Carl Klutzke (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} sirvalence) wrote,@ 2008-03-20 08:24:00 |
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After nearly a year of announcing various estimations of when it would start, IndyGo finally started their commuter express route between Carmel and downtown Indy. I've been riding it every day this week as an alternative to my 18-mile commute, for the following reasons:
- It's good for the environment (it matters a little to me, but not as important as the others)
- The $4 round trip price is probably less than I'm spending in gas driving my 12-year-old station wagon.
- I want to make better use of the 90 minutes I've been spending driving. (I've been getting some good use of audiobooks, but that doesn't always help me read things I really want or need to read: like my textbooks.)
Based on my analysis so far, it looks like my total commute time has increased to 130 minutes, which is bad. However, it looks like I could spend up to 100 of those minutes reading, so my net gain each day is 60 minutes, which is good.
It's conceivable that if I were to get a lighter laptop with good battery life, I could work or play on it during those 100 minutes. However, the bus space is rather cramped. It hasn't been too bad earlier this week, with approximately one passenger per pair of seats on the motorcoach-style bus. But this morning nearly all of the seats were full, and I barely had room to read my textbook in relative comfort. I doubt I'd enjoy using a laptop under those conditions.
I'm not sure I'm committed to the bus at this point. Aside from the cramped conditions on the bus, the wait for the bus at the downtown bus stop hasn't been pleasant: it's been rainy all three days, so I couldn't read while waiting, and on two of those days it's also been quite cold. Once I learn when the bus will actually arrive at that stop I might be able to time things better, or I could walk an extra block to an earlier stop. One other problem is that I might actually ride with people I know: this may sound bad, but I want to ride the bus to have more usable time, not more time chatting with colleagues. There have also been two mornings when the radio was playing, which makes it really hard for me to read: fortunately that was not the case this morning.
I guess I'll try it again next week. Pretty soon I have to commit one way or another, when I decide whether or not to renew my monthly parking. My employer reimburses me for that cost, but there's no sense making them pay for parking I'm not using.
