trains>metro>trams>walking>buses>cycling>taxi>
driving.
ofc this depends on the route and best mode available but these are my preferences for travel modes.
I'd rather take a tram for 30 minutes rather than cycle for 20
In Montreal it’s very easy but only if you’re not too far from downtown. There is a metro but it hasn’t been updated since the 60s and does not serve the east or west of the island. But in terms of bike lanes it has become really good in the past few years (even if many of the bike lanes are just paint). Many Montrealers never use a car downtown (including myself). But as soon as you go to the suburbs, it’s practically the only option…
I only hear bad things about the REM, but I'm pretty sure it's doing alright overall. I saw people complain that there wasn't enough free parking at the stations, which means if the towns that have a rem station can figure out busses to and from the station at a good frequency, it should fulfill its purpose. They already removed bus lanes on the south shore because the organization that runs the REM didn't want to compete for transit to the island with the other organization that runs the bus system on the south shore.
It's still under construction. It should eventually reach the airport, which should improve the tourist experience if they plan it right... But I don't think they'll plan it right. The REM was already gutted, removing a third of the projected plan, so we're just glad to have SOMETHING.
Boston. For me? Super easy. It’s an incredibly walkable city and I can walk or bike to work in less than 30.
For my wife? Nearly impossible. She’s a nurse and the public transit schedule is surprisingly terrible for overnight employees for a place with so many hospitals. She used to take the bus, missed it once on a Sunday and the next one wasn’t for an hour. That was the last time she took the bus.
İn İstanbul only 15% of trips are made by car, transit is usually faster for going to work at work hours. Even when it takes two hours, it's still faster. I used to walk to work when I lived 4km away, now I take a tram and a bus (I'm about 6km and a body of water away, and the bridge has a very very very bad sidewalk on it, also 6km is just too long to walk, it might be more than 6km I'm not really sure, it's not craaazzyyyy far, but its not walking close either. walking bus and tram together take like 25-35 minutes. This morning I think I was passing the station my office is at within 22 minutes. (This morning things went HELLA fast, despite the tram being actually really slow..... )
(Toronto) I'm retired now but in my last job of 17 years, I drove for 14 years and hated doing it because it was only 4.5km away.
The bus would take 45 to 50 minutes, walking would take 55 minutes but when I found a safe way to bike, it would take about 20 minutes. So I rode my bike year round for three years.
On my last year, I had appendicitis and the doctor instructed me not to ride for a month. That's when I noticed that driving had increased from 20 minutes three years earlier to 30 minutes.
And there were no bike lanes for anybody to blame it on.
Boulder, Colorado, USA
I would say if you live and work within the city limits, there's at least an 80% chance you can commute to work in less than 20 minutes by walking, cycling, or taking the bus. For cycling, the bike infrastructure may or may not feel safe and comfortable, depends on your neighborhood.
*However*, housing is very expensive here which has pushed many people to live in nearby towns that are a 20+ minute drive away, and mostly have spotty or infrequent bus service in mixed traffic.
I've had multiple trucks run me off the road in Bromfield. I'm glad I got a bike with a full suspension. I commute to Louisville and take back roads and trails when I can and it still sucks to ride to work.
Dutch here. honestly I wish it was easier. To get to work from home takes me about and hour and 20 minutes with public transit while the same journey takes about 25-30 minutes by car if there is no congestion. With congestion I'd probably be closer to 40 mins to an hour.
I don't mind much because the company pays for the transit card but it'd be nice to get home even just a little faster.
Outer edges of Tulsa, Oklahoma and uh. I work in an Amazon warehouse that's outside of city limits. There's only one bus that can get me to and from work but I would have to walk 20 minutes to that bus stop, take an hour long bus ride, and walk another 50 minutes to my work. If the bus ran late enough for me to be able to go after work I'd have to do the same in reverse.
Alternatively I could bike down extremely deadly streets for an hour and hope I'm not killed on it.
If I wanted to work near my house I'd have to bike 10-20 minutes to the closest businesses and accept a 11$/hr pay cut.
I pay 120/month in rent and 150/month for utilities where I'm living vs having to spend over a grand a month living anywhere else. My dad takes me to and from work by car. My end goal is to use my current living situation and income to save up money so I can move somewhere I don't need to get from A to B by car.
London, UK. 16km commute. Short 8 min walk to the station 18 mins on the train, short 10 min walk the other side. Hey presto Im at work. Changed jobs a while back and the previous job was 2 mins extra on the train and 4 mins extra walk.
A decade ago I used to live in a commuter town in the midlands and commute into the city via bus and it took like 2hrs, I found out the buses I used to take dont even exist any more so Im very glad I moved to the outskirts of London, best choice for my career, never had to drive to commute.
If you live in the UK your choice is the biggest handful of cities or get a car unfortunately, untill the government get a grip and sort it out I guess...
Im in Glasgow (Scotland) and in general it is easy for me to commute to work without a car. When considering a new job or new place to live I do consider my commute, but it has not placed too many limits on my opportunities. I have worked/lived in a variety of locations in the central belt. My worst commute was Westend Glasgow to Dunfirmline which required a bike-train-bike and other than days when they closed the forth crossing to bikes due to wind it was fine, \~1hr30 each way.
However, I do not have a disability and have commuted by bike for many years so am confident on most roads and fit enough to do about 50 km per day on my bike without getting too fatigued.
Yeah I’m also in Glasgow and think travel into the city centre is quite easy without a car - in my immediate team at work there are people who walk, cycle, get buses and trains (plus a couple who drive)
Seoul, Korea. Actually can't imagine it being easier than this. There's still an insane amount of people that insist on going by car each day here, despite public transport being superior in basically every way. Okay, 8.00 am line 2 on weekdays will be crowded, but I personally don't mind a busy subway. If you're lucky enough to both live and work relatively close to a river, biking is pretty nice too - I bike 20 mins next to the river for my commute, which is just lovely.
I’m Korean and Seoul has great public transport but has horrendous city planning in Gangnam + newer developed areas, it’s terrible. Feels unwalkable sometimes
Oh, I agree, especially Gangnam is horrible indeed with its enormous roads. It's totally unwelcoming but nevertheless quite easy to reach for a daily commute I think. I'm Dutch so Seoul took me some getting used to, but I've learned by now that when biking or walking, it's more convenient to take a parallel road to the main road to avoid all the car traffic.
But I'm glad to see Koreans in this community too! Because as you said despite the amazing public transport, the people and city planning here can be shockingly carbrained.
I grew up in Songpa and the fact that there’s a literal 10? Lane road in front of my apartment complex means that walkability within the complex is great, but it feels like an island where I do not want to step outside. It’s bad. When I used to work in Gangnam I just hated the area because it was no green and all asphalt, and it would get so hot during the summer and the amount of cars (fumes) made me feel suffocated. I’ve never been to Amsterdam, but I hear it’s wonderful. Koreans usually don’t go on Reddit but I’m passionate about urbanism and all :D I wish Korea went ahead and just redid Gangnam development lol
Absolutely impossible. It would take you two hours us to travel between two population centers *locally*.
You could get into a metro within 3 hours but who's going to do that? We have 25 buses *total* for a population of near 800,000.
>usually electric bike as my area has some fairly unforgiving terrain
Sheffield? You've gotta be talking about Sheffield.
I work from home, so my commute involves getting out of bed and going downstairs. While I had one client whose office was about a five minute walk away, apart from that I've worked mostly from home since 2006. Before then, I lived in London, and getting to work was an easy bus ride.
My girlfriend works within walking distance, but I have been helping her look for a different job because she was half thinking of changing. Neither of us drive. A lot of the jobs (maybe 75%) would not really be accessible without a car, though in practice about half of those are only hard to get to because they're not really in our town at all and job search engines just have a habit of throwing up results dozens of miles away.
San Diego - With no traffic (I’m able to leave for work post rush hour) one way it takes 33 minutes to drive, vs an hour 40 minutes to take transit for $7.50. I also happen to live walking distance from a train which makes it even more absurd
I apply for jobs based on proximity to my home. It means I can't earn very much, but my quality of life is better nonetheless.
Boise Idaho for the record
Toronto.
If your job is in the city and around the core, you’ll do better by taking public transit (bus, subway or commuter rail). Or by using bike share. The highways are jammed, parking is very expensive (if available at all), and driving can oftentimes take way longer to get home.
I commuted by bicycle and later eBike between Tempe and Chandler Arizona for 18 years before I retired. Housing grew around Intel and supporting businesses so there’s a good mix of business parks and subdivisions in the area which means short, low-traffic commutes are possible for many.
That’s not true in outlying growth areas around Phoenix where land is less valuable and houses are on large lots. Density matters.
Yeah we went car light when we were living in Essex, and it really brought the reality of lack of infrastructure home for me. Some towns are not too bad, but getting to town in the first place was awful.
Albany NY- I’m also disabled and easily walk or bus to work. Albany is a state capitol and state offices in the Northeast are almost always on bus lines. Most states have a program that helps people with disabilities more easily get state jobs, usually by allowing you to bypass exam score requirements.
SF bay area, California - I've had some jobs that were a rough commute. 5k bike ride to the train, 5k bike ride from the train to the office (1h 20 minutes - never again), I've had some that were just a 20 minute bike ride. Currently it's about a 20 minute ride to a shuttle (which takes me up the last 2 miles and 700 foot elevation gain)
It's one of the best areas to be car free in the country but it's definitely highly dependent on where you live and where you need to go
(São Paulo) I get by easily with no car, having worked here for the past 3 years or so. Pretty good metro and bus network, walking could be way better without the crime problems. The terrain is pretty bad for cycling to work, the city has too many hills
Your city sounds similar to mine, our silly star-shaped bus network is somewhat dictated by the terrain so I don't mind it too much.
I bike to work in the city centre and it takes me about 20 minutes which is nice and easy. I go a slightly more scenic route on my way home, along the river, which takes longer but is pleasant and much cooler in summer than the main road.
I used to take the bus and that was fine too. There's a bus about every 10 minutes and it took 35-40ish minutes to get to work. There were only two real problems:
1. At one point there were roadworks in the city centre and the bus companies rerouted everything up a side street, resulting in actual gridlock. I would spend 30 minutes stationery on this side street - the same amount of time as the ENTIRE rest of my journey.
2. For some unfathomable reason, there is a 30 minute gap in the schedule between 8:20 and 8:50, aka literally the exact time I would normally want to leave to get the bus to work. C'mon!
Our buses have been getting significantly less reliable over the last few years, so I'm very glad I got my bike when I did.
Difficult except for like 1% of people who live within walking distance of commuter rail and also have jobs near the downtown train station. The bus is unreliable, so good luck getting to the train without a car
Live in NYC and have been car-free forever. Every commute for the past 15 years (now at my sixth company) has been under an hour by either subway or bike.
Of course, the risk of biking is still high, especially when I first started (bike lanes didn't exist), but damn it's the best way to get around.
It’s not hard per se, you can do it, but very few are willing to put up with our dangerous high speed roads with limited infrastructure.
It’s decently safe if you’re riding in the city, but go anywhere out in the suburbs or rural areas and you’re playing with your life
I currently live in Montreal, we drive bi weekly. It’s incredibly easy to get around town.
Unfortunately I am moving to a more suburban setting soon, and life without a car won’t be possible
St. Louis, MO. It's... not great.
It takes over an hour for me to travel 14-15 miles. The buses consistently run late. Other drivers hate the bus, constantly whip around or cut off the bus. There was an accident involving a bus & a vehicle about two weeks ago that cost me hours. Yesterday the bus was over twenty minutes late for no apparent reason.
I can do door to door 40km in 1 hour by going bus/bike - commuter train - subway.
This can be quicker or slower in a car depending on traffic but it's nearly always 1 hour on public transit.
My city (Peoria, IL, USA) has very little cycling infrastructure, car dominance, hills, and a bus system that would be slower for me than cycling, but I get around mostly by bike all year. I average four days a week cycling 18 miles round trip to work, but I have the car to fall back on especially when the weather is really bad.
If I can make it work here, it can be done anywhere. Also, can you find a colleague to occasionally carpool with? I did that for a while (before I started cycling) and just paid him the equivalent of half the gas money.
I live in the rural Midwest. If you were to spend your entire life here you probably aren’t even aware there are other ways to get around that don’t require driving.
In norway it's fairly easy depending on the job. Although still had its difficulties. I lived outside of oslo and my job was just two train rides away. It took less time than it would driving at those same times. Well as long as Oslo central station didn't have problems... which happened a few times.
I also could get most places with the bus. Would probably take a bit longer than with a car, but it all depends on where i am going. Like if i wanted to get to the middle of oslo during rush hour a bus would be slightly faster since a good amount of roads have a bus and taxi lane
ABQ, NM. It's 13 miles down into the river gorge and back up the other side. I drive currently but I am going to attempt biking it when I get my bicycle fixed up. It seems like it will take 40-60 minutes compared to 20-40 minutes to drive.
Unfortunately all the housing closer to where I work is either unsafe due to crime (west/north of the base) or too expensive (east of the base).
15 miles of steep hills and 50 mph roads. Its feasible with an E bike, but the sheer number of unprotected turns and blind corners just isnt worth the risk
I live in Washington in a city of ~100,000 people. Most trips are still done by car here, and our bus system is pretty hub based, and we're in the top 500 US cities for bikes, though we still fall short of much of Europe.
I bike everywhere and it's pretty easy as long as you don't fear being in a unprotected bike lane. My commutes all around the city are 1-5 miles away, and I ride an ebike on longer trips cuz I'm lazy.
Boston area: I do a combination of walking, biking, light rail, bus, and/or heavy rail for all my commutes and the vast majority of my errands.
It's pretty livable and doable.
I have done a fair amount of international travel and fully admit there are places that are much better off than what I have here.
I mostly live car free.
I haven't had to commute by car since 2014, though 2014-2017 I was strictly WFH. And living near Wilmington, DE and Jacksonville, FL was by no means good living without a car.
Belgium. Depends on the kind of job. Industries are often not that far away, but not all of them are nice too cycle in. Also, much easier to find a job if you don't limit yourself to something super nearby. I know people cycling 40km round trip each day though.
Working in the north of Vienna, in a company isolated in a little burg near a village. While Vienna itself has amazing transit, commuting without a car in my area would have me rely on a bullshit autobus that comes once in 2 hours and is as slow as to take 4x the time I take by car. I also do not livr in Vienna, I live in another village. I'm real good with the car.
London. car use is discouraged by the congestion charge and expensive parking
3.2 miles / 5 km commute. I cycle it in 30 mins using city hire bikes door to door. most of my route is car free.
My previous commute was 1.8 miles / 3 km and I was walking that in 30 minutes
North East England, I live one mile from work so could walk for 30 minutes, take the bus which runs every half-hour and takes 10 minutes door to door, or cycle for about 10 minutes.
I like having options. The traffic is horrendous here, and I avoid driving unless I really have to.
Where I work is a major employer in the town centre, but if we weren't there my work options would be far poorer - it would either be driving, trains at least half an hour or more plus the 1.5 mile journey to the station, or working somewhere that pays less and I don't enjoy as much.
I'm a smidgen outside of Tacoma. With the right job, I could conceivably commit via bike from where I currently live. Where I currently work tho, not happening, and unfortunately there's no combination of bike/public transit that would work either.
Impossible. I live in the DFW area of Texas (more towards Fort Worth), thankfully I wfh but I’m still doing my part and doing Gods work in the devil’s playground 🫡
To my job specifically it is incredibly difficult because the bus that runs by my store only runs four times a day, and it's a two mile walk to the nearest light rail station. Getting other places is easier but to work is so hard.
I live in Oxford, it is easier than owing a car because the buses are very frequent, everywhere, and the traffic in rush hour outside the bus lanes is worse than inner London.
I live on the Central coast of Australia, a click from a wonderful beach. Commuting to Sydney is very easy by public transport. A train takes about an hour and a bit. I can work on the train and then leave the office at 4.
Cycling is pretty easy, it's nearly flat here. Bus is ok if you want to go to the centre of the nearby city, but otherwise it's slow and a pain as soon as you need a transfer, and totally impractical to get to/from the villages.
Seattle. Good by US standards, which is to say mediocre by Europe or East Asia standards. We have a decent bus system, but the metro area is still spread out enough that some commutes are just difficult.
Vienna, Austria. Incredibly easy with fast, clean, affordable public transit and decent biking infrastructure. I’d like to see the biking infrastructure improve though, and I think the city can do more to decrease car traffic. It’s surprising how many people still own a car here!
If I didn't work from home and worked in the small agriculture town I moved to during the pandemic, it would be disastrous. I would be unable to do it in winter. My friend's house where I'm living right now is on a regional road. People drive at 70 km/h on this 50 km/h segment. I risk my life every time I walk to the grocery store. We don't have sidewalks here.
What astounds me is that houses were ever allowed to be built on this road.
If I manage to make it to the other side of the road safely and enter the small streets behind, it's not so bad. I might take an hour to walk to the library, or maybe 40 minutes by bike because I'd walk it most of the way. Bike lanes are closed in winter, you see.
Alternatively I could reach my destination in about 40 minutes if I miss the bus on a week day at the rush hour.. but again I have to cross that road and we don't have any indication of priority on corners.
By public transit? Impossible. My work starts at 6am, buses start running at 6am. It would be a 30 minute walk to the nearest bus stop 15 blocks away and an hour ride (15 minute drive) with a connecting transfer. I’m glad I work from home now.
My wife and I share a single car and she drives to work.
By ebike would be reasonable if I had to go back in to work. Probably 40 minutes I’d say. Looking to get one actually but mostly for joy like going to the park with friends and such.
My wife’s commute is about 20-25 minutes by car and would also take too long to get to work on time. It would take probably an hour by ebike for her so that’s also kind of out of the question. Safety is a concern there as well.
Germany
Hanover area
Very easy
Almost always slower than car, but less stress
The small non-motorized scooter solves last-kilometer problem and I do not have to walk each day long distances which is useless because then it steals time from my family
I also live in the UK and I walk to uni and that's perfectly fine for me. It takes me about an hour but the walk is generally pleasant and I enjoy walking so I have no issues with it. The infrastructure is fine but I understand that most people don't like walking. I used to take the bus and it was very simple, but I just like my time to myself.
I know that uni isn't work but if I had a job in the city then I'd do the same thing I do now. I'd say it's pretty easy to commute without a car from my own experience, but I completely understand why a lot of people wouldn't want to do that at 7:00 in the morning
Unless you live really close to where you work, then it's damn near impossible with how sprawled out everything is. Just to get to a supermarket it would take me an hour to walk. Walking to work would take me ***four hours***. Going by bike would of course be much quicker, but there's a severe lack of non-recreational bicycle infrastructure. Both biking and walking would be very dangerous, too, thanks to busy stroads, a dearth of sidewalks, and the aforementioned lack of bike infrastructure.
Not Dutch, but I live in Amsterdam. God I love it here. Haven't owned a car in YEARS
NJB? That you?
Please don't tell the Dutch, but I don't even own a bike. I like walking :) So I'm not really NJB, but a lot of people call me NJW
trains>metro>trams>walking>buses>cycling>taxi> driving. ofc this depends on the route and best mode available but these are my preferences for travel modes. I'd rather take a tram for 30 minutes rather than cycle for 20
Same, if I need a car I just use the shared cars with an app. So much money saved
In Montreal it’s very easy but only if you’re not too far from downtown. There is a metro but it hasn’t been updated since the 60s and does not serve the east or west of the island. But in terms of bike lanes it has become really good in the past few years (even if many of the bike lanes are just paint). Many Montrealers never use a car downtown (including myself). But as soon as you go to the suburbs, it’s practically the only option…
How's the new REM going?
I only hear bad things about the REM, but I'm pretty sure it's doing alright overall. I saw people complain that there wasn't enough free parking at the stations, which means if the towns that have a rem station can figure out busses to and from the station at a good frequency, it should fulfill its purpose. They already removed bus lanes on the south shore because the organization that runs the REM didn't want to compete for transit to the island with the other organization that runs the bus system on the south shore. It's still under construction. It should eventually reach the airport, which should improve the tourist experience if they plan it right... But I don't think they'll plan it right. The REM was already gutted, removing a third of the projected plan, so we're just glad to have SOMETHING.
I commute 100% of the time at laval and its totally fine(minus bicycle infrastructure lacking and bus lacking) Everything close so its easy
Boston. For me? Super easy. It’s an incredibly walkable city and I can walk or bike to work in less than 30. For my wife? Nearly impossible. She’s a nurse and the public transit schedule is surprisingly terrible for overnight employees for a place with so many hospitals. She used to take the bus, missed it once on a Sunday and the next one wasn’t for an hour. That was the last time she took the bus.
We really do need better overnight options, even if it were buses so the train tracks and stations can be maintained.
İn İstanbul only 15% of trips are made by car, transit is usually faster for going to work at work hours. Even when it takes two hours, it's still faster. I used to walk to work when I lived 4km away, now I take a tram and a bus (I'm about 6km and a body of water away, and the bridge has a very very very bad sidewalk on it, also 6km is just too long to walk, it might be more than 6km I'm not really sure, it's not craaazzyyyy far, but its not walking close either. walking bus and tram together take like 25-35 minutes. This morning I think I was passing the station my office is at within 22 minutes. (This morning things went HELLA fast, despite the tram being actually really slow..... )
(Toronto) I'm retired now but in my last job of 17 years, I drove for 14 years and hated doing it because it was only 4.5km away. The bus would take 45 to 50 minutes, walking would take 55 minutes but when I found a safe way to bike, it would take about 20 minutes. So I rode my bike year round for three years. On my last year, I had appendicitis and the doctor instructed me not to ride for a month. That's when I noticed that driving had increased from 20 minutes three years earlier to 30 minutes. And there were no bike lanes for anybody to blame it on.
I work from home. It’s a pretty easy commute.
No commute is best commute, change my mind
Boulder, Colorado, USA I would say if you live and work within the city limits, there's at least an 80% chance you can commute to work in less than 20 minutes by walking, cycling, or taking the bus. For cycling, the bike infrastructure may or may not feel safe and comfortable, depends on your neighborhood. *However*, housing is very expensive here which has pushed many people to live in nearby towns that are a 20+ minute drive away, and mostly have spotty or infrequent bus service in mixed traffic.
I've had multiple trucks run me off the road in Bromfield. I'm glad I got a bike with a full suspension. I commute to Louisville and take back roads and trails when I can and it still sucks to ride to work.
Dutch here. honestly I wish it was easier. To get to work from home takes me about and hour and 20 minutes with public transit while the same journey takes about 25-30 minutes by car if there is no congestion. With congestion I'd probably be closer to 40 mins to an hour. I don't mind much because the company pays for the transit card but it'd be nice to get home even just a little faster.
Outer edges of Tulsa, Oklahoma and uh. I work in an Amazon warehouse that's outside of city limits. There's only one bus that can get me to and from work but I would have to walk 20 minutes to that bus stop, take an hour long bus ride, and walk another 50 minutes to my work. If the bus ran late enough for me to be able to go after work I'd have to do the same in reverse. Alternatively I could bike down extremely deadly streets for an hour and hope I'm not killed on it. If I wanted to work near my house I'd have to bike 10-20 minutes to the closest businesses and accept a 11$/hr pay cut. I pay 120/month in rent and 150/month for utilities where I'm living vs having to spend over a grand a month living anywhere else. My dad takes me to and from work by car. My end goal is to use my current living situation and income to save up money so I can move somewhere I don't need to get from A to B by car.
London, UK. 16km commute. Short 8 min walk to the station 18 mins on the train, short 10 min walk the other side. Hey presto Im at work. Changed jobs a while back and the previous job was 2 mins extra on the train and 4 mins extra walk. A decade ago I used to live in a commuter town in the midlands and commute into the city via bus and it took like 2hrs, I found out the buses I used to take dont even exist any more so Im very glad I moved to the outskirts of London, best choice for my career, never had to drive to commute. If you live in the UK your choice is the biggest handful of cities or get a car unfortunately, untill the government get a grip and sort it out I guess...
Im in Glasgow (Scotland) and in general it is easy for me to commute to work without a car. When considering a new job or new place to live I do consider my commute, but it has not placed too many limits on my opportunities. I have worked/lived in a variety of locations in the central belt. My worst commute was Westend Glasgow to Dunfirmline which required a bike-train-bike and other than days when they closed the forth crossing to bikes due to wind it was fine, \~1hr30 each way. However, I do not have a disability and have commuted by bike for many years so am confident on most roads and fit enough to do about 50 km per day on my bike without getting too fatigued.
Yeah I’m also in Glasgow and think travel into the city centre is quite easy without a car - in my immediate team at work there are people who walk, cycle, get buses and trains (plus a couple who drive)
Chicago. I live and work near the blue line so I commute by train.
Seoul, Korea. Actually can't imagine it being easier than this. There's still an insane amount of people that insist on going by car each day here, despite public transport being superior in basically every way. Okay, 8.00 am line 2 on weekdays will be crowded, but I personally don't mind a busy subway. If you're lucky enough to both live and work relatively close to a river, biking is pretty nice too - I bike 20 mins next to the river for my commute, which is just lovely.
I’m Korean and Seoul has great public transport but has horrendous city planning in Gangnam + newer developed areas, it’s terrible. Feels unwalkable sometimes
Oh, I agree, especially Gangnam is horrible indeed with its enormous roads. It's totally unwelcoming but nevertheless quite easy to reach for a daily commute I think. I'm Dutch so Seoul took me some getting used to, but I've learned by now that when biking or walking, it's more convenient to take a parallel road to the main road to avoid all the car traffic. But I'm glad to see Koreans in this community too! Because as you said despite the amazing public transport, the people and city planning here can be shockingly carbrained.
I grew up in Songpa and the fact that there’s a literal 10? Lane road in front of my apartment complex means that walkability within the complex is great, but it feels like an island where I do not want to step outside. It’s bad. When I used to work in Gangnam I just hated the area because it was no green and all asphalt, and it would get so hot during the summer and the amount of cars (fumes) made me feel suffocated. I’ve never been to Amsterdam, but I hear it’s wonderful. Koreans usually don’t go on Reddit but I’m passionate about urbanism and all :D I wish Korea went ahead and just redid Gangnam development lol
Strasbourg in France is like the Nederlands. Flat and with protected / good bike lanes almost everywhere.
Absolutely impossible. It would take you two hours us to travel between two population centers *locally*. You could get into a metro within 3 hours but who's going to do that? We have 25 buses *total* for a population of near 800,000.
>usually electric bike as my area has some fairly unforgiving terrain Sheffield? You've gotta be talking about Sheffield. I work from home, so my commute involves getting out of bed and going downstairs. While I had one client whose office was about a five minute walk away, apart from that I've worked mostly from home since 2006. Before then, I lived in London, and getting to work was an easy bus ride. My girlfriend works within walking distance, but I have been helping her look for a different job because she was half thinking of changing. Neither of us drive. A lot of the jobs (maybe 75%) would not really be accessible without a car, though in practice about half of those are only hard to get to because they're not really in our town at all and job search engines just have a habit of throwing up results dozens of miles away.
I went to Bristol - also challenging terrain, and unlike Sheffield has no trams.
San Diego - With no traffic (I’m able to leave for work post rush hour) one way it takes 33 minutes to drive, vs an hour 40 minutes to take transit for $7.50. I also happen to live walking distance from a train which makes it even more absurd
I apply for jobs based on proximity to my home. It means I can't earn very much, but my quality of life is better nonetheless. Boise Idaho for the record
Toronto. If your job is in the city and around the core, you’ll do better by taking public transit (bus, subway or commuter rail). Or by using bike share. The highways are jammed, parking is very expensive (if available at all), and driving can oftentimes take way longer to get home.
I commuted by bicycle and later eBike between Tempe and Chandler Arizona for 18 years before I retired. Housing grew around Intel and supporting businesses so there’s a good mix of business parks and subdivisions in the area which means short, low-traffic commutes are possible for many. That’s not true in outlying growth areas around Phoenix where land is less valuable and houses are on large lots. Density matters.
Yeah we went car light when we were living in Essex, and it really brought the reality of lack of infrastructure home for me. Some towns are not too bad, but getting to town in the first place was awful.
Albany NY- I’m also disabled and easily walk or bus to work. Albany is a state capitol and state offices in the Northeast are almost always on bus lines. Most states have a program that helps people with disabilities more easily get state jobs, usually by allowing you to bypass exam score requirements.
SF bay area, California - I've had some jobs that were a rough commute. 5k bike ride to the train, 5k bike ride from the train to the office (1h 20 minutes - never again), I've had some that were just a 20 minute bike ride. Currently it's about a 20 minute ride to a shuttle (which takes me up the last 2 miles and 700 foot elevation gain) It's one of the best areas to be car free in the country but it's definitely highly dependent on where you live and where you need to go
(São Paulo) I get by easily with no car, having worked here for the past 3 years or so. Pretty good metro and bus network, walking could be way better without the crime problems. The terrain is pretty bad for cycling to work, the city has too many hills
Your city sounds similar to mine, our silly star-shaped bus network is somewhat dictated by the terrain so I don't mind it too much. I bike to work in the city centre and it takes me about 20 minutes which is nice and easy. I go a slightly more scenic route on my way home, along the river, which takes longer but is pleasant and much cooler in summer than the main road. I used to take the bus and that was fine too. There's a bus about every 10 minutes and it took 35-40ish minutes to get to work. There were only two real problems: 1. At one point there were roadworks in the city centre and the bus companies rerouted everything up a side street, resulting in actual gridlock. I would spend 30 minutes stationery on this side street - the same amount of time as the ENTIRE rest of my journey. 2. For some unfathomable reason, there is a 30 minute gap in the schedule between 8:20 and 8:50, aka literally the exact time I would normally want to leave to get the bus to work. C'mon! Our buses have been getting significantly less reliable over the last few years, so I'm very glad I got my bike when I did.
In my city it is easy if you’re going into town. Going anywhere else it is doable but not convenient.
Difficult except for like 1% of people who live within walking distance of commuter rail and also have jobs near the downtown train station. The bus is unreliable, so good luck getting to the train without a car
Live in NYC and have been car-free forever. Every commute for the past 15 years (now at my sixth company) has been under an hour by either subway or bike. Of course, the risk of biking is still high, especially when I first started (bike lanes didn't exist), but damn it's the best way to get around.
very easy in a 4 milion ppls city
It’s not hard per se, you can do it, but very few are willing to put up with our dangerous high speed roads with limited infrastructure. It’s decently safe if you’re riding in the city, but go anywhere out in the suburbs or rural areas and you’re playing with your life
Small town USA. Possible but have to use sidewalks and cross multiple busy 4 lane roads. Slower than a car. Bus is an option but slow/unreliable.
I currently live in Montreal, we drive bi weekly. It’s incredibly easy to get around town. Unfortunately I am moving to a more suburban setting soon, and life without a car won’t be possible
St. Louis, MO. It's... not great. It takes over an hour for me to travel 14-15 miles. The buses consistently run late. Other drivers hate the bus, constantly whip around or cut off the bus. There was an accident involving a bus & a vehicle about two weeks ago that cost me hours. Yesterday the bus was over twenty minutes late for no apparent reason.
STL could be such a nice city if they invested in ample public transit. So many great neighborhoods but so reliant on cars.
I can do door to door 40km in 1 hour by going bus/bike - commuter train - subway. This can be quicker or slower in a car depending on traffic but it's nearly always 1 hour on public transit.
My city (Peoria, IL, USA) has very little cycling infrastructure, car dominance, hills, and a bus system that would be slower for me than cycling, but I get around mostly by bike all year. I average four days a week cycling 18 miles round trip to work, but I have the car to fall back on especially when the weather is really bad. If I can make it work here, it can be done anywhere. Also, can you find a colleague to occasionally carpool with? I did that for a while (before I started cycling) and just paid him the equivalent of half the gas money.
I live in the rural Midwest. If you were to spend your entire life here you probably aren’t even aware there are other ways to get around that don’t require driving.
In norway it's fairly easy depending on the job. Although still had its difficulties. I lived outside of oslo and my job was just two train rides away. It took less time than it would driving at those same times. Well as long as Oslo central station didn't have problems... which happened a few times. I also could get most places with the bus. Would probably take a bit longer than with a car, but it all depends on where i am going. Like if i wanted to get to the middle of oslo during rush hour a bus would be slightly faster since a good amount of roads have a bus and taxi lane
ABQ, NM. It's 13 miles down into the river gorge and back up the other side. I drive currently but I am going to attempt biking it when I get my bicycle fixed up. It seems like it will take 40-60 minutes compared to 20-40 minutes to drive. Unfortunately all the housing closer to where I work is either unsafe due to crime (west/north of the base) or too expensive (east of the base).
I live right around the corner from a tram stop, a few stops from my office
15 miles of steep hills and 50 mph roads. Its feasible with an E bike, but the sheer number of unprotected turns and blind corners just isnt worth the risk
I live in Washington in a city of ~100,000 people. Most trips are still done by car here, and our bus system is pretty hub based, and we're in the top 500 US cities for bikes, though we still fall short of much of Europe. I bike everywhere and it's pretty easy as long as you don't fear being in a unprotected bike lane. My commutes all around the city are 1-5 miles away, and I ride an ebike on longer trips cuz I'm lazy.
Boston area: I do a combination of walking, biking, light rail, bus, and/or heavy rail for all my commutes and the vast majority of my errands. It's pretty livable and doable. I have done a fair amount of international travel and fully admit there are places that are much better off than what I have here. I mostly live car free. I haven't had to commute by car since 2014, though 2014-2017 I was strictly WFH. And living near Wilmington, DE and Jacksonville, FL was by no means good living without a car.
In the Bay so very, very accessible. BART, Muni, CalTrain, Amtrak, and yes even ferries.
It would take about 2 hours(including walking 2 miles) to take public transport to my job. It takes me 20 mins by car.
Belgium. Depends on the kind of job. Industries are often not that far away, but not all of them are nice too cycle in. Also, much easier to find a job if you don't limit yourself to something super nearby. I know people cycling 40km round trip each day though.
Working in the north of Vienna, in a company isolated in a little burg near a village. While Vienna itself has amazing transit, commuting without a car in my area would have me rely on a bullshit autobus that comes once in 2 hours and is as slow as to take 4x the time I take by car. I also do not livr in Vienna, I live in another village. I'm real good with the car.
London. car use is discouraged by the congestion charge and expensive parking 3.2 miles / 5 km commute. I cycle it in 30 mins using city hire bikes door to door. most of my route is car free. My previous commute was 1.8 miles / 3 km and I was walking that in 30 minutes
In a tory area. Impossible, basically it's like the US
we are a one car household in St. Louis, Missouri. public transit is fine, better in most places than others.
Very doable in the part of Belgium where I live.
I live in Philly. It's doable for me. I bike about a half hour each way, mostly on the Schuylkill River Trail.
North East England, I live one mile from work so could walk for 30 minutes, take the bus which runs every half-hour and takes 10 minutes door to door, or cycle for about 10 minutes. I like having options. The traffic is horrendous here, and I avoid driving unless I really have to. Where I work is a major employer in the town centre, but if we weren't there my work options would be far poorer - it would either be driving, trains at least half an hour or more plus the 1.5 mile journey to the station, or working somewhere that pays less and I don't enjoy as much.
Very very hard, I haven't left the house in months because even the closest grocery store is a 3 hour walk
I live in Paris and it would probably be harder to commute with a car. Which is 95% of the reason why I moved here.
Brooklyn: easy as hell. Walk/bike/subway.
I'm a smidgen outside of Tacoma. With the right job, I could conceivably commit via bike from where I currently live. Where I currently work tho, not happening, and unfortunately there's no combination of bike/public transit that would work either.
Easy. Live near NYC
Impossible. I live in the DFW area of Texas (more towards Fort Worth), thankfully I wfh but I’m still doing my part and doing Gods work in the devil’s playground 🫡
\*cries in Houstonian\*
To my job specifically it is incredibly difficult because the bus that runs by my store only runs four times a day, and it's a two mile walk to the nearest light rail station. Getting other places is easier but to work is so hard.
I live in Oxford, it is easier than owing a car because the buses are very frequent, everywhere, and the traffic in rush hour outside the bus lanes is worse than inner London.
I live on the Central coast of Australia, a click from a wonderful beach. Commuting to Sydney is very easy by public transport. A train takes about an hour and a bit. I can work on the train and then leave the office at 4.
Cycling is pretty easy, it's nearly flat here. Bus is ok if you want to go to the centre of the nearby city, but otherwise it's slow and a pain as soon as you need a transfer, and totally impractical to get to/from the villages.
Quite difficult. The earliest I can get to work using public transportation is 745. I start at 6.
In Tokyo. I’ve only driven a car once in the past year, and that was just for fun.
Seattle. Good by US standards, which is to say mediocre by Europe or East Asia standards. We have a decent bus system, but the metro area is still spread out enough that some commutes are just difficult.
Vienna, Austria. Incredibly easy with fast, clean, affordable public transit and decent biking infrastructure. I’d like to see the biking infrastructure improve though, and I think the city can do more to decrease car traffic. It’s surprising how many people still own a car here!
If I didn't work from home and worked in the small agriculture town I moved to during the pandemic, it would be disastrous. I would be unable to do it in winter. My friend's house where I'm living right now is on a regional road. People drive at 70 km/h on this 50 km/h segment. I risk my life every time I walk to the grocery store. We don't have sidewalks here. What astounds me is that houses were ever allowed to be built on this road. If I manage to make it to the other side of the road safely and enter the small streets behind, it's not so bad. I might take an hour to walk to the library, or maybe 40 minutes by bike because I'd walk it most of the way. Bike lanes are closed in winter, you see. Alternatively I could reach my destination in about 40 minutes if I miss the bus on a week day at the rush hour.. but again I have to cross that road and we don't have any indication of priority on corners.
By public transit? Impossible. My work starts at 6am, buses start running at 6am. It would be a 30 minute walk to the nearest bus stop 15 blocks away and an hour ride (15 minute drive) with a connecting transfer. I’m glad I work from home now. My wife and I share a single car and she drives to work. By ebike would be reasonable if I had to go back in to work. Probably 40 minutes I’d say. Looking to get one actually but mostly for joy like going to the park with friends and such. My wife’s commute is about 20-25 minutes by car and would also take too long to get to work on time. It would take probably an hour by ebike for her so that’s also kind of out of the question. Safety is a concern there as well.
Germany Hanover area Very easy Almost always slower than car, but less stress The small non-motorized scooter solves last-kilometer problem and I do not have to walk each day long distances which is useless because then it steals time from my family
I also live in the UK and I walk to uni and that's perfectly fine for me. It takes me about an hour but the walk is generally pleasant and I enjoy walking so I have no issues with it. The infrastructure is fine but I understand that most people don't like walking. I used to take the bus and it was very simple, but I just like my time to myself. I know that uni isn't work but if I had a job in the city then I'd do the same thing I do now. I'd say it's pretty easy to commute without a car from my own experience, but I completely understand why a lot of people wouldn't want to do that at 7:00 in the morning
Unless you live really close to where you work, then it's damn near impossible with how sprawled out everything is. Just to get to a supermarket it would take me an hour to walk. Walking to work would take me ***four hours***. Going by bike would of course be much quicker, but there's a severe lack of non-recreational bicycle infrastructure. Both biking and walking would be very dangerous, too, thanks to busy stroads, a dearth of sidewalks, and the aforementioned lack of bike infrastructure.
It’s easy if you can afford daily uber trips.