How much of a commute is too much

I work at Dublin Airport. It's a 20 minute drive to get to the staff parking lot from home, 5+ minutes with the Staff Shuttle.

Overall spend an hour commuting each day working.

Currently live and work in Dublin City Centre, so have a 40 minute walk.

After doing years of 1+ hours of commutes (2 hours each way at one point) I could never go back, absolutely ruins me.

PlaneSpeeking wrote: »

I"m fairly sure you're aware not everybody is able bodied enough to do that ?

Plus I'm fairly sure the N7 is off limits to bikes so that's us culchies screwed.

In answer to your question, I wouldn't in a perfect world choose to have 22 hours a week in commuting but my dad is secure in the Midlands whilst I work and I have a decent house for a decent rent, not like colleagues who share a box for 1800 a month.

What commute is too much ? Cannot be answered, it's up to the individual's life and what's in it.

I would put it to you that most people up to age 65 could manage a 15k cycle each way if they wanted to, which would cover a large chunk of the commuter belt, particularly if you combine it with the train service. Its not that hard.

A lot of people think 'I wouldn't be able for that'. They would.

An hour each way would be the cut off for me personally.

Up untila few months ago my commute was taking 50 mins each way:
15 min drive to train station
25 min Dart journey
10 min walk to work

This was ok, but I was at the mercy of the trains which are often 10-15 mins late so my commute ends up being over an hour each way.

I now ride a motorbike to work and it is 20-25 minutes each way.

Tombo2001 wrote: »

40 minutes on a bike will get you from most Dublin suburbs into the city centre. The car often takes longer, especially on a wet day.

Also, 40 minutes in a car always feels like wasted time. You're sitting on your hole. You can't read, you can't watch movies, you can't do anything productive.

If you're walking or cycling, you're getting exercise. So your commute never feels like wasted time.

mariaalice wrote: »

As a bit of a follow on from the almost comical thread about free travel and commuters. How much of a commute is too much? could an individual be actually driven mad by commuting? On the other hand, have some individuals got unrealistic expectations.

On a thread about house prices, someone commented that commuting from Bettystown to the city center would be brutal long-term a distance of 44k with good public transport options a commute of about an hour yet someone thinks that is too much?

My commute is about 50 min on average, my husband about 1 hour 20 and it has been getting longer for him.

A hard rule for me in my many, many jobs has been if it takes more than 1 bus it's not worth it, although when sitting on the oscar traynor road some mornings and evenings for 45 mins 1 bus was too many.

1 hour max and that’s having the comfort of a car. I’m not sure I would be so patient if I was waiting for buses etc.

PlaneSpeeking wrote: »

Tell that to my orthopaedic surgeon would you, he'd love a laugh.

Your orthopaedic surgeon would probably advise you to take it up regardless of what your issue is.

Because cycling is minimal-impact exercise with easily regulated effort levels, there are very few long-term injuries that can be made worse by cycling.

Osteoarthritis and sciatica are two which require additional consideration before taking it up - but the same is true of any sport.

Contrary to popular belief, back pain is not a problem with cycling, but there is a necessity to ensure the bike has been adjusted correctly.

If the decision is between not exercising at all, or exercising with consideration for your injury, then any doctor will always advise the latter.

Tombo2001 wrote: »

...As commutes go - 40 minutes on foot or on a bike is completely different to 40 minutes in a car.

The stress levels of driving are way way way above the stress levels of cycling or walking....

I'd agree with that.... but I'd go one step further and break the car out more.

40 minutes in the car sitting in traffic traveling maybe 3 or 4 miles and feeling like you're fighting for every inch is a hell of a lot more stressful than 40 minutes actually driving and traveling 20 or 30 miles.

I'm currently out the country and I have a 30 minute drive to work to travel about 20 miles. There is just one roundabout that I can get caught at but once you avoid the very hot times (8:30 to 9 in the morning and 5-6 in the evening) it's grand. Even if I do get caught there, it's only an extra 10 minutes. All fairly stress free.

Worst commute I had was an hour each way and I had an 8 O'Clock start and a six O'Clock finish at the earliest (ie on the road at 7 AM, home at 7 PM if I was lucky). Literally a waste of your life, you are not fit for anything during the week and Sundays are spent with a feeling of foreboding for the week ahead. I took a job that wasn't good career-wise just to eliminate the commute and it had a 9AM start. It was the best decision I ever made until they decided to close the place recently. I am dreading getting back on the commuting threadmill, which is almost inevitable if I am going to work again.

I've considered cycling, but there are two things preventing it:

• the problem of what to do when I get to work - no showers
• the fact that my route is congested during rush hour with buses driving in the spotty cycle lanes. Having a bus full of passengers silently swearing at you for holding up their bus is no fun. :eek:

RayCun wrote: »

How hard you work is entirely up to you.

I have thought about this, you know - don't be patronising, and see my second point about the buses. I see cyclists from my bus seat: either the bus squeaks by with cm to spare, or it crawls along less than a metre behind the poor cyclist, who may be struggling up a hill. In that situation I would be pushing harder just to get to a point where the fecking bus can get past me - and sweating.

Up until summer 2017, my commute was 3hours and 15 minutes in total (train and luas) each day......on a good day! I transferred closer to home and now my drive to work is 25-30 minutes each way. I still don't know how I put up with all the travelling.

bnt wrote: »

I have thought about this, you know - don't be patronising, and see my second point about the buses. I see cyclists from my bus seat: either the bus squeaks by with cm to spare, or it crawls along less than a metre behind the poor cyclist, who may be struggling up a hill. In that situation I would be pushing harder just to get to a point where the fecking bus can get past me - and sweating.

To RayCuns point - I recently switched from a cycle commute to a walking commute.

And part of the reason was that the cycle commute actually wasn't much exercise at all. Walking to work feels more strenuous.