Opinion wanted on two commute options that I use, what would you do

[MisterSG1]

As I stated before, I go to Ryerson University, and of course having a vast interest in urban transportation, I will present two options, that I sometimes use, I predominately currently use the first option, but I would like your opinion on the second option. I will also present distances and speed using the imperial system for ease of all of us to understand. On most days I need to be there by 8AM.

Situation: I live in Northern Brampton and need to get to Ryerson University, as parking downtown is very expensive, usually $18-22 a day, and the fact that Ryerson on top of that lies over a mile away from the downtown freeway, the Gardiner Expressway, using the actual downtown streets can be especially chaotic at times.

For those who aren't familiar with Toronto, GO refers to the regional transit system that includes buses and trains, trains as in commuter trains.

Option 1:

I travel from where I live to Malton GO Station by vehicle, I need to use two arterials that are six lanes wide and have a speed limit of 50MPH for most of their length. The total distance is roughly six and a half miles. Below is the train schedule, generally most trains are a half hour apart.

http://www.gotransit.com/timetables/en/PDF/Quicktables/01160416/USBT/MTGO.pdf

The cost of the train one direction is $6.28, and 40 trips or more in one calendar month $192.20, it's a pay as you go system, trips 31-40 in the month cost $0.38 a trip, and as I said they cap at 40 trips.

As you can see how long it takes the train to get to Union Station, roughly 32 minutes, and it's generally on time everytime I've taken it, I've never been severely delayed.

When I get down there, I walk through an underground city known as the PATH, it's roughly 1 mile long, and takes me 20 minutes or so to get to the end point. For the record, TTC and GO have absolutely no fare integration, if you want to use the TTC you must pay the full TTC fare, so taking the subway when I arrive at Union is an added expense.

Option 2:

I travel from my place to Wilson (TTC) Subway Station, the distance of this trip involves using the 427, 409, and 401, passing through the busiest stretch of the 401, and is roughly 20 miles long. The parking lot at Wilson Station is right off 401/Allen, but unfortunately costs $3 a day to use. A subway fare is $2.90 each way, and the subway ride is around 35 minutes on a good day, assuming that the "double transfer" is seamless. On the map below, I would start at Wilson and my destination is Dundas station, that shows the double transfer at St George and then at Bloor/Yonge:



Of course, when I get off at Dundas I am right there.



Now here are some things to consider, as I am quite a big guy, the mile long walk through the underground city is fairly tiring for me, and I am usually "beat out" when I get up to the top. This usually implies that I will need 10 minutes to sort of catch my breath and to get focused again. This means that when I take the train in, I generally find myself more exhausted walking around, as the longest distance between two places on campus is roughly half a mile.

Since everyone drives to a GO station, this leads to a situation where everyone wants to leave at the same time, thus it can take up to 15 minutes to leave the GO parking lot upon returning to Malton.

While leaving Wilson station is very easy, depending on the time of the day, a rude awakening can happen on the 401, and next thing it can take much longer to get back to put it lightly.

But remember that taking the subway does not require taking the walk back to Union, as you can be on the subway in a matter of seconds pretty much.  But on the contrary, the walk is good exercise as I am on the path to weight loss.


So what would you do given the scenario described above?

[Pete from Boston]

It's hard to weigh in not knowing the area, but, no monthly pass?

Also, as for walking the mile, it's always harder to start doing those things than to keep it up once you're in the groove, so remember you'll be less worn out once you're used to it.  Plus a walk can be mentally helpful because your travel is not at anyone's mercy, and you can get a little meditative decompression time out of it.

[jeffandnicole]

Wow.  And I thought I was wordy.

Can you do this:  Create a Simple Chart with two columns: Option A & B

For both, list:

Total Transit Time from home to school/work
Total Cost
Total distance
Distances Driving, Mass Transit, Walking
Other things that may be of importance.

Personally, unless the cost factor was huge, I would probably go via the shortest distance.  Remember though that the driving time (20 miles each way), means that you should probably incorporate the price of gas in there too, estimating a gallon (or 3-4 liters) of gas each direction.

[MisterSG1]

Haha, I was too wordy, sorry about that:

Option A:

6 Miles give or take on six lane arterials
GO Train is not frequent and does not run all day
GO Train Ride, 32 minutes
Cost is $6.28 per GO Trip, 40 Trips per month is $192.20
Requires 20 minutes of walking at Union Station
About 2 hours to complete
I get exhausted easily so I need time to recover after the walk
Leaving the GO Parking lot can take up to 15 minutes at night

Option B:

20 Miles give or take on 427, 409, 400
TTC Subway shows up every 3 minutes, and runs until about 2am
TTC subway takes about 30-35 minutes
TTC parking is $3
Cost for one fare is $2.90, monthly pass is $112.00
No walking at destination stop
Not really judged the time on this route as I've rarely took it
Easy to get out of parking lot and on 401
401 faces nasty delays during certain points of the day

There that makes it easier.

[jeffandnicole]

Haha, I was too wordy, sorry about that:

Option A:

6 Miles give or take on six lane arterials
GO Train is not frequent and does not run all day
GO Train Ride, 32 minutes
Cost is $6.28 per GO Trip, 40 Trips per month is $192.20
Requires 20 minutes of walking at Union Station
About 2 hours to complete
I get exhausted easily so I need time to recover after the walk
Leaving the GO Parking lot can take up to 15 minutes at night

Option B:

20 Miles give or take on 427, 409, 400
TTC Subway shows up every 3 minutes, and runs until about 2am
TTC subway takes about 30-35 minutes
TTC parking is $3
Cost for one fare is $2.90, monthly pass is $112.00
No walking at destination stop
Not really judged the time on this route as I've rarely took it
Easy to get out of parking lot and on 401
401 faces nasty delays during certain points of the day

There that makes it easier.

Thanks!

Obviously, knowing how long Option B takes would help, but overall it seems like that one is the preferred option for me.  Figure that 'other than driving' costs are about $10 per day.

For Option A, 'other than driving' costs are about $13/day, but you're not using as much gas.

It sounds like your congestion time is about the same; either it's leaving the parking lot, or sitting on the highway.

As far as walking goes...I'm going to guess you're doing that with your coat on, inside, right?  Take the coat off or wear a lighter coat.  It makes a lot of difference.

Believe it or not people need to train long-distance walking just like they do running.  Take a walk at lunch time, after work, on the weekends, etc.  A mile isn't that far, although it sounds it sometimes. Figure you can walk a mile in 15 - 20 minutes, so just take a half hour to walk around, and before you know it you'll be walking 2 miles with ease...allowing you to take that 1 mile walk with no problem.

[MisterSG1]

The issue which I didn't really mention in detail was "dead time", for instance, if a class ends at 4PM, but the next train leaves at 4:50PM, you see, there's a lot of wasted time in that interval. Not only that, but I could easily be back in the vehicle before my train even departs. That's the kind of thing I'm saying.

Tell you what, I'll try Option B tomorrow and tell you the result I get, today on the commute back, counting time right from when class ended to when i got home, took about 1 hour and 50 minutes.

[CtrlAltDel]

What I would do is: Do both options for a week or two, and see which one works better for you. There ain't nuttin' like empirical evidence to help you make these sorts of decisions.

[MisterSG1]

After leaving at 5:50 AM, I managed to make it to Dundas station slightly before 7AM. Mind you, to be fuel efficient, I went at the speed limit the whole time.

In the morning when I catch the 6:18 train, and walk through the PATH, I'm there at roughly 7:15. But it's on the return trip home where the advantage kicks in. Getting home an entire 40 minutes earlier in my opinion is very important.

We'll see what happens later on today.

[jeffandnicole]

Speed limits have nothing to do with fuel efficiency.  Whatever car you drive probably has a sweet point - the speed at which it is using the lowest amount of fuel.  That's probably going to be around 60-65 mph, give or take 5 mph (or for you Canadians, 100kph, +/- 10kph).  Fuel efficiency is at its worst when the car is stopped, regardless if that's in congestion or at a traffic light.  The real limitations are going to be the speed of the general traffic flow.

I hear you on the 40 minutes saved in the afternoon.  Of my commuting options (other than solo driving), a bus or vanpool will cost me 45 - 60 minutes.  Even in congestion my commute is about an hour long; I could also take the light rail line which would take 70 minutes, and that doesn't include the time from/to the station.  We get irritated at some members of the carpool when they come out late because of their "it is what it is" attitude, but most days a 5 minute delay getting into the car translates into a 10 - 15 minute delay on the roads due to additional congestion.

[MisterSG1]

It was about 45 minutes saved today. As I got back at 5:06, I knew it was going to be a peaceful ride home as I saw this beautiful site from the subway train:



Those 45 minutes in my opinion are worth it, I tend to usually move at around 110km/h (roughly 70mph) on GTA freeways, and moved at that speed the whole way back. Option A has its merits, such as in bad weather, which may just happen tonight, thus it is easier (not to mention safer) to just go to the GO Train station.