Maureen Andary of The Sweater Set
@ Fort Reno
Q:What's your song for summer?
A:"Our song about summer love. The lyrics are 'Oh, you're just for fun, don't you know. I only want you for summer months.'"
To H Street NE ... and Back
AS ANYONE who frequents — or at least has visited — the bars and clubs of the H Street NE corridor — can tell you, getting there and back is half the fun. The majority of the action lies about 12-15 blocks to the east of Union Station in an area that isn't currently transit friendly unless you're a Metrobus pro (a streetcar line is planned, but don't expect it anytime soon).
Last night, this writer ventured out with a friend to Rock and Roll Hotel (1353 H St. NE), just down the way from the Atlas Theatre, to see the Seattle band The Long Winters (who are joined on tour by The Broken West and Stars of Track & Field). There's plenty out there on H Street NE in the 1200 through 1400 blocks. (Here's a great interactive guide by Fritz Hahn of washingtonpost.com.) But to many, the logistics of getting there and back are still a bit of a mystery.
» GETTING THERE: Last night, this writer's cab driver wasn't sure where we were headed when we asked to be taken to H and 13th streets NE. Onward we went, over the giant Union Station rail yard viaduct. When we arrived at the R&R Hotel, the driver was astonished that there was nightlife out this far.
If you're using Metrorail to get as close as you can, then hailing a cab, consider skipping Union Station's often-maddening taxi queue and picking up a cab near the Gallery Place-Chinatown or Metro Center stations. For those H Street-bound from Virginia, skip a Red Line transfer and head toward the 11th Street exit at Metro Center, follow the underground passageways into the Grand Hyatt hotel and get a cab on H Street NW (a great option for when it rains). If you happen to see a Minnesota Avenue-bound X2 bus, hop on board if you aren't in an immediate hurry. Get off at 13th Street NE or thereabouts.
Additionally, those who are coming from the U Street NW corridor should consider taking a 90/92 bus and getting off at 8th and H streets NE, where they can hoof it the next five blocks or so.
» GETTING BACK: Last night, The Long Winters played past midnight. Even if Metrorail had been right nearby, it would have been closed. You can't easily hail a cab on H Street NE (on weekends, there is the Atlas Courtesy Shuttle, a 12-person van that's free Fridays and Saturdays from 10 p.m.-2:30 a.m. R&R Hotel suggests calling Clem at 301-751-1802). So what are your options?
Calling a cab or coordinating cabs with fellow H Street NE music lovers are options. But taking the X2 bus back downtown is another reliable choice. The buses, which run between Lafayette Square and the Minnesota Avenue Metrorail station, are generally on time, move fast and run late. But you have to get the timing right. When you examine the weekday schedule, go to page 4 and look for X2 westbound times for late evenings. Generally, after 10 p.m., buses come approximately every 20 minutes. After midnight, it's every 30 minutes or so.
Then again, at that late hour, it might be best to drive. This writer fortunately ran into a fellow local journalist (from a competing newspaper, no less) who gave us a lift home.
Photo by Preston Keres/The Washington Post; X2 schedule screenshot courtesy WMATA
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Addison Road
"the driver was astonished that there was nightlife out this far"
and that, right there, is why i don't use cabs in DC.
the prices, the whole zone thing, and then this. cab drivers are supposedly experts of getting around and knowing the cities that they live/work in. but in DC, if you ask for something outside of wards 1 and 2, heaven forbid, you're in for the ride of your life. you'd think these people might actually, you know, learn about the city if they're supposed to be able to transport you to all corners of it.
By IMGoph , Posted April 4, 2007 12:15 PMDitto on the taxi situation. I live 4 blocks from the RnR, and drivers (illegally) refuse to take me home from the U Street area all the time. I'm surprised the cabbie didn't say "you can't get there from here."
By John , Posted April 4, 2007 2:33 PMI thought I saw you there, MG.
Cabbies need to get real repercussions for not taking people to their destinations. Does the taxicab commission do anything to violators?
By chrisafer , Posted April 4, 2007 3:10 PMI agree with you about the cab thing but think about it from their perspective - its not the nicest neighborhood in DC and the chances of them picking up someone who is going back into town on there way back to more busy areas is pretty slim compared to if they were taking someone to georgetown or downtown or some other consistently busy area. Also, cabs are private enterprises, right? Anyways, you dont have to like the situation but you cant really blame them.
By Gritty , Posted April 4, 2007 8:26 PMYou're right about the economics of the situation, Gritty, but the regulations of running a cab in DC require that riders are not to be refused based on their destination. Cabs are private enterprises, but they still have to follow the rules. It would be more economical for them to speed, but that doesn't mean they can do that without getting in trouble.
By chrisafer , Posted April 5, 2007 5:27 AMIt IS illegal. And it makes me furious, I have seen taxi drivers refuse youth, people of color, and people with destinations NE or SE many times.
By lauren , Posted April 5, 2007 12:11 PMWhen i take cabs, I first get into the vehicle, close the door, and THEN tell them my destination. You don't ask, you TELL (respectfully, of course). If they refuse to take you, then you should refuse to get out until they provide you their information so that you can file a complaint.
I second what Lauren said. You should get in the cab first, before you tell them your destination, because although it is illegal for them to turn you down, it is really only so if you are in the cab already. Once you are in the cab, if they refuse to take you, you can kindly remind them that it is illegal, then take down their cab info and report them. Once you start taking down the cab info, it is unlikely they will refuse you at that point... though watch that they don't try to charge you extra ( I live near a zone boundary and they often try to charge me for the higher fare a block PAST where I live!).
By Thomas , Posted April 6, 2007 11:48 AMA number of months ago, I wrote a letter to the DC Taxicab Commission about drivers "refusing to haul." They want to up the ante and punish drivers who break the law, but they're are understaffed and at the time they didn't have a permanent commissioner. Now, if Mayor Fenty was up to snuff, he would give the Taxicab Commission the staffing (they have the authority) they need to go after dishonest drivers. They wanted me to testify for them, but their meetings are during the day...we should demand increased oversight by the Commission on taxi drivers.
By AmazinJB , Posted April 7, 2007 10:33 AMIT's illegal? I didn't know that. Sometimes getting into the cab first before telling them the destination isn't even an option. They lock the car doors on you so you can't climb in and roll down their windows and ask you where you're going. I'm not kidding. I've been living in DC for almost 3 years and this happens on a regular basis- I live in SW. Do you think it's appropriate to say I'm going to NW, then get in the car, and switch my location to SW?
By Nicola , Posted February 17, 2009 5:05 PM