My current commute takes about 90 minutes from door to door: a short walk, two long subway rides, and a bus ride.
Over the course of 52 working weeks, the commute adds up to 780 hours a year.
That means that every ten minutes I can eliminate from my bi-daily commute adds up to 43.3 hours per year.
That seems like reason enough to strongly favour housing options near subway stations, and ideally stations on the right line.
Author: Milan
In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford.
Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here.
View all posts by Milan
It also means there are huge productivity benefits to commuting via transit instead of driving; that’s 780h/year of reading, etc. Especially if the TTC ever gets around to putting cell coverage in the subway tunnels.
Taking transit provides the opportunity for me to read on the bus. Sometimes I use it better than others. When I am really into a book, I sometimes continue to read to finish a chapter when I get off the bus using the comfortable chairs at the Hotel Vancouver.
Another calculation of note: sibilant intake of breath will have its 500,000 visitor in a few hours. The sitemeter count currently stands at 499,941.
Congratulations on the half-million mark. Think of all the time you have spent on your blog and how many people have learned something interesting or engaged in dialogue.
Unfortunately, the commute is actually totally dead wasted time.
Getting up at 6:30am makes me a zombie, no matter when I go to sleep. My peak of mental possibility during the morning trip is making sure I don’t botch my connections.
Similarly, the excessively early mornings leave me exhausted in the evenings. I basically just work and sleep, Monday to Friday.