The Friday Five have started to commute again...

[magnetic_pole]

The school year (and my commute) are starting again this week, so let's answer a relevant Friday Five from the archives this week:

1. What is your current main mode of transportation? e.g. car, bike, subway, walking etc.
Ideally, walking; I do as much in our neighborhood as I possibly can. But I take the bus to get downtown and the metro and the commuter rail to get to work.

2. Are you satisfied with your current main mode of transportation (answer to question 1)? Why? Yes! I love being able to walk. It's one of the joyous discoveries of adulthood, that you don't actually need to own a car. (Other joyous discoveries of adulthood: you don't actually need to live in a single family house, and you don't need to date men. :) We selected our apartment and neighborhood primarily for their proximity to grocery stores, transit, stores, and restaurants. And we've been especially lucky because the neighborhood's added quite a few options even in the time we've lived here.

3. Do you think you'll change your means of transit soon? e.g. buy a car, get rid of your car, walk more etc.? If so why?
One day I may decide I can't handle the mega-commute to Neighboring City to get to my job, and we'll move there--a move that will probably entail buying a car, since Neighboring City's not as walkable. But at the moment I'm happy where I am and feel as if the trade off (lots of things within walking distance and no need to own a car vs. long commute to work) are worth it.

4. If time distance and money were not factors how do you prefer to get from point A to point B?
Mm. That's a hard one. Ideally, Apparating? Bullet train? Given the current constraints of my Muggle life, I'd take a taxi more often to eliminate the frustrating metro portion of my commute. Or I might take a taxi at odd hours when the bus or metro headways are especially long. I have transit impatience.

5. What was your worst transit experience? Being in car accidents as a child, hands down. Nothing that's happened on bus, train, metro or plane ever since has been as destabilizing. (And I've never even been in a serious accident that left someone injured.)

How are you all doing, flist? Are you celebrating or mourning the end of summer?

Comments

[out_there]

I'm kind of amused at that list, because my answers are definitely car, car, yay new car. Worst transit experience might be the bus suddenly stopping when I was 13, which was a tiny thing at the time but gave me a couple months of whiplash (and the wisdom to avoid those sideways seats in future) -- as opposed to the few car accidents that I've been involved in as a passenger or driver.

And 4... hmmm. If money wasn't an issue, it would be to be close enough to work to be able to walk ten-fifteen minutes into work... but then there's those occasional cold mornings when walking is not fun at 7C or less, and walking home at 5pm on those 35C+ days also would not be fun, so I think I'm pretty happy with my 20 minute drive in comfort.

[lash_larue]

I prefer driving. That's fortunate, because there is no other option out here. I like being in control of when and where I go. However, traffic around here is usually not a problem if I avoid peak hours. The standard of driving hereabouts is abysmal. People think it is a sign of weakness to allow you to merge, that stoplights are a suggestion and do not count at all if you are within 5 feet of the car in front of you, and that the thing sticking out the side of the steering column is there to hang garters and air fresheners on. An interstate that turns into a parking lot is my own personal hell, however. I do not like to see brake lights ahead. I don't mind traveling by bus, and may elect to do that the next time a trip north is contemplated.

Summer never ends here. I mourn that constantly.

L

[jesse_the_k]

My parents were truly horrible drivers. That’s probably why I like Transit so much. When I was younger I lived in cities with subways. Unfortunately that’s no longer the case and I’m stuck with a rather small town city bus system.

In around half an hour I will hop on the bus to go downtown to attend my first official meeting of our cities Transportation Policy and Planning Board.

I will hold onto summer until someone grabs it from my hands and breaks my fingers.

[semielliptical]

It's great that you're able to live in a neighborhood where you can walk so much! It's too bad your trade-off is having a long commute, but it's probably nearly impossible to find a living/working situation without such compromises.

Car accidents are really traumatic, even when no one is seriously hurt. I was in one this past winter and I still have some lingering anxiety related to it.

I have mixed feelings about the end of summer, I will miss having the extra time for relaxation but I can also tell that I need a little more stimulation and will be happy to be busier.

[therealsnape]

Yay for walkability! And I so admire you, doing a commute like you do on a regular basis.

I'll put up my own version of this today, promise! Such a good way to keep posting and to keep in touch.

[kelly_chambliss]

I'm mourning, but not so much the end of summer as what appears to be the end of US democracy as was. Never perfect and often far, far less, it was nonetheless a worthy ideal. It's gone now, and I don't see us coming back.

Meanwhile, the weather is still nice here in Rural Hamlet.

Musing about transportation -- I actually enjoy taking public transportation. I took the bus for five years to college and my first full-time job, and I loved the chance just to sit and mentally prepare and/or regroup. There's nothing else you can do but sit there and let someone else take you. It's enforced relaxation, if you will -- no need to think, "But I should be doing x!" Because you can't.

Rural Hamlet has nothing even remotely like metros or buses, and very few places are walkable. I yearn for the luxury of public transport! (But it does take a huge amount of time, I know.)

[liseuse]

Being able (because of proximity and physical capability) to walk basically everywhere I need to be, or to be able to walk to the bus, is one of the reasons I adore where I live - both my actual house and the small city in which it is located. Sometimes I wonder if I'll go for a new job at some point, or move places, and it always boils down to "well, maybe, but I want to live in another place pretty much like this one".

Apparition would be great! I don't know if I've told you this, but when I was about 14 my history teacher asked our class if we'd take up the chance to teleport places should it become feasible, knowing that every time we did we'd lose a certain number of brain cells. 14 year old me (and the whole class I think) rejected the idea, thinking our brain cells were more important. As I've grown older I've become more convinced by the idea of it. I've sacrificed brain cells to loads of things, and I would love to be able to teleport back from places. Taking the train and then the plane to somewhere is fine, and I don't mind getting the plane back but the last leg of the journey always makes me want to weep with exhaustion.

[delphi]

Your answers are pretty much all my answers, down to the letter. Although, while car accidents have definitely been my worst transportation experiences, my worst public transit experiences have pretty much all been down to optimistically assuming that a bus route that got me somewhere will eventually get me home again.

I once took a but out to an event and afterwards crossed the street and caught the same bus number heading back in the opposite direct. Or at least it started heading back in the opposite direction. Then it took a sharp right. As it went further and further east when I wanted to be going west, I fell prey to the sunk cost fallacy and figured, "It has to loop back around eventually," and then, "Well, at the very least, it's going to stop at a depot."

It did eventually stop. Under an overpass. There it parked, and everyone who was left on the bus got off. Including the driver. He just turned the bus off and walked away, disappearing into the unremarkable suburban neighbourhood 30 km away from my house. Which is how I (eventually) learned about the downtown bus line that did double duty as a shuttle out to Ikea.

[magnetic_pole]

car, car, yay new car

Hee! Fair enough. And it's not just that different people have different styles--there are large swaths of the world where walking and transit are so impractical that this whole meme doesn't make much sense--driving is the only way to go.

Yikes! about the whiplash! I've always hear that's a real concern about even small accidents, but I've never known anyone who actually suffered from it. How did you know you had it (especially since you were only 13)? M.

[magnetic_pole]

I prefer driving. That's fortunate, because there is no other option out here.

As I was just saying to out_there above, there are whole swaths of the country (and the world) where there's not much choice--cars are the only way to go.

Buses are so under-rated. The ones I've taken recently (in the past fifteen years or so, say), are the lovely coach kind, with air conditioning and comfy seats. (I remember buses that were closer to school buses from when I was younger...though perhaps that was just bad luck on the few trips I took by bus back then.

Summer never ends here. I mourn that constantly.

:) M.

[magnetic_pole]

I will hold onto summer until someone grabs it from my hands and breaks my fingers.

I like your attitude here! That's basically my attitude, too.

Small city bus lines struggle so much. One of the big dilemmas of US transit is our national unwillingness to increase service to create demand, so small cities have a hard time keeping viable service going. I'll be curious to hear what comes of your meeting attendance!

Perfect Icon. :) M.

[magnetic_pole]

I can also tell that I need a little more stimulation and will be happy to be busier.

*nods* And it always seems like there's a certain excitement that comes with back-to-school that's good for all of us, whether we're actually going back to school or not. I like it when the year has some shape to it, you know?

Sorry to hear about your accident. May it be the last one in a long, long while.

That's a lovely late-summer early fall icon you have there. :) M.

[magnetic_pole]

Our walkability is not as walkable as your walkability, of course, but it's still much appreciated. There aren't that many places to live in the US where you can walk to things as often as I do.

One day the commute may get to be too much, but in the meantime, I'm so lucky to be able to live where I do and take the train to work.

Hope you're having fun in another very walkable part of the world this week! M.

[magnetic_pole]

Frequent, convenient public transportation *is* definitely a luxury! I'm lucky to be where I am in the city, and house prices and rental are correspondingly higher. We should all have buses as frequent as we do in this neighborhood.

I agree with you entirely on the enforced relaxation. My commuter train line doesn't have wifi, and I'm glad of it--I open my computer and work, no distractions.

I don't know what to say on the political front, K. Every time I open the newspaper (or, more precisely, open the news website), it's something new. Tonight it's the ridiculous "resistance" inside the administration. What will it be tomorrow? M.

[out_there]

Mum took me to a doctor appointment a few weeks afterwards. I mostly remember it as three months of a stiff neck with limited mobility and occasional headaches (which are very common for me anyway). Probably very mild symptoms but I've always had both a strong neck and neck-related headaches/migraines.

(Mum loves telling the story of how I was born 2 weeks late, after 26 hours of labour -- a few of those hours I had my head twisted, apparently, and had to be repositioned -- and was given to her as a messy newborn, and proceeded to raise my head and sniff for food. Apparently head-raising is one of those things that newborns shouldn't be able to do, but my love of food started young!)

[magnetic_pole]

I've always thought we had a lot in common on the neighborhood and transit front, D.

So what happened?!? Did you go to Ikea along with everyone and just wait to get home? Did you just wait on the bus? There's nothing worse than being on a bus (or train) and getting that sinking feeling that you're not going in the right direction.

Ah, Ikea. I love Ikea so much, and yet it locates its stores in the worst places for pedestrians like me. i actually wait to go to New York to go there because the local Ikea (maybe five miles away, as the crow flies) is completely inaccessible without a car. IN NYC, they have a Brooklyn store that makes an excellent and very easy afternoon trip.

Once I was in Greece and bought a bus ticket from one small town to another. Everything was going fine (I saw the town's name on the roadside signs, meaning we were getting close), when the bus suddenly pulled over to the side of the highway and the bus driver started to signal to me to get out. I was confused, but he handed me my bag and pointed to a tunnel that went under the highway. I went through and still didn't see anything but the occasional house. I decided to walk downhill since I was going to a port town...and eventually got there about twenty minutes later. All that confusion was my fault for not having some basic Greek at the ready, but all's well that ends well. :) M.

ETA: Sorry for delayed response!

[magnetic_pole]

Your Home Town is the best, walk-ability-wise. I was so impressed! So much within walking distance, a decent walking culture, and what appeared to be very good transit options.

Re: teleporting: That's so funny! Those brain cells are overrated. Getting home at the end of the day *is* tiring. We've got a last 15-minute walk from the Metro, which means however I travel, there's always one more push. (You have the same set up, actually.) There are days when I count the steps home.

Aw, I enjoyed visiting Home City so much! Just thinking about it tonight is making me smile. M.

[magnetic_pole]

Aw, I love the image of you raising your head eagerly as a tiny newborn. My partner has a similar story--as a newborn at the hospital, she drank four little bottles of milk/ formula, when newborns generally only drink one or two. The nurses were impressed. Our love for food starts early! M.

[liseuse]

It is pretty great for walking. There are some things that are inconvenient to get to on foot, and by public transport, but ... they're fine, there's a way to get there. And it has got a good walking culture, which is useful.

It really is that last 15 minute walk from the station. I can do the plane and I can do the train, but that fifteen minute walk is just soul-wrenching somehow.

Home City liked having you visit too! It awaits your return!

[magnetic_pole]

but that fifteen minute walk is just soul-wrenching somehow.

It's especially hard when it's mostly quiet and residential, as yours towards the end is and as ours is--from the closer metro station, at least. I sometimes get off at the farther metro station when I'm tired because walking by stores seems to make the walk go by faster. M.

[liseuse]

I had never twigged that the reason it feels so long is the residential bit! That makes complete sense! All the streets start to look the same when you're just trying to get home without weeping.

[delphi]

Oh, yikes - having that happen while travelling is a whole other thing!

Unfortunately, there was another smaller shuttle that you had to pay for to get ferried to the Ikea proper, so there were no meatballs for me that day. I just hoofed it a couple of blocks to the nearest major street and caught a couple of very lengthy bus rides back in the right general direction. (These were my university days, so I didn't have a smart phone but I did at least have an unlimited bus pass.)

They really do put Ikeas in the least accessible spots, don't they? We don't have one on the island here, which is fair enough, but in the last city I lived in, I could see it but had no way of approaching on foot. Which is admittedly not quite as inconvenient as the time a friend of mine in Iqaluit placed an online order with them and they eventually called back to ask if she wouldn't mind going to pick up her order in Winnipeg...