Commuting from Eastern Shore (Baltimore, Easton: home, living, prices)

[tekva]

Originally Posted by mnacct

Can anyone talk about commuter buses going to the DC area? I read in another post that the MTA has a bus that goes to DC in 1 hour and 15 min. Anyone has 1st-hand experience of riding this bus if you don't want to drive yourself? I read that they leave early in the morning- 1 hour and 15 minutes is not bad. I wonder how long it would take if there's inclement weather or accidents on the road.

There is a Dillon Bus that leaves from Kent Island with a stopver in Annapolis. Good bus, good service. I stopped taking it because it tends to be a "party bus" at night -- everyone knows everyone -- and at the end of a long day, I didn't want to be innundated with lots of loud talk and laughter, and didn't want to appear rude by not joining in. But it's a good bus, reliable (at least by my experience).

[Grasonville]

I know this is an old thread - but since I am new here I thought i would add my 2 cents.

I drive from Grasonville (6 miles east of the Ches Bay Bridge) to Jessup, MD (45 miles) - it takes 1 hour

I used to live in Silver Spring - and drive to Jessup (25 miles) and it took.........................1 hour.

The difference is there are NO TRAFFIC LIGHTS until i hit Route 1 in Laurel.

Also - the summer ride home is bit tricky - but if you have a flex schedule and can leave early on Friday - it isn't horrible - you just have to be aware and leave accordingly.

One last issue - with the Speed Pass you can buy monthly tickets and you have exclusive use of the east bound transition lane on the bridge.

I LOVE living on the Eastern Shore

[mnacct]

Thank you Grasonville. You've given some good tips on how to beat the traffic. I've heard good things about the Dillon bus service and how reliabile it is. I've never had a commute more than 20 minutes to or from work, so 1 hour would be an adjustment for me. But knowing how I am, I'd probably prefer riding a bus for one hour than slugging it to work in a car and burning gas (that's not cheap anymore). The only thing I'd lose is flexibility of not having a car when I need one. The party atmosphere at night could be a turn off, but since I look scary and ugly, people may think twice about that stuff around me. Just kidding. LOL!

[mnacct]

I know traffic can be rough across the bay bridge. Are there any plans to widen the bridge (add extra lanes) to make traffic go faster or build another bridge across the bay to go to Eastern Shore?

[Grasonville]

Originally Posted by mnacct

I know traffic can be rough across the bay bridge. Are there any plans to widen the bridge (add extra lanes) to make traffic go faster or build another bridge across the bay to go to Eastern Shore?

Yes - EVERY year "they" bring up adding a third span - and every year "they" decide to table the motion - there has even been talk of adding back the ferry boat system (which was in place prior to the building of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

What it boils down to is that by the time they decide to add the extra bridge - they will need THREE more - and they take YEARS to build.

What will more than likely happen is that(1) as the baby boomer working people start to retire they will no longer HAVE to cross the bridge on a daily basis - thereby reliving some of the volume and (2) as technology advances there will be more ops to work from home via the internet - also reducing the commuter aspect

[mnacct]

I agree, Grasonville. That would indeed be a relief if more people can work from home. I'm really hoping that more employers are flexible in regards to commuting. All those days we spend commuting, that's 2-5 hours on the road doing nothing work-related. The days of everyone having to physically be in an office is archaic to me!

As for the ferry boat system, it kind of sucks that they had to do away with that. I don't get why it has to be an either / or proposition. If that was still in place and can carry traffic across the bay at the same time the bridge is carrying traffic, that would relieve the congestion somewhat. Is it a pollution issue (polluting the bay) or a cost issue to continue to run the service?

[Grasonville]

Originally Posted by mnacct

As for the ferry boat system, it kind of sucks that they had to do away with that. I don't get why it has to be an either / or proposition. If that was still in place and can carry traffic across the bay at the same time the bridge is carrying traffic, that would relieve the congestion somewhat. Is it a pollution issue (polluting the bay) or a cost issue to continue to run the service?

It is a time issue - how many people want to take the ferry that takes an hour or would they rather drive the bridge that takes 10 minutes (without traffic)

The problem REALLY is that 12 toll lanes do NOT go into TWO (sometimes three) lanes - what is a needed is for the bridge police to get their tushes OUT of their vehicles and DIRECT TRAFFIC so that bottlenecks don't occur.

[mnacct]

Wow, never knew it took an hour to get across.

[notredamebird]

I am glad to read this thread. Many thanks to all who posted on it, because my husband and I are trying to find a place to live in MD, but being from Indiana (and New Hampshire/Montana before that), we have no firsthand experience.

We've been wondering about the Eastern Shore and Kent Island. We're excited about aspects of the large metro area, but we'd rather live somewhere a little more relaxed. So it is good to know the towns are smaller and more, well, "nothing-to-do-ish".

GoogleMaps claims the commute from Stevensville to Greenbelt is 45 mins, or 55 in traffic. This seems to confirm Grasonville's observation--except, I suppose, on the really bad traffic days.

If anyone else has encouraging comments or cautionary tales I'd love to hear them.

[IPainter]

Sure it is a great commute,but it's great waking up to birds chirping or the ocean breeze if you live close to the water, breathing cleaner air. Now there are not too many job opportunities yet!!I have seen an increase in job openings on the eastern shore.Slowly but surely you will see an even bigger increase in jobs.I know because I've been tracking it down for 2 years now.Maybe if we get a few more staffing agencies there,then maybe the public will know where to find a job on the eastern shore.I know that they are in need of a lot of positions in the medical field nurses etc.Also defense contractors and many other new businesses,corporations etc..As far as shopping why go to annapolis ?? there's salsbury,dover(delaware),ocean city,plus many more just explore.we also have an outlet center right at the 50 split.Get a better house here and relax on your days off...I recommend the eastern shore for small ,medium,and large families,for adults and beyond as well,but not for singles(maybe ocean city).well I hope it helps..