No, time wasted due to commuting definitely isn't just a Belgian phenomenon. What's most annoying about this is that this terrible waste of time could be alleviated so easily by having people work remotely.
However, most employers still just don't seem to get how letting people work remotely has huge advantages for employers as well.
Commuting? Have you done the math?
41–50 of 62 posts
Re: Commuting? Have you done the math?
#42For me, the answer was to relocate and move within cycling distance of my office. Compared to driving, cycling is incredibly life-giving. I get exercise, and can maneuver around downtown with ease (I never have to worry about a parking spot).
Doesn't work for major cities an example from the UK 2 bed flat in Bedford a 35/50 min commute is £115,000 red lion square near our office its £625,000.
And even if it did work out somehow (take all the hours spent commuting, work out their value, etc.) the chance of an average person getting a deposit saved and a mortgage on the remainder on a £600k property is next to zero even if you were earning £100k, say.
Re: Commuting? Have you done the math?
#43My current job has me commuting 45mi each way 2x/week. So about 90mi of driving each time I go in. The other three days I am at home during the week. A good part of what I do involves working across time zones, so I am generally "on the clock" outside business hours as well. I love the flexibility, the time not getting annoyed in a car, and the ability to live in a place that has both world class mountain biking and surfing.
Whenever I get a ping from a recruiter, flexibility is the first thing I ask them about -- both core hours as well as working at home options. My favorite response was, "well, once you are established, you might be able to work at home on friday now and then". The worst of the responses usually come from established companies rather than startups.
I understand the need to time to collaborate, face time, and the like. Some people need more of it than others. That said, the best teams I have seen/worked with were ones that provided some flexibility to allow their employees to work in the manner most suited to their lifestyle. (I don't mean complete capitulation, but a base that has some give and take for both the company and the individual).
I do like driving. I take road trips regularly, but the day to day grind of other people in their metal cages, stressed, distracted, etc. isn't driving, it is commuting. For where I live, public transport to Silicon Valley from where I live involves a bus and/or train, which is 1.5-2 hrs each way, not really reasonable for me.
Re: Commuting? Have you done the math?
#44Consider taking up motorbikes, especially if you can legally filter / lanesplit. What would otherwise be dead time can be a whole lot of fun. Traffic makes it far more interesting.
"Motorcyclists were 35 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a crash in 2006, per vehicle mile traveled, and 8 times more likely to be injured."[1] I'm all for recreational motorcycling but I'm not as convinced it is a great solution for commuting overall. [1] http://trafficsafety.org/safety/sharing/motorcycle/motor-fac...
Life is a fatal condition; if there was no risk, it wouldn't be as much fun. I used to skydive, but I enjoy riding more. Horse riding is 20x more dangerous[1]. Riding my bike is the most fun I have all day; YMMV.
[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/...
Here's a SF commuter's perspective: http://thesundaybe.st/cracks-in-the-clockwork/
Re: Commuting? Have you done the math?
#45If possible, use public transport. Even if your total time enroute increases, you will have more time to do something productive If you're lucky! I commuted on public transport for a while in the south east of England and if your face wasn't smashed into someone's armpit for the entire journey, you were doing well (or working unsociable hours) ;-)
I've always wondered, in these situations, do you at least have enough room to use a smartphone, or is even that asking too much in the crowds? Where I live, public transportation doesn't typically get that congested.
In a rush hour subway, you may have room to read on your phone, but probably shouldn't use it without a wrist strap. If you're bumped (and you will be) and drop it, you'll never see your phone again.
Re: Commuting? Have you done the math?
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Motorcyclists were 35 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a crash in 2006, per vehicle mile traveled, and 8 times more likely to be injured."[1] I'm all for recreational motorcycling but I'm not as convinced it is a great solution for commuting overall. [1] http://trafficsafety.org/safety/sharing/motorcycle/motor-fac...
Life is a fatal condition; if there was no risk, it wouldn't be as much fun. I used to skydive, but I enjoy riding more. Horse riding is 20x more dangerous[1]. Riding my bike is the most fun I have all day; YMMV. [1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/... Here's a SF commuter's perspective: http://thesundaybe.st/cracks-in-the-clockwork/
That video was a lot of fun!
Definitely if your commute is also your hobby, that's awesome.
Re: Commuting? Have you done the math?
#47Thank god for commuter rail. My commute is 20 miles. I take Metro North every day into Manhattan, and it's absolutely the most civilized way to commute. The trains run frequently (~4 an hour), are pretty cheap (~200 pre-tax), and are never very crowded. It's ~30 minutes at the beginning of the day where I can check my e-mail, plan the day, etc, without anyone bugging me. I used to car commute that distance from the D…
>I used to car commute that distance from the DC suburbs into DC, and it was hellish. 2 hours of my life each day wasted in ungodly traffic. That's not how people were meant to live. I'd much rather have Biden's 100 mile Amtrak commute into DC from Wilmington than the 20 mile car commute into DC from the suburbs. I'm always surprised by how many people drive in and out of DC every day rather than take Metro and/or MA…
I've got a sibling that probably makes about 1.5x as much as I do, but in order to get to that higher paying job, she spends a cumulative 3 hours per day in a high traffic commute. I do not fathom how people live that way. By the time she gets home, most of her day is gone. So it's food, an hour of TV or internet, and then bed so you can do it all over the next day.
Nightmarish.
Re: Commuting? Have you done the math?
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
>I used to car commute that distance from the DC suburbs into DC, and it was hellish. 2 hours of my life each day wasted in ungodly traffic. That's not how people were meant to live. I'd much rather have Biden's 100 mile Amtrak commute into DC from Wilmington than the 20 mile car commute into DC from the suburbs. I'm always surprised by how many people drive in and out of DC every day rather than take Metro and/or MA…
Those systems are extremeley limited in terms of coverage relative to Metro North/LIRR in NYC or Metra in Chicago. A huge amount of the residential development in northern VA is out in Fairfax County, and that area is just now getting a Metro line. Moreover, the metro stops in Vienna, Fairfax, etc, are god-awful. They're built in the middle of the woods so you have to drive to them. A sensible rail system needs to ha…
>Those systems are extremeley limited in terms of coverage relative to Metro North/LIRR in NYC or Metra in Chicago. A huge amount of the residential development in northern VA is out in Fairfax County, and that area is just now getting a Metro line. Moreover, the metro stops in Vienna, Fairfax, etc, are god-awful. They're built in the middle of the woods so you have to drive to them. A sensible rail system needs to have high density development around the station.
I'm not sure what you're trying to say here?
The DC area systems are pretty young relative to the ones you're comparing it them to. The NY subway has been around since 1904. The DC Metro broke ground in 1969 and opened 1976. This is significantly different from systems like Metra or NJT which subsumed existing commercial tracks.
How densely populated will Fairfax be in 2084?
DC versus wherever else was never my point though. It's about people with cars who choose to brave some of the worst traffic in the country rather than driving the local Metro station and zipping on in.
Personally, driving all the way downtown takes about 1:15, taking the Metro is 12 minute drive to the station followed by a 35 minute train ride which I can spend reading to within a block of my workplace.
>Meanwhile, Metro North, LIRR, and NJT go pretty much anywhere people live in Westchester, Long Island, or NJ. And the train stations are all approachable on foot. I walk 4 minutes from a 40 story high-rise in Westchester to the train station. That's 4 minutes from getting on my elevator to being on the platform.
That's great. Plenty of people who ride the DC Metro have the same experience, there are 85 stations.
How many of those approachable train stations have 3500+ parking spaces or are served by 50+ buses?
Apples to oranges.
They're different systems serving different geography at different points in their development - any of which is surely better than driving.
Re: Commuting? Have you done the math?
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
One thing I do is get deliveries sent to my office instead of my house. That definitely makes receiving stuff a whole lot easier, if your employer will let you do it.
For many items, you still need shipping home.
The only thing that we've absolutely had to have shipped home was delivered furniture.
Re: Commuting? Have you done the math?
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Any particular reason you only plan to work for that company for a few years? "to have the company in question on my resumé" seems like a poor reason; if you actually want to work there, why not work there for a substantial fraction of your career? Also, have you considered the possibility of finding an apartment close to work? Unless you already own a home, moving to shorten your commute will save you huge amounts o…
Many companies see working at the same company for more than 2-3 years as a negative. Even if you love the company, you will be seen as stagnant and lazy.
That is a scary line of thinking IMO. If you work for 40 years and lived by that philosophy you'd have worked for nearly 20 companies. While if you're a freelancer that might seem normal, but as a normal salaried employee, that seems like quite a bit. I realize that "getting the gold watch" and hanging around a company for 40 years isn't the norm these days, but to be counted as a negative just because you stay at one company for merely 2 or 3 years seems harsh. Have you had experience with this sentiment? I haven't encountered it yet.