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Before I started commuting by T, I was glad to not be commuting by car anymore. It's more environmentally sound, I'd be able to fit in a bit of exercise each day walking to and from the station, and I'd have time to do other things while commuting. Plus a month pass costs just a bit more than what I had been paying in tolls monthly (adding in gas and wear-and-tear makes it just that much more apparent how much I'm saving, even if I keep the car for errands and such on evenings and weekends).
Reality, however, is a bit different than my image of what the commute by T would be.
I hadn't thought about how the car commute is really just one step, one change: get in the car and go. There's traffic and tolls and jerks on the road, but those are all expected, and don't change my modality. The T commute, on the other hand, is walking to the station, taking a train, taking a second train, and walking to work. None of these are onerous (well, other than standing on the platform in the heat), but there's a lot of shifts. Plus there's balancing while the train is in motion (since seats mostly aren't available), which is a constant sort of action. I have to be alert, in different ways. Mentally, it's as least as challenging as the car. I wonder if walking the whole way (once it's cooler) will be easier, just because it's one mode of transport, and I can get in a rhythm.
Another factor I hadn't considered was weight. In the car, I could bring whatever I wanted to work, books, gym bag, lunch, plants, armadilloes, whatever. By T, I have to factor it in every time. Is it worth carrying a gym bag to work, or should I go home first to get it (especially knowing my inertial tendencies once I'm home)? What one or two things am I going to bring in to the office to make my space work better for me (so far, mostly shelf-stable food to have on hand)? Do I want to have an extra book with me? (Probably not.) There's also the related bulkiness factor: even if it's not heavy, but it's a pain to carry, I'm unlikely to bring it in (food in 9 x 13 pans immediately comes to mind).
All that reading time I thought I'd have hasn't quite materialized as I'd thought. Some of it is physical limitations, juggling bags and book and holding on. Some of it is the time limitation; I'm not on any given train for very long, and I find it hard to jump in and out of books. Plus there's the distraction factor of all these people around me, with all sorts of stories going on all around me. I also get the view of the city as we cross the river, which never fails to be interesting. The problem is that I'm one of those people who tends to fall into books, and this isn't a situation that allows that. I suppose I should get magazines or newspapers, but neither appeals nearly as much as books.
Oh, and I have less flexibility for errands. Or at least, I have to think about them earlier than before, deciding whether I should do something on the way home, or get the car afterward (still the current default for all major food acquisition).
I wonder if this will feel different as I become more accustomed to it (and as the weather changes).
Reality, however, is a bit different than my image of what the commute by T would be.
I hadn't thought about how the car commute is really just one step, one change: get in the car and go. There's traffic and tolls and jerks on the road, but those are all expected, and don't change my modality. The T commute, on the other hand, is walking to the station, taking a train, taking a second train, and walking to work. None of these are onerous (well, other than standing on the platform in the heat), but there's a lot of shifts. Plus there's balancing while the train is in motion (since seats mostly aren't available), which is a constant sort of action. I have to be alert, in different ways. Mentally, it's as least as challenging as the car. I wonder if walking the whole way (once it's cooler) will be easier, just because it's one mode of transport, and I can get in a rhythm.
Another factor I hadn't considered was weight. In the car, I could bring whatever I wanted to work, books, gym bag, lunch, plants, armadilloes, whatever. By T, I have to factor it in every time. Is it worth carrying a gym bag to work, or should I go home first to get it (especially knowing my inertial tendencies once I'm home)? What one or two things am I going to bring in to the office to make my space work better for me (so far, mostly shelf-stable food to have on hand)? Do I want to have an extra book with me? (Probably not.) There's also the related bulkiness factor: even if it's not heavy, but it's a pain to carry, I'm unlikely to bring it in (food in 9 x 13 pans immediately comes to mind).
All that reading time I thought I'd have hasn't quite materialized as I'd thought. Some of it is physical limitations, juggling bags and book and holding on. Some of it is the time limitation; I'm not on any given train for very long, and I find it hard to jump in and out of books. Plus there's the distraction factor of all these people around me, with all sorts of stories going on all around me. I also get the view of the city as we cross the river, which never fails to be interesting. The problem is that I'm one of those people who tends to fall into books, and this isn't a situation that allows that. I suppose I should get magazines or newspapers, but neither appeals nearly as much as books.
Oh, and I have less flexibility for errands. Or at least, I have to think about them earlier than before, deciding whether I should do something on the way home, or get the car afterward (still the current default for all major food acquisition).
I wonder if this will feel different as I become more accustomed to it (and as the weather changes).