Commuting on public transportation

[glitzy07]

This question may not matter much for those in cities with a more robust public transportation system, but I thought it was worth an ask.

Cart before horse, but if I manage to get this job that I'm interviewing for next week I would be commuting to an office located downtown.  I could very well drive in and pay for parking ($7ish a day without any sort of pass), but I would also have an opportunity to very easily park at the Park & Ride just down the street from my kid's daycare and take the express bus into downtown.  I was perusing the transit website last night to see the bus times, and the bus from that Park & Ridee only runs in the mornings between about 6:30-8:30am and in the evenings from about 3:30-6:30pm.  My concern is what I would do in the event that I got a phone call to pick up a sick kid or something of that sort because I'd essentially be stuck downtown.  I suppose I could Uber?

Anyone else deal with this sort of commute where you don't have a lot of return options in the middle of the work day?  I assume it would still be worth the money savings and ability to read or work on my way into the office (rather than driving) for the few times that I might have to grab an Uber to the Park & Ride for an early pick up, right?  That said, I also assume that there would be some options for contract parking that would bring the price down and give me the freedom to come and go as I please.

(Apparently these are the things I'm thinking about to avoid stressing about the interview itself...)

[simpsongal]

DC area, so our transit is more robust but our Metro can be very unreliable. And I suspect my commute is longer at 55 minutes.

Do you have any family or anyone nearby that could handle an emergency pick up if necessary? Knock on wood but it's barely come up for us, and our DCP knew when she called me in the city it would be a solid hour before I could get there. It would probably be worth an Uber for the random times this happens. Perhaps you'll have a CW who lives nearby who would be willing to give you a ride too (I've done that too).

You can try driving vs. public transit and decide what you like. As bad as metro is, I hate traffic and the stress of driving, so give me 35+ minutes of quiet reading time rather than white knuckle bumper to bumper traffic.

[Deleted]

IANAP, but I would think that it would be fine as long as you're willing to take the occasional cab/Uber/Lyft if you need to unexpectedly leave early. And if you know you need to leave early, you could just drive on that day. I love not having the stress of driving. I'd give it a try, and if it doesn't work out, you can always go back to driving.

[vtdiamond]

I commute via public transportation in the Boston area. I love my time on the train to read or putz around on my phone, I much prefer it to driving in traffic.

As far as picking up sicks kids, my DH works closer to home so has helped with those. Also, my company offers free taxi passes if you use public transportation but need to get home for an emergency, so I might see if that's a possibility.

[mrshandy]

I commute via train into DC. I really love reading and relaxing on the train. I had to drive in for 8 weeks after my ACL surgery and I was recovering. It was quicker since I picked up carpoolers, but it was stressful having to deal with nasty city traffic. I prefer the train so much.

But if I ever need to get home during the day. There's one train I can take at 1:15. Other than that the earliest is 3:45. So zero flexibility. Taking the metro wouldn't help me since I would have to try to find a bus to get to my car. It would take FOREVER.

Is your H not reliable? Because if one of the kids needs something he's usually the one who helps out unless I'm working from home. He's way closer so it's a no-brainer.

The government pays me to take public transportation so my commuting costs are zero which is pretty awesome.

[glitzy07]

Sept 8, 2016 8:34:40 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

DC area, so our transit is more robust but our Metro can be very unreliable. And I suspect my commute is longer at 55 minutes.

Do you have any family or anyone nearby that could handle an emergency pick up if necessary? Knock on wood but it's barely come up for us, and our DCP knew when she called me in the city it would be a solid hour before I could get there. It would probably be worth an Uber for the random times this happens. Perhaps you'll have a CW who lives nearby who would be willing to give you a ride too (I've done that too).

You can try driving vs. public transit and decide what you like. As bad as metro is, I hate traffic and the stress of driving, so give me 35+ minutes of quiet reading time rather than white knuckle bumper to bumper traffic.

I honestly might look forward to taking the bus for this reason!  I have a 25 mile commute by car to my current job which is in a suburb on the opposite end of town from where I live.  With traffic it takes me an hour each way.  The bus schedule appears to indicate it would be a 35 minute ride from the Park & Ride to downtown.  

Good point by @angryharpy that I could always try it and then drive if it doesn't work out.

[glitzy07]

Sept 8, 2016 8:54:20 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

I commute via train into DC. I really love reading and relaxing on the train. I had to drive in for 8 weeks after my ACL surgery and I was recovering. It was quicker since I picked up carpoolers, but it was stressful having to deal with nasty city traffic. I prefer the train so much.

But if I ever need to get home during the day. There's one train I can take at 1:15. Other than that the earliest is 3:45. So zero flexibility. Taking the metro wouldn't help me since I would have to try to find a bus to get to my car. It would take FOREVER.

Is your H not reliable? Because if one of the kids needs something he's usually the one who helps out unless I'm working from home. He's way closer so it's a no-brainer.

The government pays me to take public transportation so my commuting costs are zero which is pretty awesome.

It's not that my H couldn't do it, but in my experience my corporate/salaried type of job is much more flexible than his retail job where he'd have to make sure he was covered in order to leave.  Additionally, he just moved locations and would be 25 miles away where as I'd be 15 miles away if I were downtown.  My mom works about 15 miles away from our daycare as well, and my sister works close and could potentially help if it came down to an emergency.

[snowflurry]

I would check with the bus lines and see if they have a service available for that type of situations. In my city, they have vans available that can take you back to the park and ride during non-commuting hours. It is a free (if not abused) service.

[kershnic]

We use public transportation, but it's available 24/7 so the lull in service is not applicable to us. I think your plan to Uber in case of emergency is solid.

Communting by public transportation is way better than driving though. I love being able to read/play on my phone/snooze/whatever rather than just driving. Waiting for public transportation in bad weather is not pleasant though.

[cincodemayo]

I have no idea if this would be really out of the way for you or not, but you could always drive to one of the other express buses(malls, etc) that have more times. I used to ride the one at the R-dale Mall and it had buses that essentially went all day (back then, anyways). You'd still save some money by taking the bus but you'd obviously also be driving farther.

[karinothing]

DH takes an express bus which is not available mid day. If he needs to come home he has a few other methods of public transport he can take (but the walk would be longer). If he needs to get home for a more urgent situation, he ubers.

[glitzy07]

Sept 8, 2016 9:01:22 GMT -5 snowflurry said:

I would check with the bus lines and see if they have a service available for that type of situations. In my city, they have vans available that can take you back to the park and ride during non-commuting hours. It is a free (if not abused) service.

I just looked into this and it looks like we have it here too as part of a van-share program.  Good to know!

[glitzy07]

Sept 8, 2016 9:10:13 GMT -5 cincodemayo said:

I have no idea if this would be really out of the way for you or not, but you could always drive to one of the other express buses(malls, etc) that have more times. I used to ride the one at the R-dale Mall and it had buses that essentially went all day (back then, anyways). You'd still save some money by taking the bus but you'd obviously also be driving farther.

Honestly the only reason I'd really probably do this is the fact that the Park & Ride is literally three blocks from my daycare, so it's already convenient.  Otherwise I'd probably drive and get a contract parking spot so that I could come and go as I wanted, because even the drive to downtown would be faster than what I've driving now!

[boiler717]

I would also ask HR. My former employer would reimburse cab rides home for emergencies so many times a year if you did a ride share.

[sillygoosegirl]

Are there other non-express buses you could take midday? It takes us over an hour to get to daycare from work if we get a call to pick up LO midday, and they have never said a word about it.

[glitzy07]

Sept 8, 2016 9:19:37 GMT -5 sillygoosegirl said:

Are there other non-express buses you could take midday? It takes us over an hour to get to daycare from work if we get a call to pick up LO midday, and they have never said a word about it.

From what I can tell only one bus from each metro area goes to this particular (and surrounding) Park & Ride.  So it's not even necessarily that I could take a non-express bus and it would take longer (which it would take around an hour from my current office anyway), but that there just isn't a bus available if it were needed.  

[JRo]

Are you positive the potential job doesn't offer parking to employees? I'm only asking because I went through these same thoughts before I got my job downtown in my city. We also have only a mediocre public transportation system (just buses, limited hours for rides to and from the suburbs but good hours inside the city). I was all set to get a bus pass rather than mess with driving into downtown and pay for parking, but it turns out that it is pretty standard for employers to provide parking here. Not to say that you couldn't take the bus anyway even if they provided parking...

[Deleted]

I'd ask if the employer offers parking and/or would reimburse for parking.   Or if they'd be willing to take the cost of parking into consideration with their job offer.

Only because you know there will be some sort of situation where you need to get to the daycare and when that happens, you don't want to be stuck taking a long time to get there.

[noodleskooze]

I actually miss riding the P&R. It was my only "me" time.

If I needed to leave work during off-route ours, I just had to walk a little further and take a different bus that was a little further (like 3-4 blocks) from my normal drop point.

[glitzy07]

Sept 8, 2016 9:54:13 GMT -5 JRo said:

Are you positive the potential job doesn't offer parking to employees? I'm only asking because I went through these same thoughts before I got my job downtown in my city. We also have only a mediocre public transportation system (just buses, limited hours for rides to and from the suburbs but good hours inside the city). I was all set to get a bus pass rather than mess with driving into downtown and pay for parking, but it turns out that it is pretty standard for employers to provide parking here. Not to say that you couldn't take the bus anyway even if they provided parking...

Nope, because I haven't even had the interview yet.  lol  I'm just imagining scenarios in my head to pass the time until my interview when I hopefully nail it and get the job!  

[frozentoes]

Our daycare parking lot IS a park and ride so I ride the bus into town and back every day. I think in an emergency situation I would uber and be fine. Also, you could always choose to drive in on days you might foresee an early pickup, like if one of the kids isn't feeling great that day. I know I love riding the bus and reading my kindle or listening to podcasts in the morning, and definitely prefer it to driving and battling traffic.

[shevacc]

I used to commute via ferry and express bus (2.5 hours each way). On days I couldn't get home, DH covered when necessary. We also had talked to a neighbor who would've been happy to be our backup in a true emergency. That said, I usually had at least some suspicion ahead of time that I might need to leave early. I was able to work from home occasionally in those circumstances. So...it didn't end up being a problem for me. A transit commute is MUCH nicer than driving through traffic so I'd take that route anytime it was available, even though it could lead to occasional scrambling.

[shellbear09]

I do the park and ride and if I had to leave for emergency my employer provides that. May be an option for you. It has never come up for me because either my H could get her or get me if needed. I have driven in some days when dd was a little sickly just in case. I love not driving.

[dizzycooks]

glitzy07 creepy lurking here. My Dh commutes via bus and use to go from by our daycare until I sah. It works. I've had one instance of needing to do early pu in 4 years. He *could* take a round about series of train/bus combos to get there, but it would take forever. We were just honest with daycare about commute times and they get it.
I do know that there is a taxi option you can utilize twice a year I think? If you miss your bus or need to leave at a different time bc of emergency. You might look into that.