Monday, April 22, 2013
New “collaborative consumption” services can operate outside of consumer regulations.
Websites and apps seem to be providing solutions to societal problems and challenges in growing numbers. Kickstarter and other on-line “crowd-funding” services are helping startups receive the critical funding they would not have been able to obtain otherwise. Waze and other crowd-sourced traffic apps offer constantly updated traffic information. Now, companies like Sidecar and Uber are attempting to make the process of ride-sharing and transportation reservations easier for consumers, according to a recent post on Greater Greater Washington. While consumers may rejoice at the new tools, they may “run afoul of regulations designed to protect consumers,” according to the article. Existing services like Airbnb (a company that helps people …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Know what you're getting into with the Rockville Patch live traffic widget.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Gas prices across the state and the country are continuing their climb towards the $4 mark.
Gas prices across the state and country continue to climb, with the average price for a gallon of gas in Maryland rising 16 cents this week, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. In Maryland, the average price for a gallon of gas was $3.78 Friday, rising from $3.62 a week ago and $3.38 a month ago, according to AAA. Maryland’s gas prices were on par with the national average of $3.78 a gallon, up 14 cents from a week ago. Prices were higher in Maryland's Washington, DC suburbs, with an average tank running $3.84, up from $3.65 a week ago. Gas prices have climbed for the past 36 days, according to AAA, with a run-up in gas prices beginning earlier this year compared to other years. “State and local gas prices continue to rise from coast to coast …
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Three Brunswick Line trains are cancelled for Thursday evening.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Greg Cohen
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Thursday, January 31
A downed tree along the MARC train's Brunswick Line near Gaithersburg will prevent three trains from running their normal evening route, the Maryland Transit Administration announced Thursday. The following trains will not operate this afternoon: Train 877 (4:55 p.m. departure) will operate through to Martinsburg and Train 881 will make all stops between Washington and Martinsburg, according to the MTA. The downed tree lies about 50 yards north of the Washington Grove station, WUSA 9 reported. State transit officials said more than 800 MARC passengers were delayed for several hours Thursday morning. Passengers on the three affected trains were transported by bus to the Shady Grove Metro station to continue their commute into Washington, DC…
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
New schedule set to take effect on Monday, Jan. 14, with a 5:05 p.m. stop at Metropolitan Grove.
Some evening stops at Boyds, Dickerson and Washington Grove will be dropped, while Gaithersburg's Metropolitan Grove station adds a stop under changes to MARC’s Brunswick Line schedule, set to take effect Monday, Jan. 14. Maryland transportation officials announced the changes Monday. Major changes include: A side-by-side comparison of the changes is available at MTA.Maryland.gov. The Brunswick Line is part of the MARC (Maryland Area Regional Commuter) train system and carries thousands of commuters between Washington, DC, and Martinsburg, WV, stopping through Gaithersburg along the way. In 2011 MARC officials presented plans to change the Brunswick Line, they said, in order to keep it on schedule during peak times, Patch has reported. …
Monday, August 13, 2012
A tad more than 500 words on the 500 square miles of that miracle called Montgomery County. Did you know your cops were funny?
There may be bigger news fish to fry but when what's hot and battered is a Twinkie or a funnel cake, we must start this week's column with a tribute to the one, the only, Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, which continues through Saturday, Aug. 18. Where else can you celebrate the fact that a third of the land in Montgomery County is designated for farming by participating in a toilet-decorating contest? In addition to fried food, there are carnival rides, live music, monster trucks, a children's theater and, of course, live animals, including racing pigs. More than 200,000 people are expected to pay the $10 entrance fee to attend. Speaking of farming, it's the new cutting edge career in these parts. Montgomery County Executive Isiah …
Friday, June 29, 2012
Single tracking will take place in two work zones on the Red Line during the weekend of June 29 through July 1. Passengers will be allowed to drink water on the trains through July 2.
Single tracking returns to the Red Line in two locations this weekend from 10 p.m. on Friday, June 29, through closing on Sunday, July 1: "Throughout the weekend, Red Line trains will operate every 20 minutes between Glenmont and Shady Grove. Customers should allow 10 minutes of additional travel time," Metro reported on its website. "On Saturday and Sunday, between 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., additional trains will operate between Medical Center and Judiciary Square, providing service every 10 minutes between these stations," Metro's website added. Read more about track work on the Metro this weekend on Metro's website. Because of the "extreme temperatures [expected] over the next several days, Metro customers will be permitted to carry and …
Friday, June 8, 2012
Two injured at Montgomery Village Avenue; truck fire at Falls Road clogs afternoon commute.
A pair of accidents on southbound Interstate 270 have complicated Friday's commute, with the backups spreading on local roads throughout the corridor. In the first accident, near the exit for Route 124 (Montgomery Village Avenue/Quince Orchard Road) at around 3 p.m., two people needed to be taken to a hospital, according to a spokeswoman for Maryland State Police. That accident and had been cleared an hour later. She did not have further information. Then shortly after 3:30 p.m., a garbage truck fire temporarily shut down all southbound lanes near the exit for Falls Road. That accident was still being cleared as of 5 p.m., with traffic getting by in the far right lane and the local lanes, according to the spokeswoman.
Friday, March 2, 2012
As gasoline approaches $4 per gallon, some commuters may consider alternative ways to get to work.
Living in the vicinity of a major city has a lot of perks, but a bumper-to-bumper commute isn't one of them. According to data released by the U.S. Census, it takes Fairfax County residents an average 31.3 minutes to get to work. In Arlington County, it's not much better — 26.5 minutes. Montgomery County residents have some of the longest commutes in the metro region, clocking in at 33.2 minutes. If you think moving into the city might help, think again. It takes D.C. dwellers an average of 29.3 minutes to reach the office. And for many people, this commuting time adds up to gallons and gallons of gas at the pump each week. That's why watching gas prices approach $4 per gallon is so painful. The Associated Press reported on Thursday that …
Dave Sutton
11:16 am on Tuesday, April 23, 2013
It's good to see the DC Taxi Commission is going to regulate SideCar. The DC Council really gave Uber a pass and that dangerous permissiveness opened the door for "ridesharing" apps which are nothing more than 21st century hitchhiking. SideCar, and other ridesharing apps, encourage anyone with a vehicle to play taxi driver for a few extra bucks. But these drivers receive too little training, don'… more ›