Commuting sucks.

[Harmon]

Drive way to work- 35 minutes (29 miles).

Start at 0550. Gone by 1415 with a 40 minute drive home.

 

[diaglo]

Ha! Reston is for fools!!

Really - we were looking at places in the McLean area (where The Universe currently works). But - in the end - he was offered a job at Ft. Meade and so we had to move north.

So - we almost moved closer!!

You live in Silver Spring and he drives to Ft George G. Meade... NSA... i don't envy him. that is a gridlock commute.

diaglo "my elderly parents still live in Severn... my dad retired at Ft Meade... and i commuted my first year to College Park way back when" Ooi

 

[WizarDru]

The DC metro blows large ammounts of blowable things.

Spoken by someone who hasn't enjoyed the multifaceted talents of SEPTA. Here in the Philly area, we dream of having a system as good as the Metro. I'm not sure which to be more thankful for, having the most expensive mass transit system in the US or one of the most poorly maintained and run. [/SARCASM]

I commute by train, because Philly is just like Chicago and D.C.; I live about 30 miles outside of Philly, and catch the 5:51AM train, so I can be in before 7AM to the office. I catch the 4:48PM train home...WHEN IT'S ON TIME. Despite a huge two-year long restoration and upgrade project, the trains fail with alarming regularity. The catenary wiring is rapidly approach its first century and the weekly litany of 'power line problems', 'waiting for Amtrak' and the ever-popular 'Signalling Problems' is less than thrilling. Also, since not all trains on my line actually go to my station, I have to adapt to their schedule, which is an often unsung but valuable benefit of driving. A shorter travel time is meaningless if you have to wait 15 minutes to actually start it.

On the upside, I have free time on the train, which is nice. Except for break-down days, the train is usually cooler than being outside (though the efficacy of the AC/Heat can vary wildly from car to car), and is usually a smooth ride. My commute is built around relaxing during this time. While travelling, I may:
A) Listen to MP3 Player/Radio
B) Reading a Book
C) Play on my Nintendo DS (Current Games: Meteos, Nanostray, Fire Emblem:Sacred Stones)
D) Bring the portable DVD player and watch videos
E) Bring the oh-so-heavy laptop and watch videos/work
F) Get some writing done
G) Take a Nap

Some times I combine the activities, usually A and B, C or F.

 

[Heretic Apostate]

I work less than three miles from work. In the morning, I take the back way to work: I go through the residential area, bypassing at least one stoplight in the process (and, more importantly, I generally only have to deal with at most a half-dozen cars). I go behind the shopping center, bypassing another three stoplights. Then it's over the bridge, through two more stoplights, a right turn, and two blocks to work. Total number of stoplights: three (plus one stop sign). Total time: about 10 minutes.

On the way back, it's not so good. We're on a main road in the city, not one of the busiest, but pretty close. I have to make a left turn, which means two lanes of traffic. Depending on how busy it is, I might have to just turn right and go home the hard way.

If I'm lucky, it's two stoplights, over the bridge, straight through the next three stoplights (instead of turning left behind the shopping center; the first two stoplights are timed for people going my way, while the third is about half-and-half), go a little way and pull into the residential area. One stop sign, slow down going by the school, and I'm soon home. The only tough spot is the bridge, where two lanes are compressed into one, with the inevitable backup (and people refusing to let merging traffic actually merge). Still, this route allows me to visit the store on the way home.

If I'm not lucky, I've got to deal with a stop sign, a second stop sign (with about five to twenty cars waiting to go through), six stoplights, a right turn, and straight home. Much more traffic, much more chance of being delayed. Still, this route allows me to visit the library on the way home.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

diaglo "my elderly parents still live in Severn... my dad retired at Ft Meade... and i commuted my first year to College Park way back when" Ooi

Were you taking 95 down? That seems very strange to me... our new place, while technically *in* Silver Spring, is very close to College Park. We're really close to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway which is generally clearer (by no means perfect, though).

But - even if it is gridlocked the whole way up - it's better to be stuck in gridlock from Silver Spring to Ft. Meade than Alexandria to Ft. Meade.

 

[Dagger75]

Right now, 4 miles to work, about 10 minutes. There are a few lights I hit and that taking the back road. Also about 10 minutes on the way home to.

Except when it rains, my 10 minute took 35 minutes Friday cause of the rain.

I used to drive 24 miles one way to work. At least it was 3rd shift so it only took me like 15 minutes of freeway driving to get there.

The longest I ever communted, for a temp job 85 miles each way. That took an hour and 45 minutes each way. Only good thing was it was almost all highway and I was always going the opposite way of traffic.

 

[diaglo]

Were you taking 95 down? That seems very strange to me... our new place, while technically *in* Silver Spring, is very close to College Park. We're really close to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway which is generally clearer (by no means perfect, though).

But - even if it is gridlocked the whole way up - it's better to be stuck in gridlock from Silver Spring to Ft. Meade than Alexandria to Ft. Meade.

it was a couple decades ago.

the BWParkway (295) was a police trap. still is as far as i know.

plus they have done some improvements since i did it.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Longest commute (miles): 88 miles each way - first job out of college before I got an apartment near there.

Slowest commute: 1 hour through the city of Boston to commute 14 miles. What was odd about that commute was that I had no problem with it during the work week, but the weekends, dealing with out-of-towners who screwed up the traffic even more, made my bood boil.

Current commute: 10 miles, 25 minutes when they aren't doing construction - 40 minutes when they are.

Most interesting this I noticed during a commute: One day heading home during a nasty snowstorm, everyone had slowed down to 20-25 mph because of the conditions. People were being real good about maintaining space between cars, very little need to brake. I got home quicker that day than the nice days where people zoom up at 65 mph, hit traffic, slam on brakes, stop, crawl forward, break free, zoom back up to 65 mph for 1/2 mile and repeat.

 

[Voadam]

My commute when I was in silver spring was 1 hour door to door, 15 minutes to Metro, 30 minutes on metro, 15 minute walk from metro to the office.

When I moved my commute increased to 1 hour 15 minutes, 1.5-1.75 hours if I took the bus instead of driving to Metro. I now drive to Metro and it is 1:15 so an increase of 15 each way. My wife's commute dropped from 45 minutes to 15 each way so a decrease of 30 each way and we gained a net benefit on our commutes. It is on the edge of insanity for me and I am pursuing some partial telecomuting options.

I get motion sick if I read on metro so I listen to a lot of library audio tapes on my commute (If I could do it without getting nauseated I would do work).

 

[JamesDJarvis]

There are folks that drive to work when it is under 4 miles?

Jeepers I'm hardly mister athletic but i used to walk 4 miles to and from the communter rail train stop years back, regardless of weather. I'd love to be able to do that again.