A Place to Gather...Information About the Trip
From THEA435
Recalling the conversation we all had this evening...just try...this is a page where we can gather all of that information and everyone can give what is their best explanation of the best case scenario.
Katie
This isn't about transportation but I just finished reading the articles from Theatre Management and maybe to help save money with the theatre tickets some of the shows we want to see offer some discounted tickets that we could take advantage of, we're all under 35 and stuff. I don't know if any of these discounts will be available when we are in NY but it would be something to think about. :)
--- Hey guys! I've been thinking about the stuff we talked about tonight, and I think Karen had a great idea. We could take a bus from Fredericksburg up to DC, then head over to duPont Circle or McPherson Square and get on the $35 bus up to New York. I really do think that would be our best bet, since we don't have to get up to Dulles and we don't have to leave cars anywhere. There you go. My opinion. -Emma
I agree with Emma. I think that the DC to NYC bus is the most fiscally prudent choice. In terms of getting to DC, I think that taking the Greyhound bus to DC is one option, but I also think that the possibility of assistance from parents is another worthwhile investigation. In terms of people with motion sickness, the medication for it is not expensive and I would be willing to share my motion sickness medication with others. I think its important that we focus on solutions to making the cheapest way to travel work for us. Bobby
Lindsay
- 2 Buses: According to my findings the last Greyhound out of DC to Fredericksburg on March 9 leaves at 5:05 pm. That means we would have to leave early out of NYC on Sunday to make the bus. At Greyhound $25.50 (non-refundable)/person x 20= $510 plus DC2NY bus at $40/person x 20=$800 the total roundtrip fare would be $1310
- 1 Bus: If we took the Greyhound all the way, to come back on the 9th we would have to return in the am as well.
- If we took the Greyhound all the way through, but were okay with returning 1:30am the 10th and ordered 14 days in advance it would be $74/person x 20= $1480 total roundtrip
- 1 Bus: If we took the Greyhound all the way, to come back on the 9th we would have to return in the am as well.
In my opinion, the Greyhound straight through seems like the best choice if we are staying til the 9th. If we have to leave early the 9th, what is the point of staying that extra day and paying the hotel for another night?
- On the other hand if we did Greyhound roundtrip straight through, we could leave New York at 1:30am Sunday instead of Monday, putting us back in Fred early Sunday morning with enough time to rest before classes begin Monday. This is still $1480 but with one less night of hotel fare. Opinions???
Leasl5dx 13:26, 24 January 2008 (MST)
Emma Lindsay makes a good point. I think having Sunday to recoup before classes start again would be awesome. It would give us one less day in the city, but 8 days I think should be sufficient. We'd just have to make sure we plan carefully for interviews etc.
I am writing this from the DC2NY bus that I took this weekend with Jon. I think this would an excellent choice for getting to the city. Its two pickup points in DC are super convenient and the drop off in NYC is in a perfect location. The wifi works, as you can tell, or I would not be able to write this. The ride is pretty comfortable with one 15 minute stop made in Jersey on the way up (Maryland on the way back). I sometimes have problems with motion sickness, but the ride is fairly smooth. The driver was friendly. An all around good experience. It is such a deal. Almost too good to be true had I not experienced it for myself.
Davidryan 19:10, 26 January 2008 (MST)
The bus sounds good to me. I like buses. It sounds like the one David talks about is convenient and gets us there. It would probably be good. Are there any other options that we havn't thought of? Have we already talked extingushed driving at all? Whether in our own cars or maybe university vans? I was just wondering about parking in Jersey say and then training into the city? I don't know, we probably already vetoed this but I sort of forgot about writing on the wiki but I thought about this yesterday and couldn't remember if we had talked about this already. Katie
I have been doing research on bus schedules. There is a problem with taking the DC2NY bus on the way home because we would not be able to catch a bus from DC to Fredericksburg. The earliest bus from NY on Sunday is noon, which does not give us time to make the 5:05 bus from DC. The next bus wouldn't be until 6:35a. The latest bus from NY is 8p, which would give us about 3hrs downtime in DC before 6:35a. On Saturday, the bus from NY only comes at 6p, so it's the same situation as before with 5hrs downtime. Here is the schedule:
DC2NY
Fred - DC - Dupont/14th - NY
6:15 8:15 9:15/30 4p 8:30 10:10 1:15/30 8p 10:20 11:40 1:15/30 8p 12:01 1:50 4:15/30 11p
9th - Sunday
NY - DC
12:00 7p 2:00 9p 4:00 11p 6:00 1a 8:00 3a
8th - Saturday
NY
6:00
The NYDC Express and Premium Bus are do-able. We would be back in Fredericksburg at a decent time Sunday night.
NYDC Express
Fred - DC - 715H at 8th - NYC
6:15 8:15 9:30 4p 8:30 10:10 11:59 7p 10:20 11:40 1:00 8p 12:01 1:50 3:00 10p
9th - Sunday
NY - 715H at 8th - DC - Fred
8:30a 3:30p 5:05 7p
9:30a 4:30p 5:05 7p
7:30p (latest)
8th = Same times except add 7:30a
Premium Bus
Fred - DC - Chinatown - NYC
6:15 8:15 9:00 4p 8:30 10:10 11:00 6p 10:20 11:40 1:30 8:30p 12:01 1:50 4:00 11:00p
9th - Sunday
NY - Chinatown - DC - Fred
9:00a 4:00p 5:05 7p
8:00p (latest)
8th = 9a to 4p
So if we take the one of the second two buses, we don't have to find other transportation from DC - But, no wifi.
Sommer--Slong1vf 20:42, 26 January 2008 (MST)
--- I agree with the discussion above. I think buses are going to be the best and cheapest choice. I think leaving Sunday morning might be the best choice instead of trying to see a matinee on Sunday. That way we would get back to campus at an hour that would give up plenty of time to unpack and get ready for classes. I don't think it would be a smart idea to leave on Saturday. I can't figure out if that was ever an option that was discussed in class. Buses seem like the best choice of transportation. Mary-I'll hold a barf bag for you if you need one. - Donna
I just can't believe anyone is trying to cut the trip short. Two years ago, we all did it, saw a Sunday Matinee, left NYC afterward and got back to Fred in the evening and were able to get a good night's sleep before classes started the next day. The comment that you can get back and rest is a lazy comment to make when you have put good money into this thing. You need to see how far you can stretch it. This just seems to go back to me feeling like some people think this is going to be an easy trip. Brace yourselves...if you're thinking that you're going to breeze through and still come out with the experience you want, you're wrong. I think you should try to spend as much time in the city as you can making as many connections as you can and seeing as much theatre as you can. It's really incredible to me that anyone wants to cut an entire useful day off.
We had far less days in the city than you all will, and I've rethought the "breezing through" comment, but I believe that, to make this a better experience, you can explore options to raise money or ask what the University may have available to you to help out. Maybe you don't have to spend that money on a bus per person. There are questions that you can ask and things that maybe we can explore to help you all get to the DC2NY bus. As much as you may think that I'm not being helpful by posting here, neither me nor Gregg are here to hinder your processes. We're here to help, and I'm around because I took the class two years ago, I know the process and I know the technology. I'm not taking the class again and I'm not a student anymore. I'm here to help.
-Jon
I have to agree with Jon. Personally, I want to spend as much time in NYC as possible so I can optimize and capitalize on every available opportunity that comes my way. I have no problem if there is not enough money to see a Matinee, because it leaves more time for research and interviews to possibly take place. Realistically, how many people are going to have a test or a quiz the first day after Spring Break. In terms of transportation from DC to Fredericksburg, we just need to collaborate and problem solve a way to arrange transportation whether it be from family, friends, or our own cars. We need to look for the solutions instead of sacrificing valuable time and experiences. Bobby
- All this talk is great guys but you arent suggesting any concrete options.
- Thanks for the criticism Jon but I dont think anyone in this class is taking this trip lightly.
I don't think anyone was talking about trying to cut an entire useful day or trying to be lazy. I was mainly trying to find the pros and cons of each situation. There's a lot of people in this class. Trying to figure out the cheapest route and the longest stay is the goal. Leaving Sunday early morning was an option whether it be a good one or a not very good one. I think Lindsay's main point that I agreed with was trying to find the money to see as much theatre and do as much research as we can. Isn't the goal of this discussion to find the options? As of the budget we created on Wednesday we were going to see 3 performances...nstead of 9. Bobby, do you said "In terms of transportation from DC to Fredericksburg, we just need to collaborate and problem solve a way to arrange transportation whether it be from family, friends, or our own cars." Do you have any soultions to solve the transportation problem? -Donna
Sommer can you link the websites you found the bus information on? When you include Fred in your tables, is that outside transportation or the bus? Because I couldnt find anything about Fredericksburg through those bus lines but you said So if we take the one of the second two buses, we don't have to find other transportation from DC - But, no wifi. Thanks doll
Leasl5dx 12:44, 28 January 2008 (MST)
Sure, Lindsay. All of the Fred to DC or DC to Fred times in the tables are from the Greyhound website. http://www.greyhound.com/home/ The other three bus lines only go from DC to NY or NY to DC. I got those links from the ''How are we getting to New York?'' page and looked under schedules. --Slong1vf 19:51, 28 January 2008 (MST)
Ok, in terms of getting to DC: If we took 5 cars (four with 5 passengers and luggage, and one car with luggage) and parked them at Franconia Springfield station, the parking for each car for the trip would be $27, because weekends are free. This means it would cost $135 for all cars to park for the duration of the trip. Assuming the maximum fare to get from Franconia to DuPont in DC of $9 roundtrip, that comes to a total of $180 for 20 students. This is a total of $315 for all students to park and use the metro. Add the $800 dollars for the DC2NY bus and the total comes to $1115. This is what I have come up with so far, but I am still looking at other means of transportation to DC. Bobby
So cash flow is our problem. Okay. So we know what we have that we have put into this trip, but what else can we do to create funds. I think there might be a way to pull in some cash. I am not saying I know what it is, but I feel like we are able bodied, smart people who can put our heads together and think of some good ways to do this. I mean that is how we did it before, in high school, you remember that awful place, you fund raised. So stupid or not, bake sale anyone? What does everyone else have? Let's put our creativity to work! :)
Davidryan 23:36, 28 January 2008 (MST)
I think that is a splendid idea David. I was thinking about that- but I was worried of how we could all create time to do a fundraising event. In highschool, not only did we do bake sales but we did like huge yard sales. Maybe we could ask teachers, students, and parents to contribute to a yard sale that we could hold on the front of duPont or something to raise money. Maybe a little distasteful, but I think it could bring in some money...maybe? Regarding the actual trip, I think we need to take a bus from DC to NY. I also think we need to take a bus from Fred to DC. I also feel that we need to stay there the entire allotment we were given. I understand that school is the next day, and I do understand that we may be tired. But speaking just for me and not for the whole group-- I have never been to the city and I would like to spend as much time there as possible. On Sunday we can see a show, maybe have a last minuite interview, and I would love to go to some touristy spots. Just a thought.
Talyahalpern 10:29, 29 January 2008 (MST)
- So far Bobby has the best rate: driving and parking at the metro, metro to DC2NY, at the lowest rate: $1115. This way we can choose from later times that Sunday like 6 or 8 oclock, and have our cars waiting for us after the metro.
- Now we need to find the times the metro is running- The metro website is really confusing to me...is someone maybe familiar with the transit system that can find corresponding times with the DC2NY times?
Leasl5dx 12:51, 29 January 2008 (MST)
Hey about davids idea of fundraising and the concern that we dont have a lot of time to meet together. In rugby we have something called rent a rugger, you can rent however many rugby players you want to do something for you, i.e. clean your house, polish silverware, help you move etc. our rate is donations but we usually pull 10$ per rugger per hour. what if we did something similar? or had another department yardsale? we will need to move everything out of klein for the renovation as i understand it, so kill two birds with one stone? just some thoughts,
Mary
Metro Info
DC Metroopens Weekdays 5 a.m and Weekends at 7 am..
It closes on Sunday-Thursday at midnight and Friday & Saturday at 3 a.m.
The schedules confused me as well so I called the METRO customer service. She said on Sundays the trains run every 12-15 mintues and it takes about 44 minutes to get from duPont to Franconia-Springfield. Since duPont Circle is on the Red Line and Franconia-Springfield is on the Blue Line, we would need to switch trains the Metro Circle. We can also purchase the fare cards online. It will cost $4.45 for a one way trip to duPont Circle to Franconia-Springfield.
I'd completely prefer to stay as long as possible. Donna
I created a Fundraising Ideas page. -Donna
To follow up on what Lindsay said.
The DC2NY bus leaves at 8:30am from in front of the McPherson Square Metro station. If we get on the 7:22 train at Franconia-Springfield we should arrive at McPherson Square at 7:56. The fare for that trip is $4.35.
On the return trip we can catch the 6:00pm DC2NY bus back to DC. Get on at McPherson Square and return to Franconia-Springfield for $2.35.
I worry about the safety of leaving cars. I know it is done all the time, but you know, things happen. I found this shuttle company. It would require us to pay the driver for three hours each way, but it might provide us with a cheaper solution. I will call and see what we could maybe work out. I found them through the Student Affairs site here at UMW. Chop Chop Shuttle They run a scheduled shuttle to Ronal Reagan (which has a metro stop of its own and we could get on there) or we may be able to get a private shuttle arranged. I will update once I have spoken to them.
Davidryan 23:28, 29 January 2008 (MST)
I really do like the bus or shuttle idea the best out of everything. The shuttle could be the ticket. How many people can be in one shuttle? + luggage? Katie
