117 kilometers (~65 mi) separate my home from my workplace. One hour and 30 minutes a way each day, every day. I know that for some of you it sounds ludacris, for some, long distance commuting is just a temporary solution but for me, and the other hundred people I share a trian carriage with, it's a way of life. A good one if you know how to take advantage of it. I'll try to share my commuting experiences with you and give you tips for efficient commuting.
My Journey
Each weekday I wake up at 6:10am to catch the 6:48am train from a 5 minute walk away train station. I arrive at the other train station at 8:05am and take a 10-12minute bus to work. It's 8:20ish o'clock, and I'm at work. 🕗
1. Revive the "dead time"
When most people hear that I spend 12.5% of my day each day traveling, they think I'm wasting 12.5% of my day. False, people. I mostly read, write Steem posts or even work if I want. Being productive makes the ride to feel shorter plus, you're anyway stuck in that tin can for an hour, make it worth it. Listen to music, read books, watch your favorite series, sleep or work. Whatever makes you feel like you're not wasting time.
2. Become a public transportation ninja
By the time, you won't have to use apps like Google Maps or Moovit to plan your commute, but I do recommend you to set your workplace address in Google Maps or Moovit and your regular desired arrival time. What's in it for you? You'll get notifications in case of delays or even better routes you haven't thought of! Utilize the power of these apps to save you precious time.
3. Get comfy
Bring a jacket to wear if you know that sitting in the train for long time makes you feel that the air conditioning is like in a mourge (It's cold!). Find your preferred seat - depends on your train or bus configuration, in my case, most of the carriage is filled with 4 seat around a table assortments and two 2 seat benches at the end of the carriage, with lots of legroom. As a tall person, this is my obvious choice.
4. Find company
Finding people who are long distance commuters may sometimes find these rides to be depressing and unwanted. Finding a friend to share with the hardships you encounter or just greeting them at the morning, might ease.
5. Expect delays
Never trust at a 100% that you'll get in time. Unless you're living in Japan. Here, train and bus delays is a daily situation. Take a 10 - 20 minutes buffer time, just in case. Plus, I've made all of my commute buddies when the train was late.
I hope that those tips helped you have a better look about the life of a long distance commuter or helped you with your own commuting!
This post was written on my morning train 🚉