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kodex1717 t1_j1xcwpx wrote

Reply to comment by ggrnw27 in Questions about the Purple line? by liquibasethrowaway

I am super excited for the Purple Line and I was very bummed when I learned the average speed is so slow. Even with the worst beltway traffic it will almost always be faster to drive. :/

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voikya t1_j1xt4fz wrote

Bear in mind that average speed includes station stops. It's really hard to get a good intuition of—it's not like it will tootle along at 16mph; it will run at 30+ mph, stop, run at 30+ mph, stop, etc.

For comparison, I remember seeing (a ways back admittedly) that the average speed of the J buses on East-West Hwy are about 7-8mph. Compared to that, 16mph is a huge improvement. It seems very unlikely that between Bethesda and Silver Spring, for example, that driving would be faster, even with clear roads.

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kodex1717 t1_j1yn9t6 wrote

Yes, I understand that. The average speed is what matters for me personally when I want to travel from one of the line to the other.

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