Exton to Lancaster City Commute? (Philadelphia, Reading: how much, costs, bus)

[knicksin8]

What's the best recommended route from Exton to Lancaster city?

What time can I realistically expect to arrive in Lancaster if I left Exton at 6:45 a.m.?

What time can I realistically expect to arrive in Exton if I left Lancaster at 6:45 p.m.?

Would I be going against the traffic at these times? Is this a typically congested commute?

How is the commute in the winter (i.e. can I expect icy roads)?

Are the highways on this commute 2 or 3 lanes?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[CHIP72]

Originally Posted by knicksin8

1) What's the best recommended route from Exton to Lancaster city?

2) What time can I realistically expect to arrive in Lancaster if I left Exton at 6:45 a.m.?

3) What time can I realistically expect to arrive in Exton if I left Lancaster at 6:45 p.m.?

4) Would I be going against the traffic at these times? Is this a typically congested commute?

5) How is the commute in the winter (i.e. can I expect icy roads)?

6) Are the highways on this commute 2 or 3 lanes?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

1) Definitely US 30.

2) Probably about 7:30 AM (45 minutes), maybe a bit earlier. You'd be driving a little earlier than the major rush period.

3) Probably about 7:30 PM (45 minutes), maybe a bit earlier. You'd be driving distinctly later than the major rush period.

4) It wouldn't be congested until west of PA Route 41; you'd be against the commute east of there and with the commute west of there. US 30 can get congested, especially if you get stuck behind a tractor-trailer or Amish buggy on the 3 lane (single through lane in each direction with center turn lane) section east of Lancaster. I'd guess during commuting periods the portion of US 30 near the outlets would also be congested, based on the few times I've driven through there at the PM rush.

5) It can get icy in that part of PA periodically. Because US 30 is a major road, it should be in better shape than most other roads in the area during winter storms.

6) US 30 is a limited-access (interstate-like) route from Exton to about the Chester/Lancaster County line (roughly 15 miles). For about 15 miles between the Chester/Lancaster line and PA Route 896 it is a 3 lane road with a center turn lane. Near Lancaster it is (I think) a 5 lane road with a center turn lane. Finally, once you start using PA Route 462 (if you are working in downtown Lancaster), I think the route would be a pair of one-way streets with 2 or 3 lanes.

[knicksin8]

thanks for the reply CHIP72. It was extremely helpful. I was also curious about the commute from Malvern to Lancaster.

What's the best recommended route from Malvern to Lancaster city?

What time can I realistically expect to arrive in Lancaster if I left Malvern at 6:45 a.m.?

What time can I realistically expect to arrive in Malvern if I left Lancaster at 6:45 p.m.?

any feedback would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

[CHIP72]

Malvern is directly east of Exton along US 30 by about 6-8 miles. The answers for Malvern would be similar, except tack on maybe 10 additional minutes of commute time. US 30 between Exton and Malvern is a limited-access road.

I should note Amtrak's Keystone Service has relatively frequent service (14 trains/weekday in each direction) between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. (For day trip purposes, I'll add that 10 of those weekday trains in each direction also travel to/from New York, and on weekends there are 8 Harrisburg/Philadelphia trains and 7 Harrisburg/New York trains.) Both Lancaster and Exton are served by the Keystone Service, as is Paoli (which is a couple miles east of Malvern). Also, all Keystone trains stop at Lancaster and Paoli, and most trains (all but 2 in each direction on weekdays) stop at Exton. The Lancaster station is at the north end of the city, about a mile from downtown, but I believe there is shuttle bus service (not sure if it's free or not) between the station and downtown - check the Red Rose Transit Authority website for more details. Exton's station is just south of US 30 along PA Route 100 and is a park-and-ride station, while Paoli's station I believe isn't too far from the center of town - in some places you could walk to it and there is also a parking lot there. In terms of train times, there are westbound trains that leave Paoli at 5:51 AM/6:51 AM and Exton at 5:58 AM/6:59 AM and arrive in Lancaster at 6:35 AM/7:35 AM, and eastbound trains that leave Lancaster at 6:10 PM/7:12 PM and arrive in Exton at 6:46 PM/7:46 PM and Paoli at 6:55 PM/7:55 PM.

[lititzman2003]

I know from recent experience Route 30, starting from Route 10 near the Chester/Lancaster County line, to Route 41, can be an adventure in bad weather. The road ices up quickly and it has alot of hills and valleys. It can also get foggy fast and it can sneak up on you. Another way to travel, and this is the LONG way, would be entering the Turnpike at the Route 100 entrance and exiting at Lancaster/ Reading (Exit 286) and then taking Route 222 south onto Westbound 30 and then head into town that way. I know it's out of the way and costly but there are few problems. Tourist season is approaching and Route from 896 to where the highway starts, can be very congested. Whatever you decide try to avoid Business Route 30 through Coatesville and Downingtown. Good luck.

[knicksin8]

thanks for the great advice CHIP72 and lititzman2003.

does anyone know how much the Amtrak parking lot fees are for the Exton, Paoli and/or Lancaster stations?

Is there short term and long term parking available at each of these station parking lots?

[CHIP72]

Originally Posted by knicksin8

thanks for the great advice CHIP72 and lititzman2003.

does anyone know how much the Amtrak parking lot fees are for the Exton, Paoli and/or Lancaster stations?

Is there short term and long term parking available at each of these station parking lots?

Both the Exton and Paoli stations are operated by SEPTA (Philadelphia area transit provider) and cost $1/day on weekdays. I'm not sure how much the Lancaster train station parking lot costs (and I'm not sure you'd need to use it if you are riding to/from Lancaster for work), but I think I was told about 3-4 years ago that parking costs $4/day there. It may have increased since then.

I would think monthly parking is available at the Lancaster train station, but I don't know that for sure.

As for short-term parking, there is metered parking at the Lancaster train station. I don't believe there is short-term parking at either Exton or Paoli, but there may be nearby short-term parking in Paoli. (Exton is a park-and-ride lot that you pretty much can only reach via car.)

Incidentally, Exton, Malvern, and Paoli are all served by the SEPTA R5 regional rail trains (with Malvern and Paoli having more service), but those trains obviously travel between those stations and Center City Philadelphia; the SEPTA R5 does not go to Lancaster.