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Ralph E_#1
Since the summer of 2000 I live about 32 miles north of San Jose where I work. ...
Walter Greene
I've had commutes ranging from 65 Miles to 3. The 65 Mile commute was on an ...
Silicon Valley Nation: Lousy commutes
Brian Fuller
9/6/2012 5:10 PM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO--With prosperity comes headaches, especially when you're commuting in one of the many tech centers in the country.
In the Silicon Valley, you can feel the ebbs and flows of economic cycles. In 1999, the reverse commute to the valley from San Francisco was a slog, even on the relatively lightly traveled Interstate 280. When the first Internet bubble burst in 2001, driving became a lot easier for a few years.
Today, we're back stuck in traffic... all around the country. Traveled miles are up 1.08 percent nationally year to date, according to the federal highway administration. On our year-long journey around the country we found the following anecdotal evidence:
- Worst traffic in America? Washington/Maryland/Virginia. Hands down.
- Close second (tie): Boston and Dallas
- Biggest traffic surprise: Raleigh, N.C. (there aren't a lot of ready work-arounds there).
- Best place to drive during commute hours? Cleveland. (That's not a good thing, economically).
Right now, I'm lucky: I bike, walk or take the bus to work. But I have commuted to Cupertino and parts south (1:10 minutes each way) many times during my career. Early on, that meant a lot of cassette tapes, then CDs and, later, the joys of podcasts.
So tell me:
- How lousy is your commute?
- Is it getting worse?
- Does your company encourage flextime or work-from-home strategies?
- And what are your secret traffic-coping tips for the rest of us?
Related articles:
--Letting go (of GPS)
--Silicon Valley Nation: What to say to your kids
--Silicon Valley Nation: Hell hole or heaven?
--Silicon Valley Nation: The end of Silicon Valley?
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iniewski
9/6/2012 6:15 PM EDT
Telecommuting (part time) is a good option...I value being in the office but not every day
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Big Paul
9/6/2012 7:32 PM EDT
After moving to within a few miles of work, my commute went from 40-60 minutes each way to 5. Reclaiming one to two hours a day from the stress fest of a modern commute is a truly life altering experience. Until I escaped, I did not realize just how corrosive that routine can be.
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iniewski
9/6/2012 7:37 PM EDT
Point well taken @Big Paul...how much (in $$) would you value shorter commute?
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David Ashton
9/7/2012 1:30 AM EDT
I live on one side of a small town in country Australia (pop: 35000) and work on the other side. Commute - 12-15 mins each way. It's great. Occasionally I have to drive to Sydney (200 Km) but it takes 4+ hours each way, most of it on Sydney's dysfunctional motorways. The one I use usually used to have tolls on it, but had a couple of bottlenecks. The toll money could ahve fixed the bottlenecks, but they removed the tolls so the traffic (and the bottlenecks) have got worse. Ya gotta wonder about governments.....
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Wnderer
9/7/2012 10:31 AM EDT
I've walked to work for the last twelve years and I've lived in three different states; California, New Hampshire and Maryland. My commute in California was a quarter of a mile. My commute in New Hampshire was about a mile. In Maryland, its a mile and a half. Before that I drove 3 miles in New Jersey. I half to go back almost 20 years to where I had to commute 45 minutes each way and I hated it. Now I'm an apartment dweller so that makes it easier, but I'm proof you can avoid the commute, if you really want to.
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Brian Fuller2
9/7/2012 12:57 PM EDT
@Wnderer, given that lengthy span of walking, is it safe to assume when you shifted jobs you chose a place to live with walk-to-work in mind?
Kudos either way.
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Bajablue
9/7/2012 1:17 PM EDT
Nothing compares to the post earthquake days in 1989. Combine a robust economy with destroyed freeway arteries and you get Silicon Valleys version of carmegeddon. Terrible time to commute down from Pleasanton to Milpitas (in those days). I tried everything - books on tape and things like that but it was just brutal. Now (very similar commute) I stagger my hours - get to my office no later than 6:30 and leave around 3:30 then work from home the rest of the day.
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Jonathan Zingman
9/7/2012 5:56 PM EDT
I commute from the East Bay to Santa Clara on Amtrak's Capital Corridor train. $256/month for unlimited rides. I bicycle from home to the train, throw the bike on the train and then ride to work afterwards. Can't be beat. Of course, if Amtrak knew how to provide Wifi competently it would be even better. It's relaxing, much cheaper than driving and pollutes less.
I even prefer it when it's raining since California drivers aren't too good on wet roads.
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David Ashton
9/8/2012 6:35 AM EDT
I think it was Arthur C Clarke who once said he refused to travel in any form of conveyance in which he could not read. Trains are great for that - provided they are not tooo crowded. I've taken the train into Sydney a few times. It only knocks about 1/2 hr off the drive time, but you arrive with about 1/10 of the stress.
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iniewski
9/7/2012 7:03 PM EDT
Pretty good deal Jonathan...I tried something similar in Vancouver, BC where I live but it is convoluted here, they charge you extra for the bike, you need showers ta work etc...Kris
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Duane Benson
9/7/2012 7:33 PM EDT
I walk to work. I did my time commuting though so I can appreciate it. For quite a number of years I drove routes (in the Portland, Oregon) area that could, depending on traffic, take anywhere for 30 minutes to nearly two hours.
Whenever a recession hit or during spring break, the commute got noticeably better.
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BrianK
9/7/2012 11:44 PM EDT
Three years ago, after 7 years of being a tele-commuter, I interviewed for a job a 40 minute drive away. I have to admit, after the drive there for the interview, my heart wasn't really in it. I found another telecommuting job and have now been working from home for ten years.
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KB3001
9/8/2012 10:05 AM EDT
I have never lived more than 2 miles away from work. That's how it should be ... ideally!
That said, with today's technology, many people do not have to be physically present at work 5 days a week. Employers are also increasingly sympathetic.
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Walter Greene
9/10/2012 5:19 PM EDT
I've had commutes ranging from 65 Miles to 3. The 65 Mile commute was on an outer ring highway and was accomplished at significantly higher than the posted 65 - Door to door 1 hour 15 minutes. This was possible due to relatively light traffic. That was approximately 16 years ago. A later job using the same freeway required the same time to travel 20 miles. I now commute 15 miles on local roads for a time each way of only 30 minutes. I found that commutes of greater than 30 minutes were required for enjoyment of audio books. Otherwise things were just to interrupted.
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Ralph E_#1
9/13/2012 3:34 PM EDT
Since the summer of 2000 I live about 32 miles north of San Jose where I work. If I leave the house at 6:30AM the commute is about 50 minutes to an hour. If I leave between 7AM and 9AM it's over an hour. Heading home between 4PM and 7PM is usually a bit over an hour +30/-0 depending on accidents on 880 or 680. I listen to public radio or my thumb drive all the way. Commute still takes it's toll, even with radio on. :-)
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