How do DUers travel to work?

[theHandpuppet]

Just interested to find out how the majority of DUers get about. A poll like this can't be truly representative of how we're addressing the issues of pollution and transportation because so many other factors come into play, e.g., whether you live in an urban or rural area, the length of your commute, etc. But since these issues are oft discussed here it seems appropriate to find out how we're faring in reducing the carbon footprint.

24 votes, 1 pass | Time left: Unlimited
	On foot
	2 (8%)
	Public transportation (bus, subway, rail)
	4 (17%)
	Automobile (standard)
	9 (38%)
	Auto (hybrid or electric)
	2 (8%)
	Motorbike/motorcycle
	0 (0%)
	Bicycle
	2 (8%)
	Car pool
	0 (0%)
	Other (specify)
	1 (4%)
	I'll worry about that when I can find a job
	4 (17%)
	1 DU member did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[wocaonimabi]

1. How else Transporter, does not everyone?

[madokie]

7. I put automobile but actually

I just go from one room to the next, milling around but I call it work. Pick up a mop or a broom from time to time so I guess it technically is work.

[wocaonimabi]

11. I sit on my ass all day staring at a computer screen in a cube and they call that work too

So I guess you just work harder

[Adrahil]

2. On foot.... Across the hall.

I mainly work from home. My commute is about 25 feet across the hall, though usually I go downstairs to get coffee first.

[dipsydoodle]

14. Same here

but I only need to walk about 12 feet.

[Common Sense Party]

32. I walk into the front room.

My co-workers are the deer in the front yard.

[SamKnause]

3. I use to travel to work by car.

There is no public transportation within 50 miles.

[theHandpuppet]

5. That brings up an interesting question in itself

I wonder how many Americans live at least 10 miles from a public transportation system? Probably a lot more than we imagine.

[SamKnause]

10. All Americans that live in rural areas.

I could not afford to rent, or buy a home close to my place of employment.

My round trip was 100 miles per day.

[dionysus]

50. back when i did have to commute, public transportation was available, but not feasible.

driving to the office took 15-20 minutes in average traffic.

if I wanted to take the bus, first I'd have to walk a mile to the bus stop, which would suck in the winter if they haven't plowed the sidewalks. then I'd catch the bus, which would go downtown, where I'd have to switch to a different bus. it would take about an hour and a half via bus vs 20 minutes in a car. no thanks.

however, if in a large city, it would most likely be the opposite and public transit would be faster than driving.

[underpants]

4. Woohoo! First Hybrid vote!

[theHandpuppet]

6. I'm jealous.

What kind of hybrid do you drive and what's been your experience with it?

[underpants]

17. :)

Honda Insight - looks just like a Prius in fact the salesman said it was a "direct ripoff"

2010- it was a fleet car so it only had 32K miles on it when I bought it the day after Christmas.
Honda didn't make the Insight for a couple of years but started back in 2010. The Insight is Honda's low cost hybrid model.
I got it at CarMax for $13,500 - just over the Blue Book value.

Okay so you are wondering WHAT ABOUT THE MILEAGE!?!?!?
It was a battery assist and cuts off at stop lights but not for the whole time usually. Several displays to toggle through giving Avg. speed, trip time, graphic showing of the gas/battery assist, and current efficiency/MPG for the current trip (resets per start) and the last three trips. It shows you how you are driving and learns from your driving to mix in battery usage OKAY BUT WHAT ABOUT THE STINKING MILEAGE?!?!?

On trips mostly to work and normal errands I get 45- 50 MPG. It lists as 41/45 city/highway but I have learned how to work it for better mileage (as someone here on DU advised me would happen when I was researching hybrids).

The day after I bought it we drove to Roanoke (150 miles) and back and have several trips around Roanoke while I was there. On 10.6 gallons of gas we got 400 miles out of it and still had 70 miles estimate left in the tank. I but $15 into it yesterday (5 gallons) and the estimate went from 247 miles in the tank to 280 when I was on the way home yesterday. It calculated that I was getting MORE miles due to the way I drive.


Fast zippy little car. GREAT in the snow and ice so far. Only 2,700 pounds (only 850 lbs in passenger and cargo max) and very low to the ground. The transmission is a little "jumpy" sometimes and the braking feels like it accelerates which I had read about in reviews.

All in all I LOVE THIS CAR.

[theHandpuppet]

18. Thanks for the info

My SO and I are looking to buy a car (ours just died... RIP) and would be interested in looking at a hybrid. It would have to be a car good for commuting and reasonably priced. Most of the new hybrids we've seen are simply out of our price range but we'd consider used if it has low mileage. Just a bit scared of hybrids because some have the reputation of being "buggy". Can't go through that again. There's no way to get around here without a car.

[salin]

57. I have driven a Prius for 8 yrs

no problems aside from regular car problems. My mother drives a 2003 Prius which also has had no unusual car problems.

In really cold weather, the gas engine runs more and mileage goes down. It is frustrating, until I realize that the "low gpa" is between 38 mpg and 45 mpg instead of the 50+ mpg during moderate weather - and compared to many other cars - 38-45 mpg is great.

Neither Prius driver in the family - now both with aging Prius's (11 yr old and 8 yr old) have had problems related to the hybrid system. Both have had fewer "aging" car problems than in our previous cars (a mazda 626 and a turbo suboru.) I drive more than my mother, and am at about 95K miles on the car. No "bugginess".

If you can find a relatively low mileage hybrid such as the Prius or Insight at a decent price - get it. I have not heard first hand reports of "bugginess." I do have first hand reports of longevity of the cars - which still maintain very high gpa.

In my last car, a week's driving took a half tank (about 6.5 gallons to fill). My aging Prius does the same drive generally takes about 40% to fill (smaller gas tank) at about 3.5-4 gallons. Over time - that really adds up.

[hfojvt]

29. and I am the first to say this

but not today, we have two inches of snow

which might not be a problem, except my job is perhaps 80 feet lower in elevation than my home.

And some people think Kansas is flat.

[Codeine]

8. I use Fey Step to move 5 squares and gain Combat Advantage. nt

[Recursion]

9. Train and rickshaw

Generally electric rickshaws (think golf carts). Occasionally cycle rickshaws.

[dipsydoodle]

12. On foot.

I've worked at home since 1995.

[Orsino]

13. My wife and I carpool in a Prius.

I want to kill the Earth slowly, so I can watch its expression.

[MadrasT]

15. "Other". By automoble and by airplane and by train.

We have offices and factories worldwide.

[Scuba]

16. Before I retired ....

Personal vehicle (to the airport) ...

Commercial jet ... and ....

Leased vehicle the rest of the way.



Some days it took 24 hours just to get to work.

[oldhippie]

19. Retired now, but ....

.... used to drive 150 miles per day commute for over 20 years. In a 4WD pickup. Public transportation? What's that?

[WorseBeforeBetter]

20. Throughout the course of my career I have driven solo and in a carpool,

taken Metro, and biked in (nice 28 miles daily).

Unfortunately, the area I'm in now only has a very limited bus system, so I drive the 18-mile round-trip.

[JaneyVee]

21. Motorbike most times, public transportation sometimes, bicycle weather permitting.

[txwhitedove]

22. LOVE my Prius C at 46-50 mpg and zippy car. Metro line too far away and it's 10 miles to office.

Drivers see the Prius and you can practically hear them mutter "Doggy hybrid" then try to race around me. But,
grandma don't like that, so it's on!

[hootinholler]

23. What? No Tardis?

I drive 3 miles to a commuter lot, take a bus to the subway. Only takes 2 hours each way. I could drive and save maybe a half hour each way on average, but it costs me less than a parking spot would and I save 90 miles a day round trip.

[Tikki]

24. We are retired now, and our new job seems to be transporting the grandchildren...

around. We drive a hybrid…


The Tikkis

[LWolf]

25. I drive to work in a 4wd vehicle.

A 10 yo Tacoma.

It's about 13 miles one way. Thirteen rural miles with no stoplights and 4 stop signs past hayfields, pastures, and public forests, over dirt, gravel, and paved roads and one bridge. Often in icy conditions.

I'd take public transportation if I lived in a bigger city with a good system. I'd carpool IF:

1. There were anyone else at work living anywhere near me, and

2. I worked a job with set starting and ending hours. While I have set starting and ending hours in my contract, that contract also requires that I fulfill many, many duties that don't fit within those hours. So I, and my colleagues, decide on a daily basis how much more time we'll spend at work, and how much work we'll take home. We don't arrive or leave at the same time.

[liberal N proud]

26. No public transportation available

Too far to ride a bike.

[BlueStreak]

27. You need an option: "I put on bunny slippers and walk down to the basement"

[Freddie]

28. Drive 10 miles, no public trans here

I live quite close to a couple co-workers and could carpool but I don't go straight home from work as I babysit my granddaughter after work. Would like to get a hybrid after the old Toyota dies.

[riderinthestorm]

30. I'm a farmer so I just walk out the door to work

But on the other hand being rural, I have a drive to get to basic services like the grocery store etc. so my carbon footprint isn't zero.

[HipChick]

31. up 12 steps

to my loft office..work from home 99.9% of the time.. working for a startup...

Before then it was personal car/taxi/limo to airport,plane,rental car to god know where client was located....did that for close to 15yrs..

[hobbit709]

33. I get a cup of coffee in the kitchen and go into my garage/computer room.

[Fumesucker]

34. Sandworm n/t

[whatchamacallit]

44. I prefer

using spice to fold space

[Fumesucker]

46. You one percenters are all alike, always flaunting your privelege with your fancy ways

[whatchamacallit]

59. Heh heh

[MindPilot]

35. Hybrid Escape

My commute is about 21 miles each way. Public transportation is possible, but it would take three or four times as long. Plus I often have to travel to other sites during the day so I need a vehicle for work, not just to get there.

[Le Taz Hot]

36. I visit people's homes

so I have no choice but to use my truck. That IS my work. Having said that, if I worked at a fixed location and it was anywhere near a bus stop, I most certainly would take public transportation. We have a pretty good one here. Forty-five dollars a month will buy a bus pass good for the entire month with unlimited rides. Not bad considering the price of gas.

[ohheckyeah]

37. I walk from

my bedroom to the kitchen to my office.

I work at home.

[Iggo]

38. Other: I get a ride to work and I take the bus home.

On the weekends, it's all buses and boots.

[kestrel91316]

39. Other: Bike sometimes, mass transit other times.

[MineralMan]

40. I walk down the stairs to my office in the basement.

During a typical day, I repeat that about 20 times. Good exercise.

[oneshooter]

41. I drive a truck.

I tried public transport but found it was too difficult getting the 4x4x8 posts and 8' pickets aboard the bus. Just kidding. No buses run out here. Truck is a Ford F-150 with eco-boost.

[Xithras]

42. I drive 20 miles to the station and then spend 45 minutes on a train.

Yeah, my commute kinda sucks, but I usually only have to do it two days a week. The other three, my commute is seven steps from my bedroom to my home office. My employer lets us telecommute whenever we don't have meetings or clients coming in.

[B Calm]

43. Managing the family fortune requires me to walk from

the living room to the computer.

[Blue_In_AK]

45. Until 2001 when I left the official commuter crowd,

I traveled by car the three miles or so to my job. When I went to work for myself, I walked -- downstairs to my office.

Now I'm like Maynard G. Krebs -- "WORK???!!"

[SteveG]

47. 4wd between 80 and 200 mile round trip per day.

I do IT support and have multiple locations across the state. generally I do two 80 mile round trips per week, two 200 mile round trips and one 140 mile round trip per week. I drive a 4wd, (12 yo 4Runner with 250,000 miles on it - good for another 200,000 - I average about 380,000 on my 4runners - I'm on my third since 1988) and av. about 24 mpg.

[Rocknrule]

48. Wait, I thought all Democrats were lazy bums who refused to work

And as for me, a simple old Honda Accord

[dionysus]

49. i walk 10 feet from my bedroom to my office...

[Skittles]

51. I wish I could carpool but

in my industry you're never really quite sure what time you'll get off work

[FreeJoe]

52. I used to bike

Distracted drivers made me too nervous, so I switched back to driving. It's a pretty short drive. I put about 4,000 miles per year on my car.

[Trajan]

53. Since my employer pays for a monthly transit pass

Last edited Sat Feb 1, 2014, 08:24 PM - Edit history (2)

And because my car broke down anyways (1990 Toyota Camry), I decided to only use public transit, and save the money for car rentals if and when we need them ...

Portland is an amazing town for public transit ... Everything I need is within transit distance for the most part ... it's been working for us for over a year now, and we definitely prefer it .... goodbye gas price gouging and car insurance creep ... I feel fortunate to be able to take advantage of the situation ....

[CFLDem]

54. Only choice in FL is to drive.

But that's a joy in my Mazda3.

Zoom zoom baby

[Benton D Struckcheon]

55. Brutal commute from my bed to the computer...

...down a flight of stairs. Gridlock happens often, but it's usually just the dog, being where she isn't supposed to be.

[SummerSnow]

56. You left out teleport

[FSogol]

58. Time Tunnel

Actually I commute by car, 10 min drive and car pool 2-3 times a week.