Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Interesting...here in Houston, the opposite shift is taking place. More and more big employers are moving from CBD locations to campuses located partway between the suburbs and the city center. Generally considered a win-win for companies and employees:
-Companies pay lower rents in suburban locations, and get more space.
-Employees who live in the suburbs (majority of employees) get a MUCH shorter commute.
-Employees who live in the city center end up with a palatable reverse commute.
-Those who insist on living close to work (me) get a nice older suburban home on a good-sized lot, for the price of a condo or townhome in a CBD-adjacent location.
-Everyone gets free parking.
In the Bay Area, the ability to commute easily to multiple job centers is highly coveted and carries a huge premium. It's hard enough to have easy access to Silicon Valley, but a lot of tech jobs are also moving to San Francisco, and it can take over 2 hours to drive between the two during commute hours. We've also got a concentration of high-paying venture capital firms, and high-end research labs, precisely at the midway point between the two. Add in geographical bottlenecks (mountain passes and bridges) and housing shortages, and the result is a kind of struggle for power that crushes ordinary people.
For me where I work, I can drive in an hour, or take a bus (couple of buses actually) in about 2.5 hours. The bus ride would have to start about 5 miles from my house, so I would have to drive something or ride a bike to the bus lot (and coming home in the dark, about half the year). So, the worst of both worlds - drive to the bus, leave the car there where it's not available for use during the day, plus spend a lot of time on the bus.
For some people who live in certain parts of the nearest city from where I work, riding the bus is quite practical and very cheap, if you are on that one "magic" line that comes straight up here in mornings and evenings, not much slower than a car. But that's not me.
So for me here, with my small fleet of old fully depreciated cars, that get high 20's to low 40's for MPG, driving is a no-brainer.
I wish I did have an option to take a train, but the only train near my house is a freight train. Probably "going hobo" is not that practical.
Now, when I visit my Mom in Atlanta - from the Atlanta airport out to the burbs, MARTA train is not only cheap but much faster than driving. You could beat it with a helicopter, but not by much.
Maybe this is the world according to Kalifornians, but most of the country doesn't live in or near major metro areas. Americans are in love with their cars! You're right that mass transit offers "less freedom" than your own private car. As for a "cultural shift that will take time to become accepted", who gets to decide that this will become a cultural shift? How do they know? Why are they so sure it will become accepted?
I really dislike other people deciding what is the best way for me to get around. This is not a third world country where people cannot afford cars. The rest of the world is now buying cars, and you want Americans to stop driving them? Who's idea was that? Or is this another 'global warming' preventative??
If you’re in the backwoods of Main your options are limited to walking or driving a car. In city like NY, SF, LA, Boston and even occasionally in Dallas the cost of parking alone can be prohibitive.
If you’re in the backwoods of Main your options are limited to walking or driving a car. In city like NY, SF, LA, Boston and even occasionally in Dallas the cost of parking alone can be prohibitive.
He must be rich. My daily commuting expense would be around $20 in mileage, $5 tolls and $38 parking if I drove to work. Taking the train isn't cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than $63! Damn I was just thinking, some people barely even make $63 per day after tax. Imagine if you made $126/day (approx $20-25/hr for an 8 hour shift) and your commuting costs still ate up half of your take home pay? Doesn't matter to Nor'Eastah and Chris V, they would still rather drive!
I used to have a commute that took 90 minutes by bus and train, but from 35 to 120 minutes if by car. On a light traffic day it was only 35 minutes. The drive time varied wildly from day to day. You could not tell whether that day would be an hour or two hours long. The train and bus was always 90 minutes. It never varied, except for track work. I took the train because of that.
He must be rich. My daily commuting expense would be around $20 in mileage, $5 tolls and $38 parking if I drove to work. Taking the train isn't cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than $63! Damn I was just thinking, some people barely even make $63 per day after tax. Imagine if you made $126/day (approx $20-25/hr for an 8 hour shift) and your commuting costs still ate up half of your take home pay? Doesn't matter to Nor'Eastah and Chris V, they would still rather drive!
Not being in Cali, it does not cost me that much to drive. My gas-tires-oil cost for the 1982 Scirocco is about 11 cents per mile, no toll roads, free parking at work, all around town. I don't know where the closest pay parking is, maybe part of Yakima, it may be in Seattle.
My round trip commute, neglecting annual tabs, insurance, and other administrative costs that I associate more with just owning a car, rather than driving a specific number of miles, is about $10 per day, a little more if I drive another car that does not get as good of MPG as the Scirocco.
I have commuted by rail most of the time. Jobs averaged 30 miles away. Just had to replace the car -after 13 years. Could only imagine how many cars I'd go through if I drove everyday. Two or three? And the one who commented (joked?) about getting there by helicopter: even if you can afford it, you have to live in a neighborhood where landings are allowed, and it is very dangerous. Trains are great during winter storms, which is not an issue in LA, but I'm sure other emergencies come up.
Last edited by pvande55; 08-23-2015 at 06:57 PM..
Reason: Add line
Freezing me arse while waiting for unreliable city buses to get to high school poisoned me for riding buses forever.
I don't blame you for shunning the buses.
But train stations usually have heated waiting rooms and, on many systems, trains run on time.
Last edited by pvande55; 08-24-2015 at 05:40 AM..
Reason: Grammar
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
