EFC Parking Upgrade

[wheelswings]

Will this be members-only bike parking…something you have to register and pay for…or will the bike parking be available for anyone who shows up with a bike? Thanks.

[Tim Kelley]

@wheels&wings 118460 wrote:

Will this be members-only bike parking…something you have to register and pay for…or will the bike parking be available for anyone who shows up with a bike? Thanks.

All the details you could want are in the link in the image!

[Steve O]

@wheels&wings 118460 wrote:

Will this be members-only bike parking…something you have to register and pay for…or will the bike parking be available for anyone who shows up with a bike? Thanks.

Watch the video:
http://www.wmata.com/getting_around/bike_ride/bike_and_ride.cfm

It features our own forumite, Justin Antos. Shout out to him!

[TwoWheelsDC]

I go through EFC often, but usually as a bus transfer point on days when I don’t ride my bike…but I still might sign up to support the service and have it just in case.

[bentbike33]

Interesting. Would the hourly usage fees be deducted from the SmartTrip Transit Subsidy account, or the personal account (like car parking)? Based on my usage, this facility at 5 cents per hour would be cheaper than the metro bike locker (which works out to about $1 per day I actually use it) with the added bonus of being less likely to be used as a urinal (or worse) by distended late-night metro patrons. I wonder when/if West Falls Church will get one?

[bobco85]

Alright, I couldn’t help myself, but I did want to know: how much will this cost the average bike-train commuter?

Using the following values:
rental rate: $.05/hour
typical workday (9 a.m. – 5 p.m.): 8 hours
average one-way train commute (I used East Falls Church to L’Enfant Plaza): 24 minutes, but with delays (being SUPER GENEROUS here), round up to 30 minutes
average one-way time walking between Metro and work: 15 minutes
average work days per month (looked online for an average): 21.67 workdays/month

The math part:
total time =

• typical workday + (2 X train commute) + (2 X walk to or from Metro)
• 8 hours + (2 X 30 minutes) + (2 X 15 minutes)
• 8 hours + 1 hour + 30 minutes
• 9.5 hours

cost per day of a rental

• total time X rental rate
• 9.5 hours X $.05/hour
• $.475/day

cost per month

• cost per day of a rental X average work days per month
• $.475/day X 21.67 workdays/month
• $10.29/month
  

TL;DR version
For an average rental time of 9.5 hours each day, it will cost a person biking to EFC and riding the train from EFC to downtown DC an average of $.48/day and $10.29/month to use this service.

[Steve O]

@bobco85 118480 wrote:

average work days per month (looked online for an average): 21.67 workdays/month

That includes holidays, if you take those out, plus vacation, sick time and travel, I think you can reduce that by about 10-15%, making the total monthly cost closer to $9.

[Steve O]

@TwoWheelsDC 118467 wrote:

I go through EFC often, but usually as a bus transfer point on days when I don’t ride my bike…but I still might sign up to support the service and have it just in case.

For the one-time $5 charge, I agree. Might be good to have even if rarely used. And if Metro is able to state that they have x-hundred or x-thousand card holders, it helps Justin & his colleagues make the case for more.

I must say, though, that they could have easily built this inside the EFC station. The empty space available under the tracks is enormous–more than enough space for a gazillion bikes (okay, maybe half a gazillion; I exaggerated). All they would have to do is reconfigure the faregate locations. I think a creative space designer could easily make it work. No new construction required, and it’s already protected from weather.

[Author]

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