How long is your commute?

[AdAstra]

One hour and twenty minutes. If nothing bad is going on with public transport, then it could get pretty bad.

About 10 minutes of walking to the train station
45 minutes on the train
5 minutes from the train to the subway station
15 minutes on the subway
5 minutes from subway to work

Something like that.

 

[Lindley]

From my front door to my parking space to my desk is four minutes.

And you drive?

I do. My left knee is made of cheesecloth and a Koosh ball, and the route to my office includes going down West Third Street, which features a quarter-mile-long hill with a 59-degree incline. I'd never be able to walk home. Furthermore, my workday generally has me out of the office for at least a few hours every day, between interviews, client meetings, conferences / seminars, etc. I need wheels.

59 degrees? Seriously? I don't think that's *safe* for a car....

 

[PlixTixiplik]

Since there is no parking available where I work (and what little there is is outrageously priced)

Most people don't realize this, but it's actually highly unlikely that the parking is outrageously priced, as virtually no place in the US actually charges market rates for parking. Car drivers are subsidized to the tune of several hundred billion dollars per year (yes billion) in the form of "free parking" - money taken from sales and property taxes of drivers and non-drivers alike (including the 13% of Sacramento households that do not own a car). That parking space actually cost more than your car, not even including the lost revenue from putting something better in the place of a parking lot. Anyhow, it's not exactly germane to this thread, but I figured I'd point it out.

My commute is about 25 minutes to the office, and about 12-15 minutes home. It's a big hill so I bike up really slowly and bike down really fast. I'll also lay claim to the most beautiful commute.

 

[Canadave]

I'll also lay claim to the most beautiful commute.

I see your pastoral country road and raise you the view from the footbridge I walk over every day:

(Flickr photo page)

It's a bit different looking right now, though, I'll grant.

 

[RoJoHen]

Most people don't realize this, but it's actually highly unlikely that the parking is outrageously priced, as virtually no place in the US actually charges market rates for parking. Car drivers are subsidized to the tune of several hundred billion dollars per year (yes billion) in the form of "free parking" - money taken from sales and property taxes of drivers and non-drivers alike

That makes it even worse. If we're already paying for "free parking," the idea of then paying extra to park in a parking garage or on the side of the street in the city is even more frustrating. If I go to downtown Chicago for an evening, it can sometimes run me $30-40 extra just to park my car somewhere!

 

[Timby]

And you drive?

I do. My left knee is made of cheesecloth and a Koosh ball, and the route to my office includes going down West Third Street, which features a quarter-mile-long hill with a 59-degree incline. I'd never be able to walk home. Furthermore, my workday generally has me out of the office for at least a few hours every day, between interviews, client meetings, conferences / seminars, etc. I need wheels.

59 degrees? Seriously? I don't think that's *safe* for a car....

It's pretty insane. It comes with the territory when you live in a city filled with bluffs.

 

[RoJoHen]

I do. My left knee is made of cheesecloth and a Koosh ball, and the route to my office includes going down West Third Street, which features a quarter-mile-long hill with a 59-degree incline. I'd never be able to walk home. Furthermore, my workday generally has me out of the office for at least a few hours every day, between interviews, client meetings, conferences / seminars, etc. I need wheels.

59 degrees? Seriously? I don't think that's *safe* for a car....

It's pretty insane. It comes with the territory when you live in a city filled with bluffs.

There were a couple roads like that in the Quad Cities. Giant pain in the ass.

 

[PlixTixiplik]

Most people don't realize this, but it's actually highly unlikely that the parking is outrageously priced, as virtually no place in the US actually charges market rates for parking. Car drivers are subsidized to the tune of several hundred billion dollars per year (yes billion) in the form of "free parking" - money taken from sales and property taxes of drivers and non-drivers alike

That makes it even worse. If we're already paying for "free parking," the idea of then paying extra to park in a parking garage or on the side of the street in the city is even more frustrating. If I go to downtown Chicago for an evening, it can sometimes run me $30-40 extra just to park my car somewhere!

I don't necessarily want to derail this thread any more, but basically you pay less than the actual cost for parking, even after accounting for the higher cost of goods/services and the higher tax rates, because poor people (the vast majority of car-free households) also pay higher taxes and more for goods and services but don't use the parking. That doesn't seem fair to me (and I say that as a car owner). Private auto operation is by far the most subsidized form of transportation, transferring several thousand dollars per year from each (typically poor) non-driver to all drivers.

And Canadave (edit: sorry fellow Canadian, I wasn't paying attention there!), it's a bike path, not a road!

 

[Canadave]

^ Shh, I knew that. I was, uh, testing your knowledge of your own picture. Yes.

Also, wrong poster-with-Canada-in-his-username.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Since there is no parking available where I work (and what little there is is outrageously priced)

Most people don't realize this, but it's actually highly unlikely that the parking is outrageously priced, as virtually no place in the US actually charges market rates for parking. Car drivers are subsidized to the tune of several hundred billion dollars per year (yes billion) in the form of "free parking" - money taken from sales and property taxes of drivers and non-drivers alike (including the 13% of Sacramento households that do not own a car). That parking space actually cost more than your car, not even including the lost revenue from putting something better in the place of a parking lot. Anyhow, it's not exactly germane to this thread, but I figured I'd point it out.

Well, I didn't mean outrageous comparatively, I meant that they are what I personally consider outrageous prices for parking. I consider having to pay for parking at all outrageous. I have to pay just to go to work? A ridiculous concept, especially when the amount I would have to pay is a sizeable chunk of my lowly hourly wage paychecks. I come from the suburbs where parking is free and abundant. Having to come from that to an area where it is very limited and expensive just pisses me off and seems wrong to me.

Contrary to my opinions in this thread, I actually really hate driving and wish I never had to. The perfect situation would be working at home, followed by walking or riding a bike. When choosing between a car or a bus, however, I would always prefer a car.

 

[Captain Shaw]

I start a new job on Monday its going to take me about 40 minutes to get there but the bus will get me there 30 minutes early.

 

[BigFoot]

Usually five to ten minutes. Sometimes if the traffic is really bad it can take up to 15 minutes.

 

[RoJoHen]

I start a new job on Monday its going to take me about 40 minutes to get there but the bus will get me there 30 minutes early.

That's actually my next question:

For those of you with long commutes (especially drivers) where traffic, etc. can affect the length of the commute, how early do you leave? Do you plan for delays? Do you often arrive to work early? Late?

 

[thestrangequark]

I start a new job on Monday its going to take me about 40 minutes to get there but the bus will get me there 30 minutes early.

That's actually my next question:

For those of you with long commutes (especially drivers) where traffic, etc. can affect the length of the commute, how early do you leave? Do you plan for delays? Do you often arrive to work early? Late?

The classes I teach start at different times. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I am out the door by 6:45am, on Mondays I leave by 7 and Wednesdays and Fridays by 8. I usually arrive early because I rely on mass transit and you never know when it's going to be delayed.

 

[MikeS]

6.5 Miles. 26 minutes on my bicycle, weaving in and out of traffic and feeling smug for saving time and money on petrol, tax, insurance, maintenance, gym membership, parking fees etc etc.

 

[eastman23]

I'll also lay claim to the most beautiful commute.

No contest from me. The streets and sidewalks are (currently) covered in a brown grime/snow mix and half of the buildings I pass are abandoned and/or heritage buildings that no one uses.