Bus Services Reaching the Beach
Census figures show that the Washington metro area leads the country in household income, education and women in the work force.</br></br>One of the sad tradeoffs for living in a region with all these impressive facts and figures going for it seems to be a three- to four-hour drive to the nearest beach. And then there's the reluctant, sticky-gritty-sunbumt drive backÛÓthe soul-crushing thought of facing the inevitable car clog at the Bay Bridge.</br></br>ÛÏI like the beach, but for a long time, I wouldnÛªt go because of the traffic problem,ÛªÛª says Steve Strauss, who recently started a weekend beach-and-back bus service called the Shore Express, which for $75ÛÓjust three bucks more than a Greyhound round tripÛÓpicks up sunseekers in the the metro area and delivers them to the Delaware and Maryland, beaches in style. (Gay and lesbian beachgoers can take advantage of a luxury bus service called Shore Leave, which leaves Dupont,Circle for Rehoboth Beach each Friday.) ÛÏThree-plus hours is a long haul to drive just for a weekend,Û Strauss says. ÛÏThere are a lot of people who go down there regularly throughout the summer. I donÛªt know how they survive that drive every weekend. This makes</br></br>it a lot easier for them. ItÛªs a lot safer, comfortable, convenient. People can use their time better on the bus.Û ÛÏWhen you drive it, youÛªre never certain of how much traffic youÛªll hit at the bridge,Û says Betty Fubini of Arlington, who shuttles three grandchildren to her Bethany Beach cottage on the bus. ÛÏAnd we always had to stop someplace. When we used to come, we found very few restaurants along our route. That was always a problem.</br></br>ÛÏSo I took the bus for convenience. It lets me out within walking distance of our cottage. It meant that I didnÛªt have to drive down. I could come when I wanted to, and not be dependent on someone driving us.Û ÛÏThe concept is to provide enjoyable luxury mass transportation bus service from the D.C. area to the Maryland-Delaware beaches,Û says Strauss, who launched the first bus on the Fourth of July weekend.