Cars 'still dominate commute to work'
Discussion
Cars 'still dominate commute to work'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25175752
Amazing,considering the ability that now exists to communicate.I wonder how many of us drive to the office, and just bash asay at the computer all day? Bit pointless really.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25175752
Amazing,considering the ability that now exists to communicate.I wonder how many of us drive to the office, and just bash asay at the computer all day? Bit pointless really.
I go into the office to have human contact, I worked from home for 2 years and it was depressing.
It also saves having to have the heating on all day in winter, there is free coffee (and an in house heavily subsidised Starbucks)
Some people can't be trusted to work from home either.
I could get the bus in to work, but it costs twice as much as driving and takes 3 times as long to get there.
It also saves having to have the heating on all day in winter, there is free coffee (and an in house heavily subsidised Starbucks)
Some people can't be trusted to work from home either.
I could get the bus in to work, but it costs twice as much as driving and takes 3 times as long to get there.
I commute twice a week and stay in a travelodge once a week. 2 days working at home.
Works quite well.
It's the fact that people won't ride motorbikes that baffles me. We could save billions by removing congestion if more adopted 2 wheels.
The problem is management are often selfish. They have to be in the office 9-5:30 mon-fri so their staff should also. They wear shirt and tie so their staff should also. I couldn't stand working somewhere like that now. Love rocking up to the office at 11am on my bike in my jeans!
Works quite well.
It's the fact that people won't ride motorbikes that baffles me. We could save billions by removing congestion if more adopted 2 wheels.
The problem is management are often selfish. They have to be in the office 9-5:30 mon-fri so their staff should also. They wear shirt and tie so their staff should also. I couldn't stand working somewhere like that now. Love rocking up to the office at 11am on my bike in my jeans!
I think it would be nigh on impossible to get to my work and home on public transport without either setting off the night before or getting in horrendously late.
Alternatively I can sit in my nice warm car for 20 minutes and drive to work.
I wonder why cars still dominate the commute.
Alternatively I can sit in my nice warm car for 20 minutes and drive to work.
I wonder why cars still dominate the commute.
Takes me 45 mins to drive to work. Buses start running in my village at 06:20 and will take 2 hours to make the same journey of which part is train. I'm contracted to start work at 07:00 its just not currently an option. Plus I save £1,500 a year driving over public transport costs.
Bus prices are a joke. I live on the border of Northumberland and can cross over the county border on foot in minutes, but the bus ticket price rises hugely for going into different counties, so it actually costs less for me to take a 10 mile ride in the opposite direction rather than the quarter of a mile journey to cross into northumberland. Ridiculous.
deanogtv said:
15 mins in the car door to door, Public transport is 1hr 15mins go figure!
Almost exactly the same for me. And using the car works out cheaper with the added benefit that I don't have to sit next to schoolchildren or the grubby skiplickers that seem to use the public transport local to me.From where I live to the main office, it takes 45 minutes each way to drive - and 30 minutes to cycle. I do this one or twice a week and it keeps me fit.
I do drive around the country with my job, but only for those journeys that it isn't practical to take the train for. On the train, I can relax, work and arrive at a predictable time. In two years of doing this, I've only had one train cancelled; timetables are so padded-out these days that most minor-to-intermediate delays are soaked-up over a long-ish journey. I also cycle to the station.
I drive about 8k miles with work per year - but these are almost exclusively once a week long trips, rather than small ones. My "commuter" mileage by car is almost nil, due to the cycling.
Finally, I work at home at least once a week. My colleagues expect me to be responsive and don't care where I am working from - it makes no difference whether I'm at an office in Manchester or working from home.
I do drive around the country with my job, but only for those journeys that it isn't practical to take the train for. On the train, I can relax, work and arrive at a predictable time. In two years of doing this, I've only had one train cancelled; timetables are so padded-out these days that most minor-to-intermediate delays are soaked-up over a long-ish journey. I also cycle to the station.
I drive about 8k miles with work per year - but these are almost exclusively once a week long trips, rather than small ones. My "commuter" mileage by car is almost nil, due to the cycling.
Finally, I work at home at least once a week. My colleagues expect me to be responsive and don't care where I am working from - it makes no difference whether I'm at an office in Manchester or working from home.
My job means that I have to visit a number of locations almost every day so commuting is not an option.
That said, even if I worked in a single location the car is the only cost effective way to get to all but 1 of the offices in the area I work in. Public transport is either more expensive and takes longer or just doesn't exist in terms of a direct route at the time I need it. An example of this would be second closest office which is 9 miles away and takes maybe 20mins to get there by car door to door. To get to the office to start work on time I would need to walk 15mins to station, catch a train in the wrong direction for 7 miles then wait 30 mins for the next train going back up a different valley another 13 miles then walk 10mins, no thanks!!
That said, even if I worked in a single location the car is the only cost effective way to get to all but 1 of the offices in the area I work in. Public transport is either more expensive and takes longer or just doesn't exist in terms of a direct route at the time I need it. An example of this would be second closest office which is 9 miles away and takes maybe 20mins to get there by car door to door. To get to the office to start work on time I would need to walk 15mins to station, catch a train in the wrong direction for 7 miles then wait 30 mins for the next train going back up a different valley another 13 miles then walk 10mins, no thanks!!
pherlopolus said:
I go into the office to have human contact, I worked from home for 2 years and it was depressing.
Same here - I really don't like WFH apart from the fact that my cat is with me.That aside I miss the contact and the "frame of mind" that going to work gives me, although I now take advantage of the option and work Friday afternoons from home due to some f
king awful roadworks on the M62 - the Friday rush-hour queues are horrendous. I leave at lunchtime now.I found mgmt were the main blocker for me, admittedly it was me that took a job 50 miles away that had around 3 hours a day in the car, but they wouldnt see past the 'not in office, must be slacking' mentality that seems to happen in growing SMBs
I've happily worked remotely for 10+ years, sometimes it's awful and boring, other times it's great. Having the flexibility to work wherever you are makes people more productive than going in at 9 and leaving at 5.30. The company I'm referring to gave me a company tie on day one so that kind of set my expectations out as to how it would go really
I've happily worked remotely for 10+ years, sometimes it's awful and boring, other times it's great. Having the flexibility to work wherever you are makes people more productive than going in at 9 and leaving at 5.30. The company I'm referring to gave me a company tie on day one so that kind of set my expectations out as to how it would go really
dapearson said:
It's the fact that people won't ride motorbikes that baffles me. We couldn't save billions by removing congestion if more adopted 2 wheels.
Me too, then you get jealous anti bike rants by commuters stuck in cars - too spineless to get out and do it themselves.Myself 2001 to 2007, lived in a city 5 miles away from work, push biked to work all but one very wet winter where I used the bus instead on a cross company ticket so I'd bus surf, hop between them on different routes depending on congestion, walk sections etc. Push bike it was a 30minute journey, bus 40 minutes.
2007 to present, live 18miles from work in the countryside still work in the same place in, 2007 to 2010 drove cars in, it started well 45 to 50 minutes reliably 2007 to 2009, then times started creeping up and traffic getting noticeably heavier I think due to University students starting to have cars whereas previously students and cars were unheard of (I went to uni in the same city), journey times some days were hitting 80minutes, absolutely stupid for the distance. Investigated public transport (walk, train, bus) but best case scenario 70 minutes. Instead decided to do my bike licence, did DAS, bought 600cc bike journey time 2010 to present never more than 35minutes :-) fuel cost down to £20 a week from £80 a week.
I can do 55 miles in the car in less time than I could do 25 miles on the train. (Not even speeding)
I can drive 55 miles for less than the 25 mile train ticket. (Not even in an eco box but a 15 year old 2.0 smokey Toyota).
I can drive right to my workplace, the train station is 5 miles away.
Until this changes, it will remain this way.
I can drive 55 miles for less than the 25 mile train ticket. (Not even in an eco box but a 15 year old 2.0 smokey Toyota).
I can drive right to my workplace, the train station is 5 miles away.
Until this changes, it will remain this way.
It isn't a big surprise really. Car is fast and cheap on most of the routes I can think of and allows great flexibility. Car running costs aren't so small to be fair but you have to pay a large parts of them even if you commute to work via pubblic transport, because you will need a car anyway for other taks.
I believe than in Italy where I live the ratio is even higher because public transport is poor even in large cities. In London public transport is not that cheap but works brillantly. A female friend of mine has been working and living there for 5 years now and she doesn't own a car anymore. She finds easier hiring a car in weekends if she need one. I would go crazy without a car...
I believe than in Italy where I live the ratio is even higher because public transport is poor even in large cities. In London public transport is not that cheap but works brillantly. A female friend of mine has been working and living there for 5 years now and she doesn't own a car anymore. She finds easier hiring a car in weekends if she need one. I would go crazy without a car...
I cycle to work. It takes me about the same amount of time as driving due to the traffic, and I'm only cold for the first five minutes. It's also a consistent commute. I shower at work, but leave earlier because I don't need to at home, and save on water bills. So whilst you might have your nice heated seats, I can sit on my arse when you have to goto the gym three times a week.
It's a simple choice.
It's a simple choice.
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