Just came across a study which states that "People with a lengthy commute show an increased amount of stress, get worse sleep, and experience decreased social interaction. A commute of 45 minutes carries such a cost to well-being that economists have found you have to earn 20 percent more to make the trip worth it. Length alone isn't the source of the problem: stress rises with a commute's variability, and for transit riders it rises with the unpredictability and overcrowding of a bus or train."
The study comes at a serendipitous time: I have decided to stop using the T.T.C. Starting next month. I hate the idea of driving the car downtown with just one person traveling, but it actually ends up being cheaper than buying a monthly pass. Add the frustrations of the daily delays through mechanical failures, sick passengers, over crowding, rude T.T.C drivers and commuters, and it becomes a no-brainer.
I have signed with car-pool services online but my schedule is too unpredictable to allow me to hop in a car with somebody who would most probably want to meet up at the same time each day.
Feeling a little guilty about this, environmentally speaking, but here I am anyways.
2 comments:
I totally understand. I used to commute by bus/metro/bus in Montreal which would be 45-60 minutes each way, twice a day. It was super stressful, especially if the bus did not run on time, did not have room, the metro was down ... you name it. I started driving when I was pregnant with Oscar and it was such a luxury!
Unfortunate, isn't it? They talk about public transit but starve it of funds. They talk about family values but set the economic policies so both parents HAVE to be out of the house! My place would be so much cleaner and better run if one of us was able to hold the fort, while the other went huntin' for grub.
I'm ranting, aren't I?
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