Long Commutes Are Sucking the Life Out of You

[big shafe]

I used to do a 1 hour drive each way when I was single. Now that I'm married and have a gas hog truck, I moved 0.5 miles from my job. I can get 11 mpg but still only use 1 tank a month. In the summer on nice days I will ride my bike. Not to mention I'm still in bed when some people are commuting to work.

I don't think I could go back to 1 hour drives after being this spoiled.

[jakobnev]

big shafe -
Are actually driving that half mile trip?

[big shafe]

Ya, I have to cross a busy 4 lane (not counting a turning lane) road and I typically come home for lunch to fix something to eat and take care of stuff that needs done. If I didn't have the busy road I would walk and ride my bike much more often. Going home for lunch is also another great luxury.

[mmmodem]

I have a 3 hour roundtrip commute. I know it sucks. But didn't know it literally sucked the life out of me. There's little I can do about it. I love my job and DW works in the opposite direction. She currently has a 40 minute roundtrip commute and that is too far already.

Audiobooks and cruising along slowly in the slow lane is how I cope. I just hate the tailgaters. Left lane is wide open. Use it and leave me alone!

[GRU]

i used to live 2.5 miles from work. now i'm about 7 miles. I couldn't imagine driving for more than half hour each way to work, i'd go crazy.

[ProDarwin]

Short commutes rule. That said, the MMM article makes two false assumptions (IMO).

1) Driving costs $0.51/mile. It doesn't. Especially to an eco-modder. My car gets relatively poor mileage compared to many on this forum (~32 MPG), and its cost of ownership is well under $0.15/mile. If I paid for maintenance, this would surely increase, but would not even be close to $0.51/mile. Using that figure raises many other questions like: Why are you driving a brand new luxury SUV back and forth to work on your long commute?

2) That your time has monetary value outside of work. Yes, time is money, but not always. If you work salary, working 6 days a week doesn't pay any more that working 5 days a week. If person A makes $100K and works 5 days a week, but person B makes $120K and has a long commute, effectively working 6 days a week... who makes more money? Person B, even though their hourly rate may work out to the same.

I definitely support short commutes, but I also find some irony in the support of such an article on this forum. If your time is truly worth money like the article says, why would you hypermile? Driving slowly on the highway/coasting to stop signs will certainly cost you far more in time than you will save in fuel. If you could double my gas mileage on the way to work, but it only took you 25% longer to get there, I would still be losing money on the deal.

I recently took a trip across the U.S. (helped my sister drive/move home from CA). While driving her Jetta, which did not return good mileage, I was thinking about slowing down to get better mileage. While driving at 50mph vs. 70mph would return much better mileage, it would extend the trip by over 15 hours. This would mean an extra day of driving at a minimum, an extra night in a hotel, 6 extra meals (3 each), and an additional $250 in lost wages/vacation from work. The cost of that extra day would've been more than the gas cost for the entire trip driving at 70mph.

Food for thought.

[jousai7]

My commute is 75-120 miles one way depending on where I work that day. Getting into DC can take anywhere from 2-3hrs depending on traffic. Been doing it for about 4 years. Traffic doesn't really stress me out though, Im in field service so once I walk out my door my clock starts. So im getting paid the same if Im at work or reading bumper stickers traffic. The physical comfort thing does become an issue. As well as a long time in the car seems to make one absent minded for a while. Dangerous in electrical environments I must say.

[JethroBodine]

This article/study was on people commuting in, near, and to a large city. To encompass everyone into the findings is ridiculous.

I commute 20 miles, one way,every day. The closest thing to a traffic jam that I have is on my return trip home at the only stop light in downtown where one might be caught for 5 minutes of stop and go. People who don't like stop lights(like me) change their route to avoid the light.

My commute is also the longest uninterrupted time that I sit in one place all day. Does this really make me obese?

I love traveling by motor vehicles. I got my drivers license as soon as I possibly could and have enjoying every minute of driving ever since. My commute is, almost always, the only driving I do now. Don't try to tell me that one of my favorite experiences of the day makes me a more angry person, causes me stress, or is shortening my life.

As for cost, I don't spend as much in a year on my commute as has been said I could save.

YMMV

[320touring]

I'm confused by this...

Used to car share for commute to my current post (50 mile round trip in heavy traffic)

Now I'm driving myself:

Got my tunes on the Radio

inside lane50-60mph

328i on LPG (28imp mpg on gas= monitary equiv of 52mpg from a diesel, with low emissions and less complexity than a modern TDI)

Ability to take at least another 2 routes if I feel the need to change the scenery.

Use the time to figure out life's conundrums- saves wasting valuable "non work" time for considering things



That said, I could get a job that pays £250 a month LESS if I had a job within a mile or two of where I stay..

[NeilBlanchard]

If you have a long commute (as I used to -- over 90 miles round trip in heavy traffic), then ecodriving makes it far less stressful, in my experience. By focusing on something that you have, at least some control over, can greatly reduce stress. And saving money also helps.