How do you commute?

[marmar]

My commute is emblematic of much of what's wrong with transport in America - one car, one driver, 13 miles. In my (pathetic) defense, public transit is pretty much a non-option in my 'burb to 'burb commute.
What kind of commuter are you?

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. I walk

I live only about a mile and a half from where I work; it takes me about 25 minutes to get to work.

[flvegan]

2. 75% telecommuter, here.

When I do commute, I have to drive because public transport here sucks. 50 miles round trip is too far by bike. Most of it is highway, and I refuse to do the rush hour thing. So, at least I'm pretty much flat out the whole trip.

[Lorien]

56. Same here. It's absurd that public transportation sucks so much

in a big flat, sunny state!

[TomInTib]

3. It all depends on where I wake up.

Bus

Walk

Carjack

[marmar]

5. "Carjack"

You Californians and your fads!

[TomInTib]

14. It's not as simple as it used to be.

Ya gotta sneak a quick look at the gas gauge before you haul the old lady outta the car.

If ya gotta buy gas, it kind of defeats the whole purpose.

[napi21]

4. I don't. I'm retired and only go out when I need to get groceries.

My hubby drives to work, solo, because there is NO public transportation around our house, and he works an odd schedule so there's no way he could car pool. He will be retiring in October. Then I doubt we'll use the car more than once a week if not less.

[liberal N proud]

6. Too close to car pool

No public transportation and the roads are not bicycle friendly at the time I go to work.

[elocs]

7. I drive 6 miles round trip and use a gallon of gas a week. n/t

[mike_c]

8. a mix of "all of the above" except carpooling....

When I have 8:00 AM classes to teach I need to be on campus by 7:00, so driving is my best option. Most semesters that's no more than two days a week. Otherwise I bike commute, take the bus if the weather is bad, drive if I have other errands to run after work, or simply work at home.

[NMDemDist2]

9. I live 20 miles from work (a National Park, so NO public trans)

I ride in the van when my shift allows, drive the other time. But the van ride is still 8 miles round trip just to get to the meet point

[Thothmes]

10. My commute is 6.2 miles one way from where I live

[taterguy]

38. So how do you get there?

[Thothmes]

53. Drive an old VW

[uppityperson]

11. Mix of solo car, bike, work at home.

Live 8 mi from work, no public transport, my hours are dependent upon when I have appointments so carpooling doesn't work, bit far to bike but I have, sometimes work at home. Mostly I try to have my appointments clustered so will only drive there once a day and for a couple appts.

[Catch22Dem]

12. Other - Car/Scooter (weather depending) nt

[drmeow]

13. I'm in the process of changing job

Old job - 1 mile away, used to walk, bike, and sometimes drive solo.
New job - 10 miles away, walk to bus, 25 min bus ride to 1 block from work. Only thing that sucks is last bus is earlier than I like. Hope they don't drop the Express bus when the light rail opens in Dec.

[zonmoy]

15. mix of biking, walking, and public transit with an occasional car if someone picks me up to take me

to work.

[IDemo]

16. fair weather bicyclist

[HughMoran]

17. Solo driver, 53 miles each way

I work at home 2 days a week to compensate, but it's still a nightmare :(

Stupid company moved from 3 miles when I started there, to 14 miles, to 53 miles away. Very remote from public transit too.

[Arctic Dave]

18. My wife drives me to the airport. I get on a 737 Combi (AK Air)

Then we fly to Prudhoe Bay. Once I'm there I drive a GMC truck to where ever I'm working that day. When my two week hitch is up I get back on the 737, fly back to Anchorage, where my lovely wife is waiting for me and then we drive home. I do this twelve times a year, for the last fourteen years.

[Beregond2]

19. I walk, but I can't feel too noble about it,

as one of my jobs is acoss the street, and the other is three blocks away.

[patrick t. cakes]

44. im three blocks away too.

i love it.
sometimes i leave early and walk around the neighborhood for a bit.
maybe get coffee.

might start playing disk golf early in the morning before work.

[Beregond2]

52. It's amazing all the things

you notice when you walk that you don't when you drive.

[patrick t. cakes]

55. makes work a little more tolerable

:)

[yewberry]

20. Bus. It's not too bad.

I have one transfer, and it really only takes 35 minutes, door to door.

[bicentennial_baby]

21. 100% subway, school and internship

:)

[SharonRB]

22. I have the same problem you do, Marmar

Detroit suburb to Detroit suburb, pretty much no mass transit available in our Big 3-dominated area. At least my drive to work is only 7 miles each way and I've now got my smart car.

[marmar]

33. Cool....How do you like the Smart Car?

n/t

[SharonRB]

43. I love, love, love it! n/t

[rainbow4321]

23. Solo driver...for now

But in the coming weeks I plan on getting up the nerve to drive 1/2 mile to the local light rail station, take it into Dallas, and then transfer to a bus for a quick ride to my work. The place I work for pays for an annual DART pass so it won't cost me anything and I will be avoiding a daily 60 mile roundtrip.
I say get up the nerve cuz I have never take it for work before...just weekend trips here and there.

[elifino]

24. 100% telecommuter, IT support

With the remote control software we use, it is really nice. I attend weekly meeting via teleconference and use VOIP for phone calls.

[juno jones]

25. I bus four days a week but

have to drive on Saturday because the bus out to my area doesn't start running until 9 or 10 AM. (I only live about 2 or 3 miles from my job).

My husband is 10 miles from his job and uses our Saturn the rest of the week (M-F). I wish he could bus too, but the timing etc isn't as convienent as he is going out from the city to a neighboring town while everybody else is heading in.

As soon as the weather really breaks, which will be the next week or so, I'm going to bike as well.

[Stinky The Clown]

26. I walk down two flights of stairs

Traffic would be when the dog's going down and the cat's coming up.

[pink-o]

27. I picked "other"

Because I am only 40 minutes away from work by bicycle, and it's mostly downhill! Problem is, I have to be at SF Airport by 4:30AM and part of my route has no streetlights. I'm not as much worried about crazy people assaulting me as I am about running over something I can't see and taking a bad tumble I can't recover from--and being alone and unconscious in the dark. I guess because I fell really hard 6 years ago, and it took a long time to recover. And I was a youthful 47 back then.

But these gas prices are forcing me to ride more and more--which is fine, I love it. And the more I ride, the less I like driving. Somehow, being behind stupid drivers and screaming thru your windshield at them doesn't induce the proper endorphin high, like you get on a bike!

[taterguy]

40. The new halogen bike lights are great

I have one with a low weight rechargeable battery that attaches to your helmet, so it's always pointed at what you're looking at.

I highly recommend it.

[southerncrone]

28. Solo, 17 miles each way--live in rural area, so no other option

but my car gets 35-36 mpg, so that helps. On hwy trips 38-40.

I don't drive much other than to & from work. Consolidate shopping w/work trips. Have done so for years even b/4 gas went through the roof!

[ThoughtCriminal]

29. I get out of bed and walk 15 feet.

In theory, I could use the wireless and stay in bed, but I prefer the desktop for most of my work.

[Squatch]

30. Motorcyle.

I've only driven a car to work 2 times the last 6 months.

[XOKCowboy]

31. My favorite commute is getting in the elevator and hitting "B"

for ballroom in the hotel I'm staying in. Otherwise I jump in my little Dodge Stratus and drive to wherever I'm working that day. It could be 2 miles or 100 miles.

I do what I have to do to make a living. Driving is part of that.

[Subdivisions]

32. I walk...

from my bedroom to my home office. I work at home. :)

[bikebloke]

34. Pedal year around

I gave up the car many years ago. The only time I'll take the train is when there's snow and ice on the streets. And I used to chance it where I used to live. But now I'm up a big hill, and it's too dangerous. Plus, there seems to be more ice up here for some reason.

[supernova]

35. About 32 miles round trip

I drive from a house in the country to the heart of an industrial park. It's all 4-lane all the way. There is no public transportation and being on a bicycle would be scary as hell.

[Blue_In_AK]

36. I walk down 12 stairs to my office. n/t

[csziggy]

37. I don't commute - I live on a farm

I used to walk every where to do most of the chores (except for mowing) but since my knees gave out I bought an electric golf cart to drive around the farm. My goal is to get solar panels of some sort to recharge the thing, but so far have not been able to. Maybe at the same time I can finally get photo voltaics to power the house I can get the golf cart hooked up.

[etherealtruth]

39. ~ 60 miles round trip

In my defense, public transit in SE Michigan is virtually nonexistent ... so are jobs. I truly believe I have little or no choice, at this point.

[DFW]

41. Car to train station or airport

And then train(s) or plane(s) to wherever it is I'm supposed to be that day.

[ruby slippers]

42. I'm retired.....so I just sleep in

[Edweird]

45. Motorcycle rain or shine.

Didn't see that option on your survey. Motorcycles are considered HOV's here.

[Pavulon]

46. I'm a carbon whore

commute in company car which happens to be surburban 2500 diesels. We use these because of the equipment and numbers of people we move around. I could drive my own car but that that is not free, like the surburban. Fly 6 international flights a year minimum and 20 domestic.

However no other alternative exists to get me to my job from my home or from my home across oceans.

[MurrayDelph]

47. Theoretically, I telecommute one day a week

sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on what's going on at the office.

The rest of the time, I drive 30 miles each way down the 405 in Los Angeles, from the Valley to the airport. It is one of the most-miserable commutes in the state.

Many years ago, when he was governor, Jerry Brown's administration refused to improve the quality of the freeways, figuring that only by making driving as inconvenient as possible would they be able to "break Californians of their love for the car." Unfortunately, there ARE no viable options. I

Right now, as part of being an early-adopter, I can drive my Prius in the carpool lane alone. The crooked mayor of Los Angeles wants to turn that option into a toll lane.

[Tektonik]

48. I walk

I live 8 minutes walking distance from work.

[roody]

49. I drive 6 mi. round trip, fueled by recycled vegie oil biodiesel.

[LWolf]

50. solo driver.

13.5 rural miles, one way.

There is one person I could have carpooled with up until next month, when he transfers to a different site. I didn't. Our job doesn't have a set start and end time; we must be on site by 8:00 am, and we must stay until 4pm, but we also must get the job done, no matter how many hours it takes. Some of us take work home. Some come early. Some stay late. The hours outside of the "must be present" 8:00 - 4:00 are custom to each of us, depending on family responsibilities. For example, the man I could have carpooled with takes all of his work home. He has to leave right at 4pm to pick up his daughter from day care.

I usually arrive no later than 7 am, and leave anywhere between 4pm and 6pm, depending on how much work there is to do. I try to take home as little work as possible. Once I'm home, my attention is demanded by others.

If I worked at a job that had set working "shifts," I'd carpool if possible. There is no public transportation where I live.

[KamaAina]

51. Solo drivers dominate even here at DU

you can imagine what this poll would look like in the real world -- and it isn't pretty. :scared:

[hiphopnation]

54. bus

proudly

not because of some statement, my wife and i can't afford a second car and she takes care of kids all day so the car is hers.

i love the bus -- tons of time to catch up on reading, lots of interesting characters, and a feeling of camaraderie with my fellow commuters. last friday, someone brought coffee and donuts for everyone. in europe, everyone rides PT, here you get weird looks when you tell people you take the bus.

[LucyParsons]

57. Live in a 600sq ft apartment with no W/D or dishwasher so I can afford to walk to work

I still waste about $300 a month on my car, though, counting car payment, insurance, maintenance, and gas (I only spend about $30-40 a month for gas, even now).

I can never afford to buy a home in this neighborhood, but for me it's worth it. I refuse to live in a suburb.

[MiniMe]

58. l drive 7 miles each way to the subway station, and then take the subway downtown