Some people just can't afford to own a car. Even if they were awarded one in a car sweepstakes they would have to sell it because they couldn't afford to pay for the gas and insurance. Other people won't own a car because of the pollution they put out. Yet these people still need to go to work or to the mall or to the doctor's office. How are they to get there? Well, if they live in Arlington, Virginia, they use ART - Arlington Regional Transit. If you think you might need to make use of ART during your residency in Arlington, here is some information about it.
Arlington Regional Transit operates within the county of Arlington, Virginia, which is also the city of Arlington, Virginia. Since it is across the road from the nation's capitol, Washington, D.C., many Arlington Transit buses link up with Washington Metrobus routes so commuting workers can go on to don their lead xray aprons at their hospital jobs. ART also connects with Washington D.C.'s Metrorail subway system and with the more wide-ranging Virginia Railway Express, so your ART trip can begin in Arlington and end almost anywhere in Virginia.
There are 13 Arlington Transit routes that serve all corners of the city from Ballston to the Pentagon, which is technically in Arlington. You can find the stop nearest you, map put the route you need to take to get to your adult hockey tournament, or check the bus schedules at www.arlingtontransit.com. The website even allows you to track buses in real time using the GPS tracking unit on each bus and to receive schedule updates on your smart phone. Other cool features of the Arlington Transit system are that the buses run on clean-burning natural gas and they are all equipped with racks that will allow you to take your bike along.
To ride an Arlington Transit bus you must present the driver with $1.35 or a Metro token if you are an adult. Seniors, people with disabilities, and students ride for 60 cents, and children under five ride free, as do Virginia Hospital employees riding routes 51 and 52 to work. To save 10 cents per fare or pay without cash, you can get a SmarTrip. It's one of the more ingenious transit fare packaging systems. It's a card embedded with a chip that allows you to simply touch in. SmarTrip card holders get free transfers, but everyone else gets charged full fare.
If you find you're unable to board the regular bus to get to your woodworking auctions you can make use of STAR - Specialized Transit for Arlington Residents, which is the paratransit subsystem. All rides have to be booked in advance through the call center.
|