[Thermodynamics]

Originally Posted by androdev

I hear railway timings are unpredictable so unless you are not under any time pressure (say visiting relatives vs meeting a client) this may not be practical?

Agree with you, this wouldn't be suitable for all. But I know a lot of office commuters doing this way. Wonder, how do they adjust with train delays.

I guess on a busy route one may take an alternate train but if the frequency is less, you have to plan considering standard deviation and tracking delays live online.

[locusjag]

Ah, a thread that I would have liked to kick-start. Mr.androdev beat me to it!

Here are my measures to minimize my commutes -

* Back in 2012, when the traffic feature on google maps was still in Beta stage, I adopted it. It served me well in discovering the exact timings when traffic was thickest. I was able to time my commutes very well. My colleagues thought i was a wizard or something! But they all discovered this handy feature on G maps eventually...
* I use the motorcycle at times to wriggle through the acres of stopped vehicles, if I were unlucky enough to commute during peak hour
* I use backroads to bypass busy main roads. These backroads are potholed, obscure and deserted. There are good reasons why no one goes there. But that's what I love about it!
* Don't go to work! Now and then, when I see that my vacation balance is high, I cash in on them. There's nothing like sitting at home and watching documentaries on Netflix! (I don't have an option to work from home.)
* Don't go visiting friends and family on weekdays, after getting home. Why get caught up in the traffic unnecessarily?
* Don't go shopping if the items needed can be bought online or if the neighborhood grocery shop delivers to home, it's picture-perfect!
* Don't eat out, even on weekends. My taste buds cannot win over my brain's right lobe.
* Don't go to the mall or to the cinemas. Only venture there when the safety valve of the family has begun leaking scalding hot air.

[Nav-i-gator]

Traffic doesn't bother me much if there is someone with me sharing the ride, esp my wife and my 4 year old son. Both are so entertaining and keep me engeged. And with wife, added advantage is that she keep me sane. Any slightest sign of aggressive driving, and I get an earful.

When I'm driving alone, I turn up the volume and listen to some high pace music, while watching public going desperate to move ahead.

P.S. apart from my everyday commute to office, any other place I go - I always follow Gmaps.

[suhaas307]

My office is on Lavelle Road. I'd decided to move from my house in Indiranagar to a quaint little flat in Richmond Town (near the TV9 Office), thus reducing my commute time from 30 minutes (7 km) to 5 minutes (1 km).

This allows me to spend more time in office and finish my work rather than spend 30 minutes / 45 minutes (one-way) on the road dodging traffic. I have effectively saved about an hour everyday. My fuel bills have reduced and I often find myself walking back home from work or just hitching a ride back.

I can even visit my favourite watering hole right after work and not worry about how I'm going to get home, because I just walk it!

I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with my decision.

On the flip side, my fuse has shortened considerably and now I simply cannot tolerate waiting in traffic for more than 10 minutes!

[am1m]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

My office is on Lavelle Road. I'd decided to move from my house in Indiranagar to a quaint little flat in Richmond Town (near the TV9 Office), thus reducing my commute time from 30 minutes (7 km) to 5 minutes (1 km).

You have optimized an already good commute to make it even better sir! Truly lucky.

Both Lavelle Road and Indiranagar are significantly better areas of Bangalore than the sort of areas most of us ranting on this thread (and the Bangalore traffic thread) have to suffer through.

Out of curiosity, how come you didn't consider the Metro, since there is a station in Indiranagar and a couple of them close to Lavelle Road? When my office was at Residency Road (and for some time at DC, near the TV9 office), I used to ride my bike to the Indiranagar station, use it to get to Vidhana Soudha and walk across Cubbon Park to get to work. It was heaven! Especially compared to my commute these days on the dusty, tree-less ORR with no hope of a metro on the horizon for the next 5-10 years!

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by am1m

You have optimized an already good commute to make it even better sir! Truly lucky.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by am1m

Out of curiosity, how come you didn't consider the Metro, since there is a station in Indiranagar and a couple of them close to Lavelle Road?

The metro is very convenient and I have used it on occasion. From my Indiranagar house, the metro station is a nice 5 minute walk. Since my work requires me to go to Courts often, I can go straight to all three major Courts in the city. However, the last-mile commute from the MG Road Metro / Cubbon Park Metro to my office on Lavelle Road is a bit inconvenient.

I do have a metro card and use it regularly between Civil Court - High Court - Mayo Hall. I even use the BMTC buses about once a week.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Whenever possible,
a) Work from home; although, I've had the ability to do so in only one out of the last three assignments...
f) Change my travel timings to avoid rush hour traffic

I do all of the above, plus switch to a bike whenever I feel I will get stuck later at work.

What works better for me is that I do my best to go to office when a majority of my ilk take off for public holidays/ long weekends/ festivals. When I want to travel out of town, I avoid festivals and weekends. It is better to take a few days off and enjoy your trip.

My current (soon to be ex) organisation offered us compensatory offs for working on public holidays/ weekends. I ended up using these compensatory offs during the weeks when most people crowd up the roads (those with no holidays in them).

For planned leaves, I avoid school/ college vacations as far as possible. There are a lot of them on my commute route. So when more people commute, I am usually at home or out of town.

[arindambasu13]

My work does not offer the luxury of working from home, since mine is a client facing work profile. Hence, I leave an hour early than required so that I am in office around 8 am. That way, I get to start my workday well before most others. Beat the morning traffic completely, and indeed, my morning drive is a super pleasurable one through decently motor able roads. A rare luxury indeed in today's day and age.

Leave from office at the earliest possible time in the evening, of course after completing work for the day. This way, I again try to beat the peak evening traffic which starts around 6pm and later. Has worked decently for me till now. Morning commute is about 30 mins- of nice traffic free roads. Evening commute is 45 mins- 1 hour through moderately heavy traffic.

[Chetan_Rao]

Don't have a strict 9-5 work schedule so I avoid commuting peak hours (though Bangalore redefines that term every passing year). Have multiple routes to commute (vary between 21-26 kms one way) and work from home on days heavy traffic is expected (rained overnight, declared events/processions enroute etc.), and can usually split my workday between home and office as necessary.

I love where I live in South Bangalore - walking along tree lined avenues and silent residential streets on a lazy weekend evening is a luxury nowadays - and unwilling to trade my non-work life for a better work commute. 5 minute scooter ride to the nearest Metro station, and I can be anywhere in CBD area within 30 mins of leaving home, point-to-point.

Living away from office has its own advantages too (my commute doubles up as reading time), and the poor sods who live next door are always on the hook for emergencies and backup requests.

Being fortunate to have some flexibility, Bangalore hasn't become unmanageable. Yet.

[JohnyBoy]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

...
, Bangalore hasn't become unmanageable. Yet.

Yes, not unmanageable. That's the word. You can manage it there.

If you are comfortable now, in Chennai, do you want to 'manage' your career growth by working on odd hours to avoid traffic, sacrifice evening meetings with friends, avoiding public places on weekends etc.

If you are 'managing' in Chennai also, change the location of managing, get more money and move up the corporate ladder.

[deehunk]

I start to my work place at 6:00am, reach ITPL which is at a distance of 37kms in 70 minutes. I work till 2:00pm and then leave for home. I drive up to my wife’s office and park my car. I then take a cab from there to ITPL, the same thing repeats for return journey. I don’t have to say anything about driving to ITPL, so I avoid it completely to be in a good state of mind.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by NPV

Have been lucky to work in an office within a 5Km radius for the last few years.

Forgot to mention earlier, there was also one exception to my daily commute in the last few years.

Worked for ~3 years in the Whitefield area near ITPL, a 12+Km drive each way.

On one of the assignments, we had a team working schedule of 7am-4pm and that worked beautifully. That was the only time I had an almost predictable morning commute! I used the car during this time.

During the remaining ~2.5 years, I used the scooter mostly and the entire period was one of experimentation in terms of morning commutes trying to find that elusive start time + route combination that would be more or less predictable and consistent There were just too many variables (choke points, truck breakdowns, accidents, water logging from rain, road work, new one-ways, etc) and it was an exercise in futility. Even the evening commute at 4-4:30pm was very unpredictable. Was quite active on the Bangalore rants thread during this time sharing wonderful experiences of the commute to Whitefield.

Finally, managed to crack the puzzle - by changing jobs and working in an office closer to home

[Axe77]

What I am about to write will make sense to only people living in Mumbai and familiar with Lower Parel. I work in Lower Parel close to Urmi building and live in the Sewri ./ Parel area (its a 20 - 25 min jog home about 3 - 4 kms if I had to run).

Ever since the Currey Road flyover has been closed for its two year repair project, my ~4 km, ~20 min peak hour drive from office to back home at Parel / Sewri has become a ~5.5 km 60-70 mins affair. So I actually ask my driver sometimes to drive and cross over to a place called Marathon Futurex 1 hr before I am to leave - I myself walk across for 10 mins crossing over through Lower Parel station to the other side of the bridge and then have a 9-10 min onward drive home.

So my commute is now either a 9 min walk + 9 min drive or a 60-70 mins drive if I drive all the way.

You can move up in life and buy a BMW but this city will always find ways to keep you grounded. LOL. Yeh hai Mumbai meri jaan!!! :-)

[Thilak29]

I work 7-4 and office encourages same.
I have business offices closer home but R&D unit where I work is far off (read Whitefield) but I go to business offices when I need to run meetings late in the evening.
Work from home too is great when circumstances are right.
Shifting closer to office is an option I am contemplating for some time now.

[Malyaj]

Unless your work allows flexibility to choose your working hours or occasional work from home facility, there is little you can do to alleviate the suffering. In addition if you have purchased a house, you are stuck with a location. So what do you do?

1.Invent your own distance measuring unit. Say, 1 pseudometer = 10,000 meters. So you can say “Oh, my office is just 1.5 psuedometers from home.” Maybe you will feel better

2.Develop excellent culinary skills and routinely invite your team home to a breakfast meeting, followed by working lunch, followed by high tea. The flip side is that your boss may want to emulate you and give you a dose of your own medicine.

3.Sponsor your boss for a crash course titled “How not to call your subordinates first thing in the morning”. A lot of stress of driving can be taken away if you know there is no one waiting to pounce on you the moment you reach office.

4.Try car pooling with your spouse (assuming you want to), if he/she works and if it makes sense. To some extent it will mitigate the feeling of not having spent much time with your spouse.