Lori Kantziper of Mount Washington, under the delusion that this column is written by a "local travel expert," sent this query:
My 17-year-old son and three friends are going to attend the Washington Wizards game in D.C. on Friday. The game starts at 8 p.m. They really don't want to drive, but I can't think of another way for them to get there.
If they take the Metro from a suburb, then there's the time involved of waiting for the return Metro back to the car and then driving home. That could take an extra hour or so. I do remember one of your columns discussing the MTA bus that leaves from BWI and goes to D.C., but I have a feeling that it just runs during commuter hours.
Do you have any suggestions?
My first reaction is that it's about time Baltimore landed an NBA team to replace the long-lost Bullets so parents didn't have to pose this question. But since the nearest NBA action is in Washington, and others may find themselves dealing with the same issue, I'll share with readers the advice I dispensed for last Friday's game.
Dear Mrs. Kantziper:
It would be highly advisable to avoid the scenario of four teenagers driving to Washington and back at night. That's a lot of concentrated goofiness and distraction to put in one vehicle. Federal statistics show the danger of a fatal accident increases significantly with the number of teenagers in a car and the lateness of the hour. Let's just say your teenagers would be much safer taking an MTA bus downtown and back all night than they would making that drive.
Unfortunately, the B30 bus between BWI and the Greenbelt Metro station would get them there but not back. Its last departure from Greenbelt is at 10 p.m. It ought to be midnight.
The best solution might be to drive the guys to Penn Station and put them on the 5:25 p.m. MARC Penn Line train to Union Station, where they can catch the Metro Red Line to Gallery Place station.
If the Penn Line is having one of its occasional meltdowns, they can grab the 5:28 light rail to Camden Station and take the 5:51 Camden Line train to Washington. It's easier to switch lines now that Penn Station light rail riders don't have to connect at Mount Royal to go downtown. If you're willing to bet the Penn Line will be on schedule, they can take the 6:25 p.m. train and be on time.
The boys should be given strict instructions to get back to Union Station by 10:45 p.m. to catch the last MARC train of the evening.
According to the Wizards, their typical game lasts 2 hours, 15 minutes. The station is attached to the arena. According to the Metro's online trip planner, they could get to Gallery Place as late as 10:30 to catch a Red Line subway to Union Station and have six minutes to catch their train. (A video of four teenagers scrambling to get from the subway to the MARC platform in six minutes would be priceless.)
It would be wiser, of course, for them to not cut it that close and to be at the station by 10:20 p.m., which leaves them a little cushion. This might mean they couldn't stay for an exciting overtime finale. If they did, Mom or Dad might be making an unscheduled trip to pick up the little darlings.
It's $7 each way, $14 round trip, between Baltimore and Washington on MARC, with no weekend service. The 10:45 p.m. train out of D.C. arrives at Penn Station at 11:40 p.m. With four people sharing, a taxi might not be too expensive if you don't want to pick them up at night. (As of Feb. 11, the Penn Line is adding an 11:45 p.m. train out of D.C. -- good news for Wizards and Nationals fans.)
Even if you do decide to let the teens drive, there's no way you should trust a bunch of 17-year-olds to navigate through downtown Washington at night. It would be a safer Plan B to give them directions to the Greenbelt Metro Station -- the one most accessible to Baltimore. They can park in one of its 3,399 all-day spaces and take the Green Line subway to Gallery Place. Make sure they're prepared to buy a SmartTrip card that includes the $4.25 cost of parking, in addition to the subway fare, because there is no way to get out of the lot without it.
It's about a 25-minute trip to the arena, so they should get to Greenbelt about an hour before game time so they can load up with concessions. The way back could take them maybe 15 minutes longer than getting home by car, but when you look at all the things that could go wrong driving home late at night through D.C. streets, the delay doesn't seem so bad.
Getting back from Greenbelt at night should not be too difficult if the weather is clear. If the game ends at 10:15, they could easily be back at the car by 11. Have them check in by cell phone when they get to Greenbelt. Let your son know you'll be waiting up. That should keep them on course.
Some might question the wisdom of letting teenagers get around by public transit at night. My view is that they're safer than they would be in a car and that they would enjoy the adventure. Getting around by bus and rail is a life skill too many young adults never acquire. Fortunately, today's Potter-ized young folks are quite comfortable with the concept of Wizard-driven education.
Kantziper's husband, Joel, a confirmed MARC-ophobe after five years of commuting by train, vetoed my Plans A and B. He thought it would be better to have the boys take Interstate 70 and U.S. 29 to the Silver Spring Metro and catch the Red Line. What can you say? He's the dad.
gettingthere@baltsun.com
online
Find Mike Dresser's column archive at baltimoresun.com/dresser