Why do people drive to/from work?

[TimmyR]

i dropped the wife off for the tram today, she walked from the cathedral to trippetts and was soaked to the skin.

in future she'll drive, took 4 hours to dry off - and unfortunately her appearance is important in her job.

 

why doesn't she get an umbrella/rain coat. These things are available to those of us who like to venture into the crazy world that is outside of the car/house.

 

I commute from sheffield to derby, i cycle to the station (from hillsborough) then train it. There are some people who do this by car. Quite simply it takes them longer every day and costs them more. Now if that isn't completely ludricrous tell me what is. All that so they can feel like they are "in control". I don't really feel that sitting in a queue of traffic not being able to move is in control.

 

Every night I get to sleep for a bit, read a book, chat to people. You can't do any of that in a car . Not to mention the death toll of the roads.

[TimmyR]

AND BREATH.......... who says all us car owners are fatties....

 

Statistically more likely to be eh?!?!? Cyclists are most definitely a fitter bunch on average.

[Ptraci]

Use of a car makes perfect sense then but please remember that the thread I posted to start this topic asked why people who live under 3 miles from their workplace would drive. The distance covered by your example is clearly above 3 miles and thus is really not relevant.

 

Relating my initial post to the professions mentioned; I fail to see why a builder who lives less that 3 miles from work (whereever that location is in a particular week/month) couldn't walk, cycle or catch the bus. The same for an estate agent, unless of course they have appointments miles apart with a 10minute gap between them. A Plumber would, I assume require the use of a van to carry parts and (possibly) heavy tools; that makes sense.

 

My point was that even if you live next door to the company you work for you may well need a vehicle to do your job.

[BasilRathbon]

My point was that even if you live next door to the company you work for you may well need a vehicle to do your job.

 

 

And, being slightly pedantic, a tradesman would drive a van, not a car.

 

Anyway, I don't disagree that there are exceptions - that's why I stated "Pretty much every one chooses where they live/ work".

 

But the vast majority of cars being driven during the rush hour are, I suspect, driven by office workers who have alternatives but have chosen not to use them.

[Zaytsev]

Why can't they? I have never worked in these professsions so need further explanation please.

 

 

Come and spend a working day with me cockle, I'll drive the van, you carry all the tools and materials on your back. I'll meet you at the site with an ambulance waiting.

 

My other half does use Park & Ride as she works in the city centre, do we get a gold star

[mrmist]

It made perfect sense. You have chosen to live far away from work and, hence, from time to time suffer in the terrible Sheffield traffic.

 

Actually in my direction of travel I rarely have to suffer the traffic, I just have to suffer the holier-than-thou attitude of people who don't think I should use my car.

 

I already explained that the current position of my work was not exactly my ideal "choice". And even had I not been made redundant and had voluntarily moved jobs, I still do not believe that I should be forced to move house as well.

 

Is it not possible to either walk or cycle, or perhaps use the bus or railway to get to your new job?

 

31Miles each way a day? No thanks. The bus or train would leave my daily journey somewhere between 2 and 3 hours, so whilst "possible", I don't think it's that likely, or something that I should be made to do.

[md25]

I walk to work; I ensured work was within easy walking distance when choosing where to move to. I sit at a PC all day, though, so I have the luxury of not needing to move about, unlike salespeople or plumbers.

[whitewitch]

im a community worker, need i say more:)

[Becky B]

Well call me Nostradamus, but now the car driving obsessives have had their say, here's my take as a non-driver who commutes by train and whose only personal form of travel is a pushbike.

 

A. Pretty much every one chooses where they live.

B. Pretty much every one chooses where they work.

 

If A is some distance form B, it makes sense to check if there is public transport available between the two.

 

If there isn't then you have a choice of either changing where you live or changing where you work. If you do an office job, it might also be worthwhile to check with your employer if you can spend a day or two a week working from home. So long as you have a phone and web access, you'd be doing your company and the environment a favour.

 

If you reject the above choices then you have chosen to be dependent on your car. This also means that when you complain about the cost of petrol, traffic, bad roads etc, your complaints are invalid because you have chosen to endure these inconveniences. If you're unhappy, well whose fault is that then?

 

 

 

Ah, but Basil, people will now say (and I can't believe they haven't already) that they can't afford to live near where they work! For me, it was a factor when I last moved house as I consider time spent travelling to work as unpaid time at work! However, as I can't afford to buy a house I can pretty much live where I want

By the way, I know of a chap (through someone else, I've never actually met him I admit) who is a builder and cycles to the places he's working on. Apparently he can cover 800 miles in a week !!!

[kitty123]

I wish i had a choice in this, I have to cover clowne, worksop, heanor and nottingham. I am sick to death of driving, keeping a car on the road and sitting on the M1 or sitting for 45mins to get out of Sheffield. If I could earn my crust in Sheffield believe me I would and i would be on the bus! I HATE IT:rant: