While commuting from Fredericksburg, VA to Rosslyn in Arlington, VA, Sameride riders save up to $400 a month on the train, bus or vanpool fares. At the same time, Sameride drivers use express lanes toll-free which saves them around $800 a month. Both Sameride riders and Sameride drivers commute up to 24 hours a month faster.
 

Ride Only

 

Drive Only

 

Ride and/or Drive

 
To determine time and cost of the commute from Fredericksburg, VA to Rosslyn in Arlington, VA and back we have used our own experience and surveyed commuters who are using commute options we have calculated time and cost for.

In case you have comments or want to share your commute time and cost, please leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

There are 3 ways how you can get from commuter lot in Fredericksburg, VA to office in Rosslyn, Arlington, VA:

  1. Ride only;
  2. Drive only;
  3. Ride and/or Drive

Note that these definitions apply for the commute segment from Fredericksburg, VA commuter lot to the office located in Rosslyn, Arlington, VA. This means that commuters who only ride still drive from their homes to the park and ride commuter lot.

So, if you are not driving at all and are only riding from Fredericksburg, VA commuter lot to your office in Rosslyn, Arlington, VA, your commute options are:

  • take train;
  • take bus;
  • slug;
  • use Sameride Commute

If your preference is to drive only, you have options:

  • drive alone express lanes;
  • drive alone regular lane;
  • drive and pick-up slugs;
  • use Sameride Commute

Finally, if you are OK with riding some days and driving another you are able to:

  • vanpool;
  • carpool;
  • use Sameride Commute

It is up to you whether to ride or drive while using Sameride Commute. For example, you might drive one day and ride another. So it is flexible in this regard. Actually, you don’t have to drive at all while using Sameride Commute.
 

General assumptions

Monthly time and costs
We have used average monthly time and average monthly cost for commute options as of November and December 2017. This makes sense as commuters who use public transportation like train and bus or use vanpool service are purchasing monthly tickets or paying monthly fees. Also, drivers who park in Rosslyn, Arlington, VA typically pay for parking on monthly basis. We use 20 commuting days in one month derived from 22 work days minus 2 days for telecommuting and other reasons for not commuting.

We did not make any adjustments for the tax deduction or compensation from the employer which depends or the residence status and the employer.

Commute start
We have used 7:00 am as a time when commuters arrive in their offices and 4:00 pm as a time when commuters leave their offices. So we were calculating commute duration based on commuting in respective hours. This seems to be the typical case for the majority of commuters for this commute route.

Commute locations
For morning pick-up location we have used 3 park and ride commuter lots in Fredericksburg, VA:

  • Route 3 & Route 627 (Gordon Road) Commuter Park and Ride Lot, Nearest Intersection: Route 3 & Route 627 (Gordon Road);
  • Old Salem Church Park and Ride Commuter Lot at Route 3 and Old Salem Road (Address: 4240 Plank Rd, Fredericksburg, VA 22407);
  • VRE Park and Ride Commuter Lot in City of Fredericksburg (Nearest Intersection: Frederick St & Prince Edward St, Fredericksburg, VA 22401).


See our post about all park and ride commuter lots in Fredericksburg, VA area

We have used 1100 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA for the office location in Rosslyn as a middle point to highly concentrated employment areas in Rosslyn, Arlington, VA


Assumptions by commute options

Commute by Train
We have used VRE website as a source of price and time information between train station in Fredericksburg, VA and Cristal City train station in Arlington, VA.

In addition to VRE commuter train, commuters will be using WMATA metro train from Crystal City station to Rosslyn Station that cost $2.30 each way and takes 18 minutes. The walk time is not accounted for.

Commute by Bus
We have used MARTZ website as a source of price and time information between bust stops at Old Salem Church Park and Ride Commuter Lot at Route 3 and Old Salem Road (Address: 4240 Plank Rd, Fredericksburg, VA 22407) and 12th & Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Arlington, VA.

Commuters who use commuter bus will be taking WMATA metro train from Pentagon station To Rosslyn station that cost $2:25 and takes 8 minutes each way. The walk time is not accounted for.

Slugging
Slugging from commuter lots above is available only from Route 3 & Route 627 (Gordon Road) Commuter Park and Ride Lot, Nearest Intersection: Route 3 & Route 627 (Gordon Road). The slugging works the best for Pentagon destination. Based on the current slugging pattern we have assumed that commuter from Fredericksburg, VA to Rosslyn, Arlington, VA will half of times slug to Pentagon and then use WMATA metro train to get to the office. Also, commuters who slug need to go to Pentagon to slug back every day again using WMATA metro train. It impacts the time and defines the cost of slugging in this case.

In our calculation sluggers are spending on average 15 minutes waiting in slugline for pick-up.

Driving alone regular lanes
Drivers pay more than just fuel costs. In addition to gas, driving expenses include other costs such as maintenance, repair, and tires. We did not include relatively fixed driving cost related to car ownership: car depreciation, insurance, registration, license, taxes, finance charges, other costs such as car wash because those costs are not directly driven by the commute.

The monthly parking in Arlington, VA costs $150.

For driving time we have used Google Map to estimate commute duration on I-95 and I-395 regular lanes.

Driving alone express lanes
Driving alone express lane includes all cost of driving alone regular lanes. In addition, driving alone express lanes requires paying the toll. We have used expresslanes website for toll and time calculation on I-95 and I-395 express lanes for the commute time frames under consideration.

Using express lanes, drivers are able to save time on the commute along express lanes but driving alone on I-95 express lanes requires exiting before I-395 HOV-3 lanes at Duke Str. and not using I-395 HOV-3 lanes on the way back which we have taken into account.

Driving and picking-up sluggers
Driving and picking-up sluggers allow drivers to use I-95 express lanes for free as well as to use I-395 HOV-3 lanes.
In our calculation drivers are spending on average 10 minutes each way waiting for sluggers and detouring to pick-up sluggers from Pentagon.

Commute by Vanpool
Vanpool cost is calculated based on the fees vanpool providers are charging and the assumption of driving van 10% of the times for driving credit.
https://www.gwrideconnect.org/vanpools/ has quite an inclusive list of available vanpools in the area.

In addition to the driving time, we are adding 7 minutes each way for dropping off vanpool participants and waiting for pickups.

Commute by Carpool
Carpooling is another ridesharing option that is quite efficient.
For carpool, we are assuming that there are 3 people in the carpool who are taking turns in driving their own cars and share parking in Arlington, VA. That is why the cost of carpool is 1/3 or driving cost.
In addition to driving time, there are 2 minutes each way of waiting for carpooling partners at pick-up and for detouring for drop-off.

Using Sameride Commute

Sameride Commute allows drivers to use HOV/HOT express lanes without paying tolls and allows riders to commute for free. This type of commute is similar to slugging or carpooling but it is on-demand and provides commute to and from office(custom drop-off and pick-up). So it is more convenient and predictable both for drivers and riders.

Sameride Commute is the cheapest option to commute for riders – it’s free. And it is the best money- and time-saving option for drivers.

We have added 1 minute of waiting/detouring for Sameride commuters.

Flexibility is another criteria that we have compared commute option against. The smile emoji corresponds to the level of flexibility. Train, bus, vanpool or carpool commuters are less flexible because of schedules and/or long-term commitments. Sameride Commute can be used once, every day or a few times a week when it is needed. Sameride doesn’t require any long-term commitments. Also, you can request/offer a ride for the time that works the best for you.


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