Was just reading about today’s smoke incident and fatality on the Metro. Though it occurred on a Yellow line train, and I take Green, I go right through L’Enfant Plaza to and from work every day. I don’t know how I’d handle the 40 minutes of waiting for rescue in the dark and smoke; considering I once had a panic attack on the Metro when I found it difficult to breathe I probably wouldn’t handle it very well.

I tried looking to see if there was an alternative route I could take to work that wouldn’t involve Metro but none of the ones I found were very convenient. My current commute takes about 40 minutes; 20 minutes by bus to the station, and then another 20 minutes by train to the office. I could get to work entirely by bus, but that would take three times as long: home to Rhode Island Avenue and transfer to another bus. I’ve biked to work once or twice, but have not previously in this cold and ice and doubt I would.

That it could have been my train going through L’Enfant has me concerned. Sometimes other passengers aren’t the greatest ((To paraphrase an old manager of mine once after we had an irate customer, the bad thing about taking public transportation is having to let the public in.)) but that just comes with the territory. Overall, I like the thought of using public transportation but it’s the safety history of Metro that gives me pause. I could drive to work if I really wanted to, but parking fees would be ridiculous. I just don’t know what else I could do except to move within walking distance of my office.