It’s not high speed rail, but…
Posted by Brent Finnegan on November 4th, 2009
Ever since we lost our local Greyhound station, getting in and out of town without a car has been cost-prohibitive at best. Today Green Shuttle announced that on November 10, they will start “Harrisonburg-based” van shuttles between here, DC, and Charlottesville.
The service, owned by Heriberto & Elia Cortes, will run three days a week to Charlottesville and two to Dulles International Airport and Downtown DC, with plans to expand the service as demand grows. Trips to Dulles will be $39, and Charlottesville $19.
Great!!
Sounds good. Like ‘Homeride’ for us non-JMUers. When I went to Cleveland on the train, I had to drive up to Martinsburg, WV. Then I got a ticket for parking there for 3 days since their small-town parking-pass office is closed on weekends. It was an annoying hassle, so not having to drive to an Amtrak city is a nice step forward. Seems like you’d have to time things just right to get a ride back, though.
I looked on their site and they do 2-3 trips per day to the destination city. So, it wouldn’t be that hard to get a ride back. This will be even better once DC finishes extending the Metro out to Dulles.
What a great service for people who don’t have cars or who don’t want to pay for long-term parking at Dulles (it can really add up for a long trip) or who want to ride share to save gas/emissions . I’ve often thought of flying to Dulles from the airport in Weyers Cave, but the last time I checked it was almost $400 round-trip! I hope people use this service so it will continue and maybe even expand.
Another way to travel is Amtrak – they’ve added stops in Charlottesville, Culpeper, and Manassas to get to the DC/NYC/Boston. Harrisonburg isn’t on the route, but at least now it’s not as far to get to one to go to the Northeast. It can be pricey, but sometimes you can catch a good deal. [And no, I don't work for Amtrak - I just took a trip to NYC this Fall and really enjoyed the ride!]
I never understood why Greyhound shut down here, a growing area with all these students.
Regarding flying out of the Valley, if you are making a connection on a United flight beyond Dulles, it is usually not all that much more than just flying out of Dulles, and on occasion is actually less.
Website link to the company please, my idiocy can’t seem to locate one
Click on the words “Green Shuttle” in the post.
I think that train runs form New York to Chicago three times a week. There is also a stop in Staunton.
Thanks for the info. Glad to know there’s affordable transit to near-by cities. I feel that a shuttle to Richmond would be in high-demand, and hope that they’ll consider forming a route to the state capitol in the near future.
Another regional bus option:
Starlight Express (cville/lburg to nyc)
http://www.nycshuttle.com/
Reading about cheap Chinatown bus fares makes me wish Hburg had a Chinatown:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown_bus_lines
e.g. http://www.chinatown-bus.org/ (Richmond to NYC, round-trip, for only $60; DC to NYC, round-trip, for only $35!)
I have taken the Chinatown bus to NYC before, and loved it! It only took about five hours from DC (they stopped once outside of Baltimore) and that was during friday night rush hour traffic. I would reccommend researching where they drop you off in NYC because it’s in the business district in China town and if it’s late at night there aren’t taxis readily available. You will need to know which direction to walk to a busier throughoughfair.
@ Callie
it’s right on the edge of chinatown. just walk straight up the hill and you run into a metro station…
What’s it’s like to ride the train from Cville to DC:
Amtrak in Charlottesville – One Person’s Experience – Nov 2, 2009
http://www.realcrozetva.com/2009/11/02/972/
(via http://www.cvillenews.com/2009/11/06/amtrak-account/ )
I suppose this is what regional rail in Hburg could be like someday?