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Whats worse? 1 hr drive or 1.5 hour train commute

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ultimatebob said:
It depends on the drive. I've had a hour commute for one job where I've driven 50 miles to work with low traffic each way, and an hour commute for another job where I drove 30 miles to work with hellish bumper to bumper traffic both ways.

The first commute was enjoyable, but the second commute sucked.
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Yup. Hour with no traffic is not bad.
 
I like to drive, so the train is not really a consideration at all.

I even like to drive in traffic, rain, snow, etc.

I also prefer to be in control of when and where I go and the route I take.
 
I get sick if I do anything in a car of train, so I'd drive. Otherwise, I'd go with the train.
 
i take the dc metro to work. its like a 40-45 minute trip (depending when i catch the trains) and i just watch shows/movies on my phone. i've caught up on a ton of shows this way, it is awesome.

i used to commute 30 minutes driving and i'd MMUUCCHH rather take the train to work. the station i go to is literally like 50yds from my apartment building, and when i get to work i don't even have to go above ground.
 
If the 1.5 train commute includes the time to the train station, I'd take the train. I pretty much only take jobs that are accessible with public transportation.
 
take it from someone who spends about 3 hours a day on a train, the car is a gazillion times better.
 
I live in Toronto, which has some of the worst traffic in North America. We're talking LA levels here. When I worked downtown, I used to take the train from my house to the subway, and that the rest of the way. Place was on the subway line. Much easier.

However, the trains don't really go anywhere and only run during rush hours. Public transit is a joke here. That's why most people drive. Since I spent the last three years driving for a living, I've developed a passionate hatred for it. So I'm really split. Good think my next job is in the burbs and only 20min away.
 
Train, easily. A one hour drive has a nice way of turning into a 3 hour drive when some dumb ass on a phone runs into something. I used to get paid to drive an hour on I95, and that was barely tolerable. If I wasn't getting paid, forget about it.
 
Unless parking was very expensive/very difficult to find, I wouldn't sacrifice a half hour of my time.
 
ultimatebob said:
It depends on the drive. I've had a hour commute for one job where I've driven 50 miles to work with low traffic each way, and an hour commute for another job where I drove 30 miles to work with hellish bumper to bumper traffic both ways.

The first commute was enjoyable, but the second commute sucked.
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It's an hour and a half by train. He claims he can drive there in an hour. Not sure, but that tells me that traffic will not really be an issue.
 
Train for definite, unless it's driving on some awesome back roads, if it's boring motorway driving then definitely train.
 
Gibson486 said:
It's an hour and a half by train. He claims he can drive there in an hour. Not sure, but that tells me that traffic will not really be an issue.
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Not necessarily.

My commute to high school was 80min on the train with 2 transfers (had to go into the city then transfer back out) or a 15 mile drive (~20min during non-rush hour but 60+min during rush hour). I transferred after a semester.
 
GagHalfrunt said:
Not even close, I'd take driving even if the times were equal. Trains you're at the mercy of their schedule, driving you're the master of your own plans.
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Unless traffic sucks, in which case you're not the master of anything. On the other hand, if you're in your car and not moving, you can scream as loud as you want. THey don't appreciate that on the train, when you're stuck with signal problems and not moving.
 
My mom makes exactly that choice every day. And she picks the slightly longer train ride. Much more comfortable, overall cheaper, considerably less stressful. She can read or watch movies or check the web. Oh, and its a lot safer, especially in the VA/DC area where everyones an asshole and most of them are angry & stressed in the morning rush hour. Too many incidents with violence/road rage, etc.
 
I've commuted into via train to NYC for ~1hr for the last 4 years. I live ~1mi from the train station and work a block over from GCT. I would far rather ride the train than drive. You can eat, sleep, read, surf, email...etc. The trains aren't horrible and overall people are respectful.

Now if it was an hour on the NYC subway, screw that.
 
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nanette1985 said:
Unless traffic sucks, in which case you're not the master of anything. On the other hand, if you're in your car and not moving, you can scream as loud as you want. THey don't appreciate that on the train, when you're stuck with signal problems and not moving.
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Even when traffic sucks there's almost always an optional route available. Try that with trains.
 
GagHalfrunt said:
Even when traffic sucks there's almost always an optional route available. Try that with trains.
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Sure and everyone else is taking it too. Weather or an accident can easily double a driving commute. At least on the train, it's less stressful and you can do other stuff.
 
alent1234 said:
driving is worse

train you can chill out
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if it were 5 days a week, yup. Once or twice I'd drive it.

As far as traffic, I don't even listen to my nav that has a pretty good traffic warning system. It's accurate, but by the time I get to the other road with stop lights and all, I would've been better off cruising the 20mph on the one with traffic straight to the destination. I just stay on the LIE 95% of the time. Straight through.
 
GagHalfrunt said:
Not even close, I'd take driving even if the times were equal. Trains you're at the mercy of their schedule, driving you're the master of your own plans.
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Traffic must be easy where you're at. While driving home during rush hour, no matter where you go, you're at the mercy of others in their cars.
 
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