Commuting in Caroline County to destinations outside of the county usually involves daily trips to the Fredericksburg Area, Washington Metropolitan Area and Greater Richmond Area. The closest van pools from Caroline County to points north assemble in Spotsylvania County Park and Ride. The trip from Ladysmith to Richmond takes an average of 41-46 minutes during the 37 mile trip. This results in few opportunities for ride sharing. The options for commuting to destinations north are below.
GWRideConnect is a free ride sharing service that assists commuters who are seeking daily transportation, such as vanpools, carpools and buses, from Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline and King George counties to employment locations in Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, Richmond, Dahlgren and other employment sites right here in the Fredericksburg area.
The Fredericksburg Line of Virginia Railway Express has stops at the Downtown Fredericksburg Station at 200 Lafayette Boulevard Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401; and Spotsylvania Station at 9442 Crossroads Parkway Fredericksburg, Virginia 22408. This commuter rail station is off of U. S. Bypass 17 (Mills Road) and Benchmark Road at Crossroads Station. This is 5 miles south of the downtown area of Fredericksburg. There are 1,482 parking spaces for commuters.
Commuter Connections has a bulletin board for Caroline County commuters which connects riders with matching commute locations in Arlington, Arlington National Bureau, Bolling Air Force Base, Downtown and Southeast Washington, D. C., Mark Center, Reston, and U. S. Coast Guard stations and buildings. Many of these connections are offered by Patriotic AdVANtures and most departures are from the Route 3 Gordon Road and Salem Church Road Park and Ride commuter lots in Spotsylvania County.
E-ZPass using the E-ZPass Flex is our least favorite alternative of using alternative Express Lanes toll roads. It allows motorists to avoid the daily stop-and-go traffic from the Interstate 395 HOV Lanes to Interstate 95 Express Lanes, and Interstate 495 Express Lanes. The Interstate 95 trip totals 29 miles of HOV/Express Lanes on I-95 from Garrisonville Road in Stafford County to the vicinity of Edsall Road on I-395 in Fairfax County. In 2017, construction is scheduled to start on adding 8 miles of Express Lanes north to the Virginia/Washington, D. C. line. There will be 2 miles added south between Garrisonville Road (Route 610) to Courthouse Road (Route 630) in Stafford County. But don’t expect a smooth commute using this option. It’s very expensive and delays routinely occur in Stafford County as vehicles bottleneck trying to exit and merge with regular traffic.
Slugging. Very effective alternative to van pools. Visit slug-lines.com for a complete list of meeting places, times and social rules surrounding this practice.
Information for connecting rides outside of Caroline County can be found through our other commuting pages: Spotsylvania Commuting Services, Fredericksburg Commuting and Transportation, and Commuting and Transportation in Stafford County.
Contact Realtor Dwayne Moyers at 540-446-6284 if your future includes buying or selling a home in Caroline and Spotsylvania counties.
