Repairs to the troubled D.C. Metro rail system are testing the patience of commuters this summer, but Capitol Hill staffers and interns must still squeeze on those trains to get to work and some of their bosses are right there with them.

On any given morning on the Red Line platform at Union Station, you can find Sens. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Christopher S. Murphy of Connecticut . They’re not giving up on the nation’s second-largest subway system despite age — it’s officially middle age — service interruptions, delays, and crowding.

“I’m sure I could have someone on my staff pick me up every day, but why put someone through all that hassle if I have public transportation 10 minutes away from my house.” Murphy said.

“When you’re fighting traffic here, I’ve learned it’s better to just take the public transit. Let a professional fight the traffic,” Heinrich said.

In a city known for criss-crossing motorcades that haul around the very important, members of Congress can still be a pretty regular bunch. Some do glide through the Capitol gates hidden behind the tinted windows of chauffeured sedans, but many, many more sit behind the wheel idled in the region’s notorious traffic, walk, cab-it or ride their bikes to work.