had to go back to my storage unit and get mine.   

Just a couple of thoughts.  I appreciate that you’ve made these spaces available to us.  My apologies this is a lot of information.  I'll pick differently next time, but I've booked a few Airbnb's like this and have not had these same issues.

Thanks, audience.  And there's way more to come.  Most of them are less-bitchy, more-sleepy.

Love, Rebecca