By Alisha Fowler
Over the past few months I have experimented with ways to get to where I work everyday. Do I bike? Drive? Walk? BART?
Now, I only live about 4 miles from work so I am very lucky compared to the average American no matter how you spin it. The average American spends about 100 minutes in traffic every single day getting to and from work. But, regardless of the distance, the buffet of options overwhelmed me.
When mulling over the choices, I noticed I was immediately drawn to the car. Where did this powerful kneejerk reaction come from? My car felt like my friend, a trusty steed to get me from here to there. But was it really?
I decided to test it out and experiment with driving, walking and BARTing, and biking to work. I wanted to examine a daily habit with a critical eye.
After four months of extensive research, and more than a few parking tickets, I find myself opting for two wheels more and more. Below are the results of my trials and tribulations and why I decided to bike to work.
Walking and BARTing:
When trying to figure out whether this option was worth it, I took into account money, time, carbon emissions, and happiness (a general order that I would wager a lot of people would order these factors).
From a dollars and sense perspective, the BART runs about $4.00 per day. I’ve taken the bus a few times to the BART but the bus is an additional $2.00, so the walk is not far enough to justify that extra cost. That’s $80.00 per month to get from here to there.
It takes me about 20 minutes to walk to the BART station, then 15 more to BART in, and a final 10 to get into the office. And somehow, I usually time it to just miss the train. So I’m left spinning my wheels for 15 minutes waiting for the next one. All told, I spend at least 45 minutes commuting each way. That’s 10 miles per hour! I could probably walk to work at that rate.
Driving:
I have spent a small fortune on parking tickets, despite making an earnest effort to park legally, driving 8 miles to work and back. (Who else out there suffers from parking tickets, by the way?!)
And while it’s a very quick drive, I have wasted at least 4 hours of my life driving around looking for a free parking spot, only to be ticketed at the end of the day!
Plus, driving only four miles is very wasteful from a carbon-conscious perspective. If I were to drive to work every day, I would spew almost a ton of carbon dixoide out into the atmosphere.
The good news is I can arrive to work looking fresh and clean, but only if I have not gotten stressed out about parking and worked myself into a frenzy. I can also carry lots of things in my car that my bike and my back cannot.
Biking:
Biking is free, minus (of course) the initial cost of the bike. But, avoid driving and BARTing for more than 4 months and I’ve covered the cost of my trusty commuter!
Biking is also definitely the fastest way to get to work. I glide downhill, bank a few turns, and I’m at work 15 minutes later. I drop off my bike in the “bike locker” at work, change in the changing room (there’s a shower available), and head upstairs to get to work. At the end of the day, I’m home in 20 minutes and kind of sweaty from the uphill ride. I do a few crunches and I feel like I’ve worked out for the day.
It also turns out that for trips under 3 or so miles, biking is proven to be as faster than driving.
And lastly, considering my happiness, I enjoy biking like a carbon neutral champ and the exercise I gain.
The Verdict:
My very scientific research has really sealed the deal for my daily habit. Biking is the way to go! It’s faster, cheaper, and a far better choice for our environment.
I feel good knowing that my simple choice of how to get to work everyday is removing a car from the road every day. I am also proud that my choice shows everyone I pass on the way to work that I am making a better choice for the environment.
This experiment has taught me how informative it can be to look at your own daily habits with a critical eye and I encourage you to do the same! You just might save some carbon and some cash.
