My train was on time but I was quite a bit late today morning. I got the ticket when the train doors opened. UX of the ticket vending machines is still as bad as I remembered. Back then, I didn't have to use them, because I always had annual tickets. Switching trains was also quite a lucky moment, just caught the connecting train before the doors got locked.
I was productive until the first team mate arrived. You were absolutely correct in that regard. ;-D After that, only very small progress. And also as expected, most people think, that Corona is now finally over. :-( Fortunately, people are still wearing masks in public transport.
And now it appears a thunderstorm is rolling in. Lightning and thunder in the distance. But it's fine, I'm home.
Bah, that train story of yours … How long is the ride? And you did that every day before Covid?
Bah, that train story of yours … How long is the ride? And you did that every day before Covid?
Bah, that train story of yours … How long is the ride? And you did that every day before Covid?
The train connection takes exactly one hour. One-way. At least. If everything goes to plan. Plus the time walking from home to the station and from the station to the office. Going to office is always quicker then the way home, because the regional train basically runs only hourly. But I can take a connecting S-Bahn every five minutes. So missing the S-Bahn on the way in is no big deal. Not catching the Bummelbahn on the way out is a real bummer, though. I can then wait half an hour for an inter-regional train and then switch again to an even bummeliger Bahn after waiting another quarter an hour, so it effectively costs me at least 45 minutes and more stress with less comfort. If you can talk about comfort in a German regional train at all, hahaha. So to avoid that, I usually take two, three or even four S-Bahns earlier on my way home, depending on the announced train traffic delays or even cancels. Delays of course accumulate easily and often over the course of a day, so the return rides are much more often impacted than not.
So, all in all I'm wasting 2:30-3:00 hours for commute, depending on the exact connection and condition.
And yes, pre-Corona I did this every single day in the work week. Well, at my former employer only four days a week. Friday was the typical day to work from home half a day or take off completely. In the new company there was the spirit of "Gschafft wird em Birro". You could also sporadically work from home, but you needed some good excuse, like expecting a visit by a craftsman or something along those lines. Covid upset the apple cart. It was the very best that could happen to me.
Going by car could be slightly faster, but there's no guarantee, either. Accidents and traffic jams happen all the time. And then you also have all those bloody wankers on the Autobahn. You know, if the German (probably anyone) has a steering wheel in his hand, he instantly turns into an animal. Not saying, that a train ride is not stressful, but you can just sit in, wait and eventually reach your destination. Listen to podcasts, talk to your fellow passengers you see every day, just look out the window, read a book, take a nap, … Try going the latter two things in your car's driver seat. :-)
Your situation sounds “lovely”. It’s very similar here when using public transportation (1:00-1:30 hours for one way). The sad thing is, using a car really is a lot faster here: Best case is 20 minutes. And it’s usually realistic to actually complete that trip in 20 minutes if you avoid the rush hours – which I can, see “flexibility” above. (Well, unless thing’s don’t go my way and I miss the golden window. 😅) Best case with public transportation is still roughly 1 hour. The reason is simple: It’s just 16km, but the bus does not use the highway but crawls through the inner city.
Commuting just sucks. 🤣
(Also, lol @ “even bummeliger Bahn” 😂)
Your situation sounds “lovely”. It’s very similar here when using public transportation (1:00-1:30 hours for one way). The sad thing is, using a car really is a lot faster here: Best case is 20 minutes. And it’s usually realistic to actually complete that trip in 20 minutes if you avoid the rush hours – which I can, see “flexibility” above. (Well, unless thing’s don’t go my way and I miss the golden window. 😅) Best case with public transportation is still roughly 1 hour. The reason is simple: It’s just 16km, but the bus does not use the highway but crawls through the inner city.
Commuting just sucks. 🤣
(Also, lol @ “even bummeliger Bahn” 😂)
Your situation sounds “lovely”. It’s very similar here when using public transportation (1:00-1:30 hours for one way). The sad thing is, using a car really is a lot faster here: Best case is 20 minutes. And it’s usually realistic to actually complete that trip in 20 minutes if you avoid the rush hours – which I can, see “flexibility” above. (Well, unless thing’s don’t go my way and I miss the golden window. 😅) Best case with public transportation is still roughly 1 hour. The reason is simple: It’s just 16km, but the bus does not use the highway but crawls through the inner city.
Commuting just sucks. 🤣
(Also, lol @ “even bummeliger Bahn” 😂)
Wow, that's a really bad ratio. It just looks like they force you to not use public transport at all. 16 km seems like it could be done with a bike (maybe with a fancy help these days). Or how is the terrain? Are there many hills and valleys between you and the office? In any case, cummuting is totally not worth all the wasted time.
Glad you liked my new invention. ;-) That train stops at each milk can along the way. Luckily, most of the stations are coming after my destination, but there are still quite a few before that, too.
This is the height profile that Google has calculated:
Looks exhausting, if you ask me. I never tried, though, I don’t even own a bike at the moment.Fun fact: It’s 21km if you’re going by bike. *Everything* is optimized towards cars. I wish they would just dedicate one lane on the highway for bikes and the other lane has a limit of 30kph. Or something like that. 😐
And then, when I arrive at the office, I’d have no idea where to put my bike. If it’s just me, I’d find a spot, sure – but what if everyone does it? Turns out, it’s a bit of an unsolved problem. (But hey, if we *wanted* to do this, if we *wanted* to get people to use bikes, we’d find a solution. Even those underground parking garages in the video sound like a dream to me.)
This is the height profile that Google has calculated:
Looks exhausting, if you ask me. I never tried, though, I don’t even own a bike at the moment.Fun fact: It’s 21km if you’re going by bike. *Everything* is optimized towards cars. I wish they would just dedicate one lane on the highway for bikes and the other lane has a limit of 30kph. Or something like that. 😐
And then, when I arrive at the office, I’d have no idea where to put my bike. If it’s just me, I’d find a spot, sure – but what if everyone does it? Turns out, it’s a bit of an unsolved problem. (But hey, if we *wanted* to do this, if we *wanted* to get people to use bikes, we’d find a solution. Even those underground parking garages in the video sound like a dream to me.)
This is the height profile that Google has calculated:
Looks exhausting, if you ask me. I never tried, though, I don’t even own a bike at the moment.Fun fact: It’s 21km if you’re going by bike. *Everything* is optimized towards cars. I wish they would just dedicate one lane on the highway for bikes and the other lane has a limit of 30kph. Or something like that. 😐
And then, when I arrive at the office, I’d have no idea where to put my bike. If it’s just me, I’d find a spot, sure – but what if everyone does it? Turns out, it’s a bit of an unsolved problem. (But hey, if we *wanted* to do this, if we *wanted* to get people to use bikes, we’d find a solution. Even those underground parking garages in the video sound like a dream to me.)
I've seen bike lines on motorways in Australia, but I wouldn't feel save there at all. And regular people don't have escort cars:
Cyclists ahead on the motorwayIndeed, you get a nice heads up before:
Narrow shoulder on bridgeBut then you basically have to go on the right lane anyways, because that shoulder is pretty much non-existent in my books. And cars and trucks are flying by with 110 km/h.
Shoulder pretty much non-existentYou would need some constructionally separated bicycle lanes.
@will Hahaha, very cool! :-) A folding bike is nice if you have to take a train in the rushhour. I saw people folding and unfolding their bikes in less than ten seconds, pretty amazing what can be done today. I never had a folding bike, but I reckon a non-folding bike will be more comfy to ride, just judging from the smaller tires alone. So when you have 20 km to go, I have my reservations on a folding bike.
Just put it right inside the office. That's what some collegues did at my former employer. Or they locked it on the railing in the public corridor. Just do it, you can worry about the others when they also start coming by bike. However, I doubt, that lots will.
Missing showers is a thing that might kill the bike idea right from the beginning.
Right, going with a bike on a highway isn’t going to be fun *if* things stay as they are now. But imagine the number of cars reduced to 10% and they’re only allowed to go ~30kph or maybe 50kph … Yeah, it’s never going to happen, I know. 😑
Right, going with a bike on a highway isn’t going to be fun *if* things stay as they are now. But imagine the number of cars reduced to 10% and they’re only allowed to go ~30kph or maybe 50kph … Yeah, it’s never going to happen, I know. 😑
Right, going with a bike on a highway isn’t going to be fun *if* things stay as they are now. But imagine the number of cars reduced to 10% and they’re only allowed to go ~30kph or maybe 50kph … Yeah, it’s never going to happen, I know. 😑
That's a nice vision, I truely like it. But yeah, ain't gonna happen. Not in a hundred years.