Commuting is a terrible way to use cars. Change my view!
Commuting is a terrible way to use cars. Change my view!
CrustyRedXpress said:Commuting is a terrible way to use cars. Change my view!
I love to drive. I don't care where I'm going or why, there isn't another place I would rather be than behind the wheel. It doesn't even have to be a car. A tractor or even my motorhome will work just as well. I love to drive.
I spend a fair amount of my time off driving. Yesterday was 200 miles out into the countryside to look at a campground my sons and I are considering a stop at during another 3-day drive through the countryside.
I can't imagine a better way to start a day than climbing in a car and driving to work. I can't imagine I better way to end a day than driving home. Even with the traffic, it's better than not driving at all.
In reply to Toyman! :
I agree. Commuted in DC area for many years in my Fiesta S, rx7, z28, s2k. All with manuals and behind the wheel was my favorite place.
I bought one of these:
As soon as the 2023 ordering window opened, I jumped on it. I have (well had) an 85 mile daily commute and driving the 16mpg Tahoe wasn't cutting it. I got the hybrid version and after 14k miles, it's sitting right at 37.5mpg lifetime average. It only has a 13.8 gallon fuel tank but I've hit over 600 miles per tank by driving carefully. I paid just over $27k out the door for it.
But in about a week, I'll be moving across the country for a new job where the daily commute will be about 15 miles.
JimS said:Takes all of 5 min. What a hassle.
Don't worry people will eventually complain about breathing.
The problem with public transit is time. I'd love to save on gas but it's so much slower than just driving straight to work, and these days I have less time than money, though not much of either really. Also i make regular trips to the hardware store/parts store/wally world etc on lunch break, before after work so then it becomes a much bigger hassle. And just buying a new vehicle is so expensive, saving a few bucks on gas isnt worth it. I rock older cars and no payment as long as possible.
Best bet is to combine trips as much as possible. My work is flexible so I drop off kids on the way to work, pick them up on the way home while getting gas, grocery store run or anything else and then dont go out again unless absolutely necessary. Also i've been more focused on getting that average mpg meter as high as possible which makes my drive less stressful and less ticket prone 
Some cities, public transport is fine. In my city, my 10 minute commute would take 90 minutes on three different municipal bus routes, and that's only if all three are on schedule.
I remember when I lived in L.A. it was so bad. My wife at the time and I decided to get to the airport via public transport since it would be cheaper than airport parking. You could go to their website and it would plan a route for you: Taxi to the train station, a bus for 10 blocks, then an EL to.... ad nauseum. So we took a taxi to the train station, took a bus for 10 blocks, walked to the next stop and waited for an hour. I finally went into a store and asked when the bus usually comes. He said "I've owned this store for 22 years, and there has never been a bus stop here."
Might have been nice if their website was more current than 22 years out of date.
We took a taxi back home, loaded the car, and drove to the airport.
So this far in, and only one comment about the more obvious solution- live closer to work. Then you don't need a car to commute, and filling up your car in whatever manner is just for rare long distance or pleasure drives. Reminds me of when a professor asked the class to come up with a solution to the fogging mirror in a bathroom attached to the main bedroom. Most had ideas of blowing air on it, or heating it, or whatever- and the professor asked why nobody thought about taking it out of the room. Even adding a small divider wall to separate the bath and toilet from the vanity is easy and cheaper than some of the other options.
Especially when we are talking mild-ish climates like Florida. But it works the same here in Ann Arbor, MI- live in a house or apartment that is a less than mile journey to work, and you can do that in all but the very worst weather.
Then again, this is a car focused forum.
And I know people will say they want to live away from work, which is fine, but that means you have to fully accept the compromise that you need to drive to work. And complaining about filling or charging your car rings rather hollow.
my problem with public transport is if you miss your bus (or it just drives past you while the driver makes eye contact, as has happened before) you then get to enjoy waiting for the next one, which where I live would be at least half an hour
CrustyRedXpress said:Commuting is a terrible way to use cars. Change my view!
I highly doubt Gottlieb Daimler envisioned what would happen to our cities because of his invention. Of course one of his other inventions, the motorcycle, probably turned out like he thought the car would.
alfadriver said:So this far in, and only one comment about the more obvious solution- live closer to work. Then you don't need a car to commute, and filling up your car in whatever manner is just for rare long distance or pleasure drives. Reminds me of when a professor asked the class to come up with a solution to the fogging mirror in a bathroom attached to the main bedroom. Most had ideas of blowing air on it, or heating it, or whatever- and the professor asked why nobody thought about taking it out of the room. Even adding a small divider wall to separate the bath and toilet from the vanity is easy and cheaper than some of the other options.
Especially when we are talking mild-ish climates like Florida. But it works the same here in Ann Arbor, MI- live in a house or apartment that is a less than mile journey to work, and you can do that in all but the very worst weather.
Then again, this is a car focused forum.
And I know people will say they want to live away from work, which is fine, but that means you have to fully accept the compromise that you need to drive to work. And complaining about filling or charging your car rings rather hollow.
To be fair, it's not always possible to live that close to work. When we still had an office to go to, all the nearby housing was either really crappy apartments or rent houses. Thankfully now my commute is just one side of the house to the other.
As for the public transit stuff, like a few have mentioned, the time sink is insane and is really only viable in the most densely populated cities. If I wanted to take a bus, it's a 1.5 mile walk to the nearest bus stop. When I lived in downtown Tulsa, the main bus hub was only about a 6 block walk, but the routes/changes meant 75-80 minutes vs a 15 minute drive, and the nearest bus stop to that job was the Walmart just over a mile away and the service road had no sidewalks.
In reply to CrustyRedXpress :
Saddened I can only up vote this post one time!
z31maniac said:alfadriver said:So this far in, and only one comment about the more obvious solution- live closer to work. Then you don't need a car to commute, and filling up your car in whatever manner is just for rare long distance or pleasure drives. Reminds me of when a professor asked the class to come up with a solution to the fogging mirror in a bathroom attached to the main bedroom. Most had ideas of blowing air on it, or heating it, or whatever- and the professor asked why nobody thought about taking it out of the room. Even adding a small divider wall to separate the bath and toilet from the vanity is easy and cheaper than some of the other options.
Especially when we are talking mild-ish climates like Florida. But it works the same here in Ann Arbor, MI- live in a house or apartment that is a less than mile journey to work, and you can do that in all but the very worst weather.
Then again, this is a car focused forum.
And I know people will say they want to live away from work, which is fine, but that means you have to fully accept the compromise that you need to drive to work. And complaining about filling or charging your car rings rather hollow.
To be fair, it's not always possible to live that close to work. When we still had an office to go to, all the nearby housing was either really crappy apartments or rent houses. Thankfully now my commute is just one side of the house to the other.
As for the public transit stuff, like a few have mentioned, the time sink is insane and is really only viable in the most densely populated cities. If I wanted to take a bus, it's a 1.5 mile walk to the nearest bus stop. When I lived in downtown Tulsa, the main bus hub was only about a 6 block walk, but the routes/changes meant 75-80 minutes vs a 15 minute drive, and the nearest bus stop to that job was the Walmart just over a mile away and the service road had no sidewalks.
That's still a choice you make. If you choose to not want to live there, then you have to accept the compromise of not walking. If you don't choose to live on public transport line withing walking distance, then you to accept the compromise of having to drive.
Life is choices and all of those choices have compromises. Once the choice is made, whining about those compromises is just complaining as far as I'm concerned. The only realistic think people can do is to push public transportation to your area. Other than that, well...
I remember someone complaining about using so much gas in the Excursion they bought. Yea, you could get something smaller to do what you want, getting the biggest thing you can get is your choice...
alfadriver said:So this far in, and only one comment about the more obvious solution- live closer to work. Then you don't need a car to commute, and filling up your car in whatever manner is just for rare long distance or pleasure drives. Reminds me of when a professor asked the class to come up with a solution to the fogging mirror in a bathroom attached to the main bedroom. Most had ideas of blowing air on it, or heating it, or whatever- and the professor asked why nobody thought about taking it out of the room.
Or, just stop taking showers :)
I agree in theory, but that could be taken as a little elitist. I live 10 minutes from work and I have very affordable housing. If I moved close enough to work that I didn't need to drive, my rent would be three times my current mortgage and that's before the city taxes every April, the parking costs, utility costs, increased risk of crime and the associated insurance costs, and access to less expensive goods. Not to mention it costs a lot of money to move.
But I agree with the theory.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
It's still a choice and a compromise. People judge what's the most important thing, which is exactly what life is. If not filling up is the most important thing, then cost and crime are accepted.
It always amazes me, that so many folks seem to think that because their tiny little world is all that they see, that everyone else's life is exactly like their own.
And if anyone else needs to do things different than them, that person is obviously wrong.
You think stopping for gas is a chore, but you want to take the bus? I don't see any scenario where taking the bus saves you time over pumping gas.
I like long range vehicles, not just because of the range, but less stops in general. Good gas mileage with a big tank. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like a common combination, tank size usually shrinks with efficiency, so most cars are in the 400 mile range. Hybrids definitely help. I think plug in hybrids are the best overall, as short trips often won't touch the fuel tank. You don't need a lot to charge a plug in hybrid, the batteries are small. As long as you have somewhere to park near the house, a 15A will give you a few miles of charge to use for short trips. It's not like you would be stranded if you leave on a low charge, it's more of a bonus. There is new tech to allow an install of level 2 chargers on older homes with undersized electrical systems. Load sensing breakers and transfer switches that let you add a load that can be managed. Not always optimal for a full EV, but it should be no problem to keep a plug in hybrid charged.
alfadriver said:z31maniac said:alfadriver said:So this far in, and only one comment about the more obvious solution- live closer to work. Then you don't need a car to commute, and filling up your car in whatever manner is just for rare long distance or pleasure drives. Reminds me of when a professor asked the class to come up with a solution to the fogging mirror in a bathroom attached to the main bedroom. Most had ideas of blowing air on it, or heating it, or whatever- and the professor asked why nobody thought about taking it out of the room. Even adding a small divider wall to separate the bath and toilet from the vanity is easy and cheaper than some of the other options.
Especially when we are talking mild-ish climates like Florida. But it works the same here in Ann Arbor, MI- live in a house or apartment that is a less than mile journey to work, and you can do that in all but the very worst weather.
Then again, this is a car focused forum.
And I know people will say they want to live away from work, which is fine, but that means you have to fully accept the compromise that you need to drive to work. And complaining about filling or charging your car rings rather hollow.
To be fair, it's not always possible to live that close to work. When we still had an office to go to, all the nearby housing was either really crappy apartments or rent houses. Thankfully now my commute is just one side of the house to the other.
As for the public transit stuff, like a few have mentioned, the time sink is insane and is really only viable in the most densely populated cities. If I wanted to take a bus, it's a 1.5 mile walk to the nearest bus stop. When I lived in downtown Tulsa, the main bus hub was only about a 6 block walk, but the routes/changes meant 75-80 minutes vs a 15 minute drive, and the nearest bus stop to that job was the Walmart just over a mile away and the service road had no sidewalks.
That's still a choice you make. If you choose to not want to live there, then you have to accept the compromise of not walking. If you don't choose to live on public transport line withing walking distance, then you to accept the compromise of having to drive.
Life is choices and all of those choices have compromises. Once the choice is made, whining about those compromises is just complaining as far as I'm concerned. The only realistic think people can do is to push public transportation to your area. Other than that, well...
I remember someone complaining about using so much gas in the Excursion they bought. Yea, you could get something smaller to do what you want, getting the biggest thing you can get is your choice...
This is a "no E36 M3 sherlock" type of statement. Of course it's a choice and we always have to make comprises. I would suspect most people don't want to live in an apartment building with multiple reviews about bed bugs, so they can live a 10 minute walk from work, or deal with the amount of traffic and noise it takes to be next a hospital with a large ER.
I realize the point you're trying to make, but you're being idealistic vs being realistic. If you can afford it, no one wants to live in a E36 M3ty apartment complex, next to a hospital to be able to walk to work. Although, I never complained about having to stop for gas, even when I had a 140 mile roundtrip commute.
You are overthinking this.
I had a test vehicle from work, a 2022 RAV-4 Prime Hybrid, for around 5 months.
I filled up maybe... 5 times?
A Level 1 (120V, sub-20A) charger would fill the battery overnight, and I could do my whole commute on that charge without any engine intervention.
I'd often kick it into hybrid mode to get the extra acceleration, but it's one of the most pleasant daily drivable cars I've ever been in or around.
In reply to Tom Suddard :
Yeah and every time your girlfriend wanted to go somewhere it conveniently clogged a fuel filter...
When I see post like this, I think we are moving closer and closer to the matrix where you are just born into a pod with an augmented reality pumped into your conscience so you can produce energy for the machines.
It's really a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. Just think, 120 years ago, just being able to drive 100 miles in a day would have been an amazing accomplishment for a family over a horse drawn carriage.
Personally, I hate flying, it's super convenient to get somewhere fast but, being at the whim of an airline and the airports. Paying hyper-inflated prices for basic conveniences like water and food, which are limited access by governmental organizations, is ridiculous. Your privacy and personal belongings are molested or lost by complete strangers. When your flight is delayed or canceled the airlines aren't accountable for anything. Whistleblowers in the industry are suicided.
In reply to DirtyBird222 :
well thats supposed to be changing regarding compensation for canceled or significantly delayed flights. the rest of the issues with flying still stand. I will say TSA precheck and global entry can streamline the process a lot, shoes can stay on (even my composite toe workboots), laptops and small liquids can remain in your bag. reentering the country, you get to almost entirely skip customs.
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