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How I get to and from work
I have three and a half ways to commute.
Riding Muni. This is my mode of transit 95% of the time. It is fairly fast when the system works, but it's also pretty unreliable. I walk half a mile to a train stop, wait for a packed train to arrive, and hope that it isn't so crowded that it skips my stop altogether. The train ride is 15 minutes, then there's another half-mile walk to my office. The walking is a nice wake-me-up. The ride itself is generally unpleasant due to the herky-jerky motion of the trains and the overcrowdedness. But I get 15-20 minutes of reading time each way. And it is cheap: I pay $45 of pre-tax money for an unlimited monthly pass good on all trains, buses, even the cable cars (clang clang!). Total commute time is about 40 minutes each way.
Biking. This is how I should get to work, but I ride to work typically one day a year, on Bike to Work Day. It takes about the same amount of time as a good Muni ride, but it's free. The ride to work is mostly downhill or flat, and I arrive alert and invigorated. But the ride home is up a steep hill. My excuse for not riding is generally that I get enough exercise as it is, but really I'm just too lazy.
Driving. It takes about 20 minutes for me to drive to work. I pay $12 to park. I do this the 5% of the time I don't ride Muni, when I'm running very late, there is torrential rain, or I have something large or heavy to bring home from the office (where I have all my online purchases shipped). I drove today for the first reason. I always feel guilty when I drive because it seems like such a waste of money and gas.
Transit method number three and a half is walking. It's only a half because I only ever walk home from work, never to work from home, because it takes too long. The route I take is about five miles. Getting home from my office entirely on foot is very satisfying.
How do you get to and from wherever you go every day?
December 13, 2005 12:24 PM
80% bike: 20:00ish each way
20% bus/walk: twice as long +
Roll out of bed. Trip over cat. Stagger to desk.
Go freelancing!
To work
100% on Muni (15 min). (It costs $30 to park down town, so I never drive - that $30 will keep me in espresso all week long)
From work
75% on Muni - very unreliable at night
20% walk (25 min) - generally when it is hot or raining and I don't want to be stuffed like a sardine on a hot and / or wet smelly bus)
5% taxi - I can turn in my receipts, but I try not to take advantage of this too often.
I would love to be able to ride - but we have no place in our building to store the bikes and no close shower either.
99.9% bike - 10 min. door-to-door on flat peninsula land.
.1% walk/van - The walk is about 15 min. I'll only take the van on the way home because to catch it going -to- school is out of the way and it only comes every 15 min., I think.
Since we've barely had any significant rain yet this year, I can't say that this ratio isn't going to change very soon. Though I -am- going to actually get some rain-proof clothing, which may help keep me on my bike more.
Sadly, I drive about 90% of the time. It's only 11 miles or so but the last couple of miles are on a rural road with 50 mph speed limit, tons of traffic and no shoulder to speak of. I go against the traffic but it's still freakin' scary when a big semi plows by. Even the roads with bike lanes aren't too pleasant during rush hour with all the traffic zooming past at 45 mph plus. If I take the trails to cut down on road exposure, it takes me around 1 1/4 hours to ride to work (and I still have the scary ride at the end). I do it occasionally in the summer but I have too much going on to blow that kind of time every day.
Also, I take a dog to work with me most days since the agility field is literally on my way to work, about 1/2 way between work and home. If I had dogs that didn't have such fear issues I would consider getting a Burley and towing them to work but their temperaments aren't suited to that mode of travel.
Also, I sometimes need my car for work, to go to a jobsite at the spur of the moment. I've arrived at construction sites on my bike and I'm not sure it projects the proper authority I'm meant to have but this is Boulder so not too many people bat an eye.
Lately I've been biking to work about 75% of the time and taking public transit the other 25%. If I'm at the office late, I sometimes leave my bike there and either take a taxi home or catch a ride with Ariel. So getting home is probably 70% bike, 25% public transit, 5% taxi/catch a ride.