Відео

Ain't no way you can drive from DC to Ashburn during rush hour in 50 minutes.

I live here

Good video as always. Was wondering I have heard conflicting reports that Vienna in land size is the largest metro station, then I also heard L'Enfant plaza is the largest...... Also do you happen to know why post 9-11 the entrance closest to the FAA/Independence Ave was closed off at L'Enfant..........

Interesting choice of music…. A synth version of Mary’s Little Boy Child?

Metro Atlanta needs this!

Extend it to Charles town WV 😄

I think the Vienna station has a lot of potential. It would be nice if the orange line would get extended to at least Centerville. The fact that it’s the busiest terminus says something about ridership further west. I typically take the orange line to Vienna, then ride Fairfax connector to the monument Drive transit center which opened over the summer.

Hey it's the station I use. I don't know what Fairfax County is thinking just letting all that prime real estate sitting right there on the south side be an empty field. In my opinion, remove both of the surface parking lots and build an urban town center on the south side of the station with more housing and businesses. There's a lot of potential for the station and it should continue to serve as a balance between a commuter station (since it does see a lot of commuter traffic still) and serving the local area. With additional development and better bus service I'm sure this station can easily see 15000+ entries.

Nice station review, but I find the lack of Dr. Pepper concerning...

I wish they added some restaurants and a market on those empty plots of land. The Pan-Am Shopping Center is a 40-60 minute walk round-trip. Yes, you’ll arrive at the shops quicker on the bus. But it still takes time as opposed to Dunn Loring, the penultimate station, where access to food is so much quicker and easier. Despite its flaws, I still love this station, it holds near and dear to my heart. It’s an important access point to reach places like Chantilly and Fair Oaks via Bus. Thank you for this awesome Terminus Review.

Why on earth did ridership tank so much after covid? Most of the world has gotten back to normal again, but not DC?

Another bus service that connects the station is the GMU: Sandy Creek - Vienna Metro route. Although it is only available to students and faculty. Service is 20/30 mins on weekdays with hourly on weekends. The combination of Mason Shuttle buses and CUE buses lead to decent frequency although the time tables could be adjusted for better optimization.

Excellent video!!! The ridership decline at the terminus stations is incredible; really illustrative of the slack the city center stations are picking up to raise the current numbers. Had no clue CUE had such a funny long-name😁

Like most of Fairfax County's stations, the Vienna investment has mostly been squandered. At this point, the Dunn Loring/Merrifield station is slightly better because it is at least possible to walk to Mosaic District. There's not much of anything around Vienna. The Silver Line did cannibalize some Orange Line traffic and now Vienna/Springfield/Huntington all have about the same ridership.

Vienna is a quiet gem. It’s been awhile since I’ve been all the way out there. Sadly since I-66 was done over and added lanes, metro expansion may be unlikely unless it gets tunneled. I was hoping it could reach Fair Oaks Mall.

I didn't see in the sources but where is the stat that Tyson's is the 12th largest employment center from? I'm mostly interested in just what the others are lol

3:03 I am trying to figure out why in a place with a median rent of $2100, there is a big old field full of weeds.

I thought "GMU" was a "gravity multiple unit" a train that only works downhill

Thanks 😊

The joke about Vienna-Fairfax GMU is that it doesn't direct serve any of those places. That being said, still a solid station. My favorite moment on Metro was riding a New Carollton-bound Orange Line train eastwards while it was snowing outside. The ride along I-66 was actually quite beautiful!

Solid video. The data you showed really makes the case for how the commuter-only model for terminus stations isn't the best bet longterm, compared to building "town centers" with shops, food, and dense housing at each station. I grew up in MD so never went down that way but it's a similar deal for places like Greenbelt and Forest Glen. Make them into destinations, not just waypoints, and metro can build more ridership. And it doesn't necessarily have to be done at the cost of commuter parking space potential if you build taller.

Replace a lot or Garage with mixed-use. I think expanded automation will allow each BLORSV branch to squeeze in an extra train or two-at least during peak hours (let's say 7-10am and 2:30-6:30pm), but still difficult without deinterlining the Blue or Silver lines

'From the Family Archive' suggests you were raised with the transit habit - well done to all concerned! Really highlights the effort required to cause significant paradigm shift \m/

Sweet!

Nice addition to your terminus station reviews! Vienna is pretty cool; the south-side garage is pretty interesting, as well!

I HATE that airport being called by that horrific president's name - ESPECIALLY given what he did to air traffic controllers. Beyond that - it was just "National" at the time - his name wasn't added for over 20 years after the blue line opened...

I would have expected Brunswick or points west.

the mountains you can sometimes see are the Blue Ridge, which are the boundary between VA and WV.

Wheeley, not whiley

I used to work in the data centers you filmed, and have been on the internet roofs. You can indeed see the mountains.

I remember the first time I got off at Spring Hill station, back when it was relavtively new. I got plopped into an underdeveloped intersection that was not pedestrian friendly. They didn't even have an active taxi service there. That was the first-ever time I used Uber.

Janney. Jan knee

Hey you beat Thom to it!

The station in the late 80s and 90s wasn't near any civilization... closest thing then was the county Recyling center now its popping sort of they need a really good pizza place near the metro... you should do videos on Good Pizza Places near metro ... IMHO best one is Glenmont Station right next to the Stained Glass Pub where you can find the best pizza in Maryland

The one thing that NEVER left my memories: the DC Area transit system. I've constantly told folks that are not from the DC Area like I was that there is NO way in the world that you cannot get anywhere in the DC Area without using the transit system, whether it be by rail, bus, or simply walking. I do remember growing up with the Metro/Ride-On route expansions during the 1990s and 2000s, and it is just with complete awe at how connected people really are from the suburbs to DC proper. I've often joked that you simply had to turn in any direction and see a bus stop within 50 feet of where you stood because you would be standing in an area that's so connected that you'd just sneeze and a bus shows up. Thank you for this trip down Memory Lane! :)

Honestly, Maryland suburban public transportation is surprisingly not horrible! At least, it's a lot better than Virginia.

My Dad worked for Southern Railway. With my Mom being from Atlanta we would take the Southern Crescent from Alexandria to Atlanta quite a bit, since we got to ride free. I am still a train nut to this day!

Omg I had a very similar early childhood, I lived in a townhouse within walking distance of Shady Grove off Redland Road

Far easier to get into the further out areas of Maryland coming from DC than trying to get into Virginia from DC on public transit

Nice! That double sidewalk looking walkway looks like a utility/ fire department access road to me.

I'm glad you got to revisit scenes from when you were a kid (takes a shot for each time you said it 😄 ). Ride-On for all its flaws is probably the best of the county bus transit systems, and seems to be trying to improve: in 2025, they are revamping the entire network -- they're adding more Ride-On Extra buses (similar to the 101 but all-day service) as well as the now-existing FLASH "BRT" (ish) on Rt.29; there's an aim to get routes to 30 minutes or less (they went to 40 minutes because of the pandemic). Now, if you want exurbs, take the 76 to Poolesville, which is usually a bus an hour and is about 40-50 minutes from Shady Grove (that 76 bus has a shorter service that is every 30 minutes).

Nice vid. I go to Gtown several times a year to visit family. Sadly MARC only offers inbound in the morning rush and outbound in the afternoon M-F only. Ate at the Chick Fila several times.

Here's a hint - if it existed when you were a kid, it's not the exurbs.

Love the old MARC footage

This is awesome, I live in Germantown and have my whole life

One thing that will start happening as you get older is you might go back somewhere and have double nostalgia... remembering the original memories but then also remembering the experience of seeing it as an altered place as an adult. You get these complicated shadings of memories.