Of the seven lawmakers POLITICO talked to, Republican Rep. Larry Bucshon of Indiana spoke the most knowledgeably and confidently about the Washington system, not hesitating as he laid out his exact route. “I have a place in Navy Yard, so if I take it I go from Capitol South to L’Enfant and change lines and go to the Navy Yard stop. I also frequently take it to Chinatown,” he said.

Bucshon has ridden the older systems in New York and Chicago — where he went to medical school — and said Washington’s newer system “stacks up” against the others he’s seen. “I’ve had good luck with the Metro system here,” he said.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who served in the House until 2009, said he’s stuck with a driver thanks to his Cabinet-level job. But his wife rides Metro every day, he said, using it to get to and from a job at one of the Smithsonian buildings.

“When our grandchildren have come here from Illinois or Indiana where they live, they love riding the Metro because they never experience that,” LaHood said.

But not all members who ride the city’s rails are fans of the system.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), who takes the train from Reagan National Airport, said Metro’s condition is emblematic of continued federal underinvestment in transit. “It’s got severe and ongoing problems with escalators,” he said. “The equipment is getting pretty creaky and old, deferred maintenance. I’ve ridden it around town; lots of squealing around corners.”

He tempered his criticism a bit, saying that “it has a good network” that suffers from reliability problems that discourage some potential riders.

“Reliability is a killer. … I’ve been on Metro when you just have to say, ‘OK, I give up; I’m getting out and seeing if I can find a cab because we’re sitting at the station for 15 minutes, and I’ve got an appointment,’” DeFazio said. “Everybody’s had that experience. So it needs some work; it really needs upgraded equipment, just like virtually every other mass transit system in America.”

Blumenauer praised the Washington system but said it’s only one piece of the puzzle — and that Portland, Ore., is in better shape overall. “We have in Portland, I think, a better overall network in terms of light rail, streetcar, bicycle. D.C. has the backbone.”

While the list of Metro-riding members crosses party lines, that’s a stark contrast to how the two parties dealt with transit funding in last summer’s major highway and transit bill.

Republicans, led by Mica, wanted to end transit’s 20 percent share of gas tax money. Democrats — and some moderate Republicans — insisted otherwise and reminded their colleagues that it was President Ronald Reagan who signed the 1982 law that first gave transit projects their part of gas tax receipts. The GOP effort failed after the chamber couldn’t secure enough votes to bring its version of the bill to the floor.

Several Democrats used their discussions about Metro to take parting shots at the failed GOP plan.

DeFazio said that in his view, Republicans aren’t exactly rail lovers, providing this answer about how many actually take the train: “As many as talk to average, working people, which is unfortunately not a majority.”

Asked if more Republicans should hop on Metro, Rahall replied, “I would highly recommend that.”

Burgess Everett contributed to this report.