The Bus is King
Knowing the best way to get around is a great way to explore the city, get to places effectively and cheaply, and connect with the city's community. The bus, in particular, can be daunting for amateurs, but professionals know its versatility and use in getting from place to place. AU students, listen to me, ride the bus!
Traveling across DC is an underrated aspect of college life at AU. There are many options to get around the city: by car, foot, scooter, rideshare, or bike. All of these methods have their pros and cons. If you are an AU student who wants to get across the city quickly and on a budget, then one transportation modality is king—the bus. More environmentally friendly than a car, cheaper than renting a scooter or rideshare, less physically exerting than running or walking, and with greater coverage than the metro, the Metrobus has it all. However, knowing from personal experience, many AU students discount the bus as a viable transportation option because they do not trust it or know how to use it.
To these AU students, I urge you, take the bus. The bus makes running errands or getting to inaccessible neighborhoods easy. For example, I have heard many AU students complain how hard it is to get to Georgetown. It is too far to comfortably walk and too far from any metro stop. However, by bus, getting to Georgetown is a piece of cake. If you are an AU student, all you need to do is go to the Tenley stop on the shuttle and take the 31 or 33 bus. It goes straight through Georgetown on Wisconsin Ave before turning left on M street where you can get off the bus and enjoy the neighborhood's cafes, restaurants, and specialty shops.
What makes the bus the king of DC transport is not that it is better than every other method, but that broken down into key factors such as speed, accessibility, cost, environmental impact, range, and a few other miscellaneous aspects, the bus consistently outperforms most transportation methods. While mixing transport modalities, such as driving or biking to a metro station, is a good solution, the bus stands on its own as a reliable transport method.