Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Commuting

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #26
    Commuting

    I've never had a commute that averaged longer than 45 minutes, and I've always been willing to live in smaller and slightly more expensive places to ensure that I never do.

    My current commute is about half an hour walking and riding the bus, or about fifteen to twenty minutes if I take my bicycle. I almost never drive because I don't want to pay for parking.

    I really don't know how people deal with long commutes, especially when they're driving in traffic. I guess you can get used to anything, but I hope I never have to get used to that.

    Comment


      #27
      Commuting

      Having spent my early working years commuting by car up the Western Avenue when they were putting in the underpasses and flyovers, I swore I would never waste my life commuting again. The very name of the junctions, Greenford flyover, Target roundabout etc. are etched on my mind; 2.5 hours for 20 miles wasn't that unusual. My current commute is just under 5 miles of rural roads, 10 minutes door to door.

      Comment


        #28
        Commuting

        M25 J22 to J26 clockwise (that's the important part, anticlockwise is a nightmare), an hour from door to door including parking & walking to office.

        Comment


          #29
          Commuting

          For nine months in 2006, I commuted from Banbury to Croydon. The tight bastards in the Home Office wouldn't give me a car parking pass, so I drove around the M25 and up to Hooley (two hours) then got my bike out of the boot and cycled the nine miles in. Return journey was about 20 minutes quicker because there was less traffic around after 7 o'clock. It nearly killed me - and I was accused of fraud by my cunt of a boss and it took ten months of investigations before I could clear my name. Not a happy time.

          The commute this morning was much nicer. First time into work in Nairobi on my locally-sourced Chinese mountain bike. 34 minutes in (downhill mostly) and 36 back. Air quality was dogshit but apart from that it was a breath of fresh air.

          Comment


            #30
            Commuting

            If I drive to work, it costs approximately $10 in tolls and $28-$32 for parking. I would say I drive in about three times per month.

            The round trip bus (parking included) from the Park & Ride lot is $8.75.

            With no traffic, I can get into the city in under 20 minutes by car. Ditto for being on the bus before 10am, when the express bus lane (XBL) is in effect. If a bus breaks down in the XBL, all bets are off.

            Around these parts, it's all about your timing. And the weather. And other drivers. At least we are never without an excuse for being late.

            Comment


              #31
              Commuting

              First time into work in Nairobi on my locally-sourced Chinese mountain bike
              Fuck me Biltong, you're a brave man. I was in Nairobi last April. The traffic and driving standards there make Paris look like an advanced driving test centre.

              Comment


                #32
                Commuting

                Femme Folle wrote:
                ... and $28-$32 for parking.
                WTF?

                Comment


                  #33
                  Commuting

                  What Hobbes said upthread. Fifteen minutes walk door-to-door has done wonders for extra time in the evenings, and general levels of well-being.

                  Contrast this to the Warwick University-Coventry station bus trip I made twice a day for 3-and-a-half years which usually involved a) horrendous traffic jams on the A45, b) antisocial teens smoking who-knows-what, c) catching a cold every six weeks from people who have no idea how to keep a cold to themselves, d) bus drivers who couldn't keep to the timetable, or e) all of the above.

                  Comment


                    #34
                    Commuting

                    Two weeks ago: Sheffield (via Chesterfield) to Oxford and back on the Wednesday, then back down to Huntingdon the following day returning to Sheffield on the Friday.

                    Last Week: Sheffield to Birmingham on the Monday, back home on Thursday and then Carlisle and back on the Friday.

                    This week: Sheffield to Birmingham yesterday, back home today and then from tomorrow Sheffield to just outside Coventry but returning every night because I haven't (can't be arsed) got any accommodation sorted out. Having a company fuel card and getting paid for travel time sealed it.

                    Now beat that yer big bunch of Jessies.

                    Comment


                      #35
                      Commuting

                      I've started etting the train in to Victoria from Denmark Hill to end the tedium of the 185 and Camberwell New Road.
                      EIM, in the 20+ years I've lived in London all roads to and from Camberwell have always been a nightmare. Do as Hobbes says and get a bike. Or walk, it would probably be quicker.

                      It's a 20 minute cycle ride for me. Could probably do it quicker, but since getting knocked off before Christmas, I've started to be more mindful of the traffic. I feel pretty lucky to live in the biggest city in Europe and yet not have to waste too much time getting to and from work.

                      Comment


                        #36
                        Commuting

                        Worn Old Motorbike wrote:
                        Femme Folle wrote:
                        ... and $28-$32 for parking.
                        WTF?
                        That's not too much more than Calgary parking. The city-owned ones charge up to $23 a day, the private owned lots charge more. It's a product of their mass-transit policy: make it punitively expensive to park downtown, severely limit parking spaces, and get everyone on the CTrain instead.

                        Comment


                          #37
                          Commuting

                          About 30 minutes for me, but if I was going directly to work driving then it would be about 5-10 minutes. As it is, I drop off my daughter with Mrs. Inca's parents, which takes me out of the way of where I'm going, then I go to work. Once or twice a week I will drive back home, grab my bike, and then get on the bus and ride my bike home in the evening (going to work is a bit uphill and I tend to sweat, even riding at a relaxed pace. There used to be a campus gym open right near my office, but it's been closed).

                          Comment


                            #38
                            Commuting

                            Hah hah! Suckers!!!
                            My commute:
                            First I wake up around a quarter to 9. Sit in bed for a few minutes and read email on my iPhone. My colleague in London filed her status report already, of course. Then I walk about 20 feet to the southeast and make the coffee and turn on the radio. Usually sports talk - doesn't require thinking in the AM. Then I walk about 15 feet north and then and take a shower. Then I walk about five feet north of that and am back where I started and get dressed. Then I walk southeast 20 feet and get my coffee and something to eat. Then the hard part. I go down about 10 steps to the downstairs of my house and begin the long trek across to my office. Another 10 feet or so to the southwest. On the way, I pick up the clothes I wore yesterday which I'd flung down the steps the night before and I throw them toward the washing machine which is sort of on the way to my office. Then I sit down. I fuck around on OTF for a while. Read some email. Scan some news sites and then start working.

                            My commute around 5 or 6 pm is even shorter. I usually just go into the next room and have a lie down on my comfy chair and watch stuff I DVR'd the night before until I feel like eating or going out.

                            This really is the way to go. I highly recommend it. I did the commuting thing for years in DC - all forms of transport - and hated every single second of it. Whenever I see somebody who has a higher paying or cooler-sounding job, I think - "they probably have to work in an office and deal with other people in their face during the day" and realize that I'm extremely blessed.

                            Comment


                              #39
                              Commuting

                              You forgot to mention the part where you shriek when sunlight touches your skin and you run to shut the blinds.

                              Comment


                                #40
                                Commuting

                                Neighbours describe him as 'a quiet man'.

                                "Friendly enough, but keeps to hisself mainly. Never see him outside much. No...no idea what he does for a living...."

                                Comment


                                  #41
                                  Commuting

                                  That is a downside. Lately, I've been making an extra effort to see the sun during the day to improve my Vitamin D and so forth. My office doesn't get much sun. But it's still more sun than I got in any of the office buildings I worked in. In fact, the place I worked the longest was in a basement and at the place I worked in Massachusetts, my office had no outside-facing windows at all.

                                  If I have time, which I don't always, in the afternoon I will walk downtown State College to get coffee or something just to get outside for a bit. Shoveling snow is a good diversion as well.

                                  Comment


                                    #42
                                    Commuting

                                    I worked from home for a while when I was freelancing, but I found I preferred to keep my workplace and living space separate, so I usually went to the library.

                                    I guess if I had a house with a dedicated office it might be different.

                                    Comment


                                      #43
                                      Commuting

                                      It's not all awesome. It is kind of isolating and I need to work on getting out more and being more social. But the pros far outweigh the cons.

                                      Commuting into a big city like London or New York would suck, but at least once you get there you're in London or New York. In my old job, they moved the offices from a somewhat shitty older building in Friendship Heights out to a much newer, but on-balance-just-as-shitty building in the Montgomery County sprawl. Oh and, in the process, they revoked the free Metro and parking benefit. That seemed to be the trend with a lot of companies, even government. It made the company noticeably worse because so many of our best people lived in DC or Arlington and didn't want to commute out there and the quality and number of new applicants declined.

                                      Comment


                                        #44
                                        Commuting

                                        I'm fairly used to my commute. In the morning it's not so bad; 30 minutes tops, straight down the line from Chalk Farm to Bank, and I can usually get a seat. The way back is not so fun. Bank is not a nice station to navigate at the best of times, and rush hour is not one of those times. But, once I'm on, I can usually bury myself in a book or podcast. I'm trying to move house and that'll mean a much longer trip, but still only one train.

                                        I'd much rather get a bus. I used to work at Warren Street and could get a bus almost to the door. At least if a bus breaks down or there are road problems you can get off and walk.

                                        My best ever commute was for about a month in Sydney. A 15 minute walk from Randwick across Moore Park to an office right in the middle of the park. Beautiful weather, peace and quiet, barely a soul around and a stroll in the park to the office.

                                        Comment


                                          #45
                                          Commuting

                                          George wrote:
                                          Two weeks ago: Sheffield (via Chesterfield) to Oxford and back on the Wednesday, then back down to Huntingdon the following day returning to Sheffield on the Friday.

                                          Last Week: Sheffield to Birmingham on the Monday, back home on Thursday and then Carlisle and back on the Friday.

                                          This week: Sheffield to Birmingham yesterday, back home today and then from tomorrow Sheffield to just outside Coventry but returning every night because I haven't (can't be arsed) got any accommodation sorted out. Having a company fuel card and getting paid for travel time sealed it.

                                          Now beat that yer big bunch of Jessies.
                                          When my grandad was working as a travelling salesman he had to drive all over, and once had to head up to Aberdeen to see a client. He had an appointment in Edinburgh the next morning, so headed down there afterwards to check himself into his regular hotel there - having failed to notice that it was the middle of the Festival. On being told there were no beds that night, he drove back home to Oldham, slept there, and headed back to Edinburgh for a 9 o'clock appointment the next morning.

                                          Comment


                                            #46
                                            Commuting

                                            Toby Gymshorts wrote:
                                            10 minute walk to Crofton Park
                                            I used to live there, on Darfield Road, right next to the station.

                                            Comment


                                              #47
                                              Commuting

                                              My main place of work is a 20 minute walk from my apartment. But I do a lot of offsite stuff, one job is at a posh private school which is slap-bang next to one of the worst neighbourhoods in Lisbon - 30 minutes on the tube then a 20 minute walk up a massive hill through an estate with walls of quite impressive graffiti in honour of fallen drug dealers, except for one which says "Amo-te (I love you) Sally".

                                              But the walk's great, it's the only exercise I get at the moment.

                                              Comment


                                                #48
                                                Commuting

                                                Oh, I forgot to mention the walking part of my commute. I was making it sound so simple.

                                                Typical commute:

                                                Drive to Park & Ride (7-10 minutes)
                                                Bus to Port Authority Bus Terminal (30-45 minutes)
                                                Walk .6 miles to office (15-20 minutes, depending on how many times Teddy* has to stop and smell everything)

                                                I need to try and incorporate a train, a boat and a plane in there too somehow, and then my life would be complete.

                                                * Did I mention that I get to bring my dog to work?

                                                Comment


                                                  #49
                                                  Commuting

                                                  10-minute stroll through the middle of Palma. Proximity to work is basically the most important consideration I ever have in flat-searching.

                                                  Comment


                                                    #50
                                                    Commuting

                                                    I have a 45 minute commute from Putney to Holborn. The District line is far, far worse than the overland train. I just have to get up early enough for a seat on the overland (7.15am train). Then it's a walk from Waterloo to Holborn - podcast time.

                                                    The return journey is more crowded but I still avoid the tube if I can. Bunch of wankers, tube travellers. And I don't even live on the Northern line.

                                                    Comment

                                                    Working...
                                                    X