If you've ever had to commute by car on a daily basis, you know that the road from home to work is a crap shoot fraught with speeding tickets and accidents, cars overturned in ditches, whiteknuckled whiteouts, black ice, road rage, gridlock and bumper to bumper traffic jams. Top the whole thing off with astronomical gas prices and you have a perfect prescription for an unscheduled stress holiday. But if you work in a major metropolitan center like New York City, the hair-raising drive into the downtown core may seem unavoidable.
It's not.
Though we're still starry-eyed for the automobile, New York's commuter rail system is safer, faster and more predictable than driving. Hands down. It's also a great deal more pleasant and if you know how to work it - a whole lot more productive. There are countless reasons why a long train ride kicks the proverbial behind of a long car ride to work. For the skeptics, I'll outline a few of them here:
Safety
I know that taking the train means coming into contact with people and many folks find that scary, but I'd like to point out that in spite of their strange ways, most people are not inherently dangerous. This is true, even when the people are from NYC. Relax, we are social creatures, which is why we have things like trains that connect cities. Cars, on the other hand are an entirely different story - especially when there are hundreds of them barreling down the highway at 80 clicks.Who's driving these cars at 7am anyway? Is it slow-moving unionized employees? Oh no! It's harried city workers who left the house ten minutes too late and without breakfast. (Not you of course.) And if you're taking the on ramp to merge with this steady stream of low blood sugar and anxiety everyday, I hope you have air bags and plenty of insurance for your loved ones. Statistically, more Americans die in car crashes every year than by any other cause. In 2006, 1,456 New Yorkers, 42,642 Americans and over one million citizens of the world died in car crashes. It is in fact, the leading cause of accidental death EVERYWHERE. How many people die on commuter trains? Well, if you resist the urge to jump in front of them or ride on the outside of them, comparatively few.
Health
Chances are that taking the train will extend your life expectancy in other ways as well. Train commuters tend to walk more during their work week and experience less stress overall. Though trains are not entirely predictable, they are more predictable than rush hour traffic. A study entitled "Leave the Driving to Them" (Wener, Evans, Lutin, 2006) compared the daily stress levels of New Jersey residents that commuted to NYC by car to those that commuted by train and found they were higher on every count. "...comparing auto and rail commuters, auto commuters showed significantly higher levels of reported stress, more negative mood, indicated the trip was significantly more effort, and felt that their trip was significantly less predictable compared to train commuters."
Money
Most of the time, the costs of wear and tear on your car combined with gas and parking will outwiegh the cost of a monthly train pass. If you're not sure about how much your spending on your commute, there are some useful commuting calculators online that can help you add it up. Depending on where you work, there may also be a cash incentive from your bosses for riding the train and leaving your car at home.
Freedom
What? How can you have more freedom when you have to wait on trains, get on where they tell you and get off where they tell you? Easy peasy. The important thing to know about trains is that you don't have to drive them yourself. What this means for commuters is an enormous amount of FREE time that can be spent in any number of ways. For instance:
- Doing Nothing at All:. If you don't understand what a complete luxury it is to rest and look out a window while someone else drives, you probably need to rest and look out a window more often.
- Reading: The classic train-time pastime. Even in the digital age, reading is still a fun and educational thing to do. When you ride the train to work every day you can pack a whole lot of stories in before you start your day. You can also learn a new skill or educate yourself on world events. Heck you can even take a course.
- Working: If you're a person who takes work home with you, you can start to use your home time for yourself and your commute time for your job. Whether you need to read reports, phone clients, dial in to conference calls or work on your laptop, you can do an awful lot that will enhance your workday and your carreer when you take the train instead of driving. The benefits of this depend on your needs and your creativity. If you're just starting your carreer, putting in extra time during your commute will be a valuable asset. If your employer is flexible, you can put in time during your commute and reduce the hours you actually spend in the office.
- Plotting: Thinking about starting your own business or writing a novel? All of these things can be done comfortably during your commute.
- Entertainment: Get yourself a portable DVD player and train time turns into movie time.
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Sleep: Sleeping on the train is another classic train-time pastime that you absolutely cannot do on the highway.
Real Estate
And last but not least, when you commit to taking the train to work rather than driving, you can also use the money you're saving on your commute and put it toward a mortgage. Not only will you have increased buying power, but homes along the train lines that are a bit farther out of the city, are enormously more affordable. With a little planning, you could end up with a great investment in both your carreer and your home. From a real estate perspective, commuting by train opens up fantastic opportunities for New York home buyers and unlike cars, presents a long-term sustainable solution.
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