Alas! I finally was forced to try my plan B backup commute option of CLT-DCA then DCA-IAD via ground transportation.You can obviously get a cab DCA-IAD if time is tight. Expect to pay about $60 and for it to take about 35-45 minutes. Supershuttle may also be an option for a cheaper rate, but there's a chance of having a non-direct route, depending on who you're travelling with and where they need to go.
So, here is an account of how to get from DCA to IAD via public transport. You'll pay $7.35 and allow for about 1:15 to 1:45.
After arriving, follow signs to Metro/Parking deck. They are only posted outside of the secure gate area. Go to the ticket machine and look on the chart for the one-way fare to West Falls Church. It was $3.35 as of 7/27/08. With the Metro ticket machines, you don't tell it "where", you just tell it "how much." Use the up/down rocker switches to get $3.35 to display, then pay for your ticket. Some machines take credit card, some take cash. Some will give you change (in all coins, beware...)
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With your ticket, enter the station through the turnstyles. Go up the left hand bank of escalators (nearest the terminal). The signs will read Blue Line, Largo Town Center (as well as Yellow line to Fort Totten). When the trains arrive, be sure you're on the correct one. There is no 'next arriving' electronic sign on this platform (that I can remember), but there are electric LED signs on the sides of the trains telling you which one it is. Be sure to board the Blue Line towards Largo Town Center.
You stay on the blue line and get off at Rosslyn Station. Follow the signs to make the transfer to the Orange line towards Vienna, which is downstairs. On this platform I did notice an ETA sign telling you when the next train is arriving and what line it is (the Blue line in the opposite direction shares this platform).
Take the Orange Line and get off at West Falls Church Station. The exit is upstairs and throught the turnstyles. Follow the signs for Dulles Transportation, which is down the escalators to the left. Go to the bus stop with the 'Washington Flyer' sign.
The coach departs every half hour on the :15 and the :45. You'll stow your big bags underneath the bus. As a crewmember with valid ID the fare is $4, which you pay upon exiting the bus. Non-crew one way fare is $10. There was very little traffic, so the bus trip took about 20 minutes.
There you have it! The cost of $7.35 is way better than a taxi if you can spare the extra time. The trip time will vary depending on how lucky you are at the transfers. I just missed an Orange line transfer and just missed a Washington Flyer departure, so my travel time of 1:45 was probably a bit longer than the norm. I would guess that the average trip time would be around 1:30.
It was a beautiful day, and I got some great shots on the approach into DCA. Not bad for a passenger seat and a cheap digital.
Georgetown University Campus
Watergate Apartments
Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument & Reflecting Pool
Washington Monument
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