Christopher writes in "This was taken around 8:30 a.m. one day last week, behind FAA at 800 Independence SW. This has got to be people either getting off VRE or the L'Enfant Metro and cleaning them out for the last leg of their commute, right? 'Cause there ain't no residential blocks nearby. It's like this many mornings and though I haven't tracked it religiously I recall it filling up pretty good much later in the afternoon."
I have a friend who works at FAA HQ, and actually declined to join CaBi because those racks are always full in the mornings by the time he gets in, with people commuting by CaBi from Crystal City or NW or Capitol Hill. That's probably why they are empty on a weekend or early AM - no one living nearby to take them out, and lots of folks arriving on Monday morning?
Posted by: Joe in SS | April 03, 2011 at 11:54 PM
I have taken the second to last bike and last bike before in my last mile commute from the VRE station to the Navy Yard. On days that there are fewer than 3 bikes there I have since decided just to stay on the train to Union Station and grab a more plentiful bike there. Luckily I can see the CaBi station as the train pulls into L'Enfant so I know if I need to stay on the train or not. I have also taken the last slot a few afternoons last week. Unfortunately the closest bike station to here is at the Smithsonian stop, a pretty good walk if I am trying to make the south bound train. This should be on CaBi's highest priority list for system expansion. Anyone out there who works for VRE interested in sponsoring this investment?
Posted by: Mike Essig | April 04, 2011 at 12:15 PM
And yet this morning when I zipped by, again at 8:30 a.m., the same rack was nearly full. So I give up trying to figure this one out.
Posted by: Christopher | April 04, 2011 at 11:10 PM
I commute to this station almost every morning, arriving at about 8:45, when there are usually 0-4 bikes in the rack, and leaving at about 1:45, when there are usually 5-10 bikes. I've been doing this commute since November and only twice had to drop off at Smithsonian, and never had to walk there to pick up.
Definitely let CaBi know, I think they're just recently starting to make major changes to how and when they stock the stations.
Posted by: Jon Renaut | April 05, 2011 at 09:07 AM