A report came out this fall about how the average Californian who uses public transit to get to work has a 47-minute commute. That's right on the money for me.
In a story for Bay Citizen, Joanna Lin wrote:
Californians rank 10th in the country for having the longest commute
times, taking an average of 26.9 minutes to travel to work, recently
released census data show. ...
... Californians who refrained from driving to work alone typically had
longer commutes. On average, solo drivers spent 25.5 minutes getting to
work, the survey showed. Carpoolers took just over half an hour to get
to their jobs, and public transit riders commuted nearly 47 minutes to
work.
So I know what many drivers are thinking when they read that: "Despite the hassles of traffic, I get to work in 25.5 minutes, 21.5 minutes quicker than bus and BART riders." On the surface, if they have subsidized parking, the driver may even beat my per-day transit costs of about $7 (though half of that is provided by my employer via Commuter Check).
But I have no question that my 47-minute commute is a great deal for me. Roughly two-thirds of it is on foot, so multiplied by two to 94 minutes and figuring nearly an hour of walk time just on my commute, I'm automatically doubling my recommended 30 minutes of exercise a day. Yeah, I could use some more upper-body work, but at least I'm burning way more calories than the car-bound.
As I walk, I'm soaking in the sights and sounds of my neighborhood. Whether it's new mosaics along Grand Avenue or gull antics on Lake Merritt or the buskers at the BART station, I'm always intrigued, always entertained. And once I am on my bus or subway, I have time to catch up on email, news (I read the commute story on my commute), or my Twitter feeds.
Yes, it can actually take longer to get to work without a car. But when I factor in savings on a car payment, gas, insurance, parking, and repairs -- plus the health, climate, and aesthetic benefits of walking and transit -- I feel blessed every day to live in a region where this lifestyle is possible.
