Capt. Eugene Cazed-essus, unit head for combat service support, Manpower Management Enlisted Assignment, loves doing without all the inherent hassles that come with driving in congested Northern Virginia traffic.

He’s pretty certain that lots of other Marines and civilians alike would feel likewise if they just knew that they could also reduce their daily stress by taking the Virginia Railway Express to Quantico and catching a free shuttle to their final destination on the base Westside.

“People are so used to driving on that side and not having shuttle service,” Cazedessus said on Jan. 8 before getting off at his stop at the Marsh Center. “I think once people find out about it, they will want to give it a try.”

But the Commuter Express Shuttle program has been somewhat slow to get off the ground, as getting the word out about its availability has proved challenging. As of last week, there still had not been a single VRE rider to climb aboard the van ready to ferry them to various commands around the Westside.

Stops on the base’s Westside include the Russell-Knox Building, The Basic School, Weapons Training Battalion and all other significant employee locations, said B.T. McLemore, head, Transportation Branch.

McLemore has expressed his confidence that Marines and civilians alike will begin taking advantage of the service and help reduce base vehicle traffic. All riders must either be service members or federal employees in possession of a Common Access Card.

Word of the Commuter Express came as a pleasant surprise to Carol Weaver, the operations research analyst mission area analysis branch, Operations Analysis Division, Marine Corps Combat Development Command. Weaver, who has been riding the VRE since it began dropping off riders at Quantico in 2010, said she doesn’t miss the daily “drive down 95 with all the crazies.”

Similar relief is now available to those on the Westside as well. They just need to get word first.

For information, call 703-784-2900.

— Writer: jhollis@quanticosentryonline.com