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A 2:15 Alarm, 2 Trains and a Bus Get Her to Work by 7 A.M

nytimes.com

51–60 of 323 posts

Re: A 2:15 Alarm, 2 Trains and a Bus Get Her to Work by 7 A.M

#51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> new housing wouldn't be needed Bay Area housing supply has been growing less than demand for the last 30 years. New housing is needed, regardless of who is employing whom.

California building codes are pretty extreme from what I've seen, they go as far as measuring the pull force required to open a door for example. This seems like a place where a little deregulation would go a long way.

When zoning aggressively blocks dense housing, I don't think it's the little code details that matter.

Re: A 2:15 Alarm, 2 Trains and a Bus Get Her to Work by 7 A.M

#52
San Francisco has more than twice the area of Manhattan, with half the population.

The San Francisco Bay Area CSA has about the same population as Switzerland, with 2/3 of the area of Switzerland.

Both have similar GDPs.

If someone wanted to live in Germany, and commute to work in Zurich, with Swiss salaries and German cost-of-living, their commute would be about 1h15min.

The housing and infrastructure problems in the SFBA are purely political, and self-inflicted.

Re: A 2:15 Alarm, 2 Trains and a Bus Get Her to Work by 7 A.M

#53
post #26
post #9

With self driving cars I see this happening even more.

Yes, but with a self-driving car you'll be able to sleep during your commute.

I have slept and have seen plenty of other people sleep on trains all the time.

Doesn't really change anything.

Re: A 2:15 Alarm, 2 Trains and a Bus Get Her to Work by 7 A.M

#54
post #19

A little misleading as she needs to catch the train at 4am. Still, an almost 3 hour commute is brutal.

Misleading? Do you not include layovers in the time it takes to travel somewhere? Most people do.

It's misleading because the title makes it sound like a 5 hour commute, when in reality, 2 hours of it are her spending time leisurely around the house in the morning before leaving.

Re: A 2:15 Alarm, 2 Trains and a Bus Get Her to Work by 7 A.M

#55
AS I've gotten older and more experienced I realized my commuting circle has shrunken. When I was dumb and young I was willing to commute 3 counties for work. Gas was cheap and apparently my time (1 hr each way) was cheaper. If it's not close by (<30 min) and I can't telecommute than I don't really care for it. I live in the city so there are plenty of other opportunities.

Re: A 2:15 Alarm, 2 Trains and a Bus Get Her to Work by 7 A.M

#56

So why do we keep commuting for jobs that don't really require our physical presence? It was a long hard battle for me to be able to work from home, and yes, I sometimes do miss out on face-to-face interaction, but going to the office 2 instead of 5 days a week is still a huge win - I'm not in a car out there, making traffic worse for you . You're welcome. Can we please solve the supposed "interaction" problem with s…

I hate working from home. I'm a social being.

Re: A 2:15 Alarm, 2 Trains and a Bus Get Her to Work by 7 A.M

#57

While the rising cost of housing is an easy target, why not put the pressure on the companies that are driving the influx of workers and out of control cost of living? If tech companies are drawing people into cities and forcing out those who keep the city itself operating, why not have them subsidize and improve public transportation? Lower income housing? Encourage more remote work or move their headquarters out of…

I think there's a problem of congregation. i.e. Real network effects reinforcing labor concentration - to the exclusion of support business. Companies want their employees close at hand. Those same employees attract further, similar businesses nearby. I don't know how to change that. Tele-presence doesn't seem as in demand.

Re: A 2:15 Alarm, 2 Trains and a Bus Get Her to Work by 7 A.M

#59

San Francisco has more than twice the area of Manhattan, with half the population. The San Francisco Bay Area CSA has about the same population as Switzerland, with 2/3 of the area of Switzerland. Both have similar GDPs. If someone wanted to live in Germany, and commute to work in Zurich, with Swiss salaries and German cost-of-living, their commute would be about 1h15min. The housing and infrastructure problems in th…

True.

But a non-political solution to affordable housing could be coming soon in the form of rapid transit via Hyperloop. Hyperloop could put deflationary pressure on housing prices.

If Hyperloop actually materializes, and their route transit times are anywhere near what they say they will be, then real estate prices should decline in the bay area, or at the worst level out.

I doubt people will continue to pay crazy prices in SF when you can commute from almost anywhere on the west coast to SF within an hour on Hyperloop.

http://hyperloop-one.com/routes/

Re: A 2:15 Alarm, 2 Trains and a Bus Get Her to Work by 7 A.M

#60
post #38
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But she likes to take her time and have coffee. She keeps the lights low and the house quiet and Zen-like. “I just can’t rush like that,” she said. When the second alarm goes off at 3:45 — a reminder to leave for the train in 15 minutes — her morning shifts from leisure to precision. She could get up somewhat later to catch her train.

Right. That's addressed later in the article.

Hence the title being misleading.
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