A commute from Finsbury Park to Brentford
 

Hmm.

The prospect of a new job near Syon Lane has come up. I live in Finsbury
Park and won't be moving any time soon.

Any thoughts on what commuting options look like?

I'll mention that the company runs a shuttle bus from Osterley (taking 5
minutes), and a peak-hours shuttle from Gunnersbury (whose timetable i
cannot decipher - possibly goes backwards through time?). Also, that i
like cycling, although not enough to cycle 18 miles twice a day.

Off the top of my head:

Piccadilly from Finsbury Park to Osterley, bus to the office. That's 50-60
minutes on the tube, and 5 on the bus. Standing from Finsbury Park; i
might get a seat at, what, Leicester Square?

Victoria from Finsbury Park to Vauxhall, train to Syon Lane, walk to the
office. That's 20 minutes on the tube, with some hope of a seat past
Oxford Circus, some amount of waiting, then 30 minutes on the train, i
imagine with an excellent chance of a seat.

Victoria (or Great Northern) from Finsbury Park to Highbury & Islington,
North London on to Gunnersbury, bus to the office. That's a short hop on
the tube, then 37 minutes on the overground, then some unknown time on the
bus; no idea if i might get a seat.

Folding bike from Finsbury Park to Gospel Oak, North London to
Gunnersbury, unfolded bike to the office. That's 2.6 miles cycling at one
end, half an hour on the train, then 2.9 miles at the other end (on roads
of uncertain enjoyability). I would at least be guaranteed a seat for 5.5
miles of the journey.

Any other options to consider? Do any of these have unforeseen pitfalls?

I currently work 4.5 miles from home, and cycle. None of these options are
remotely as good :(.

tom

--
Or is it? It's hard to tell if making a loss in a transformative business
is a bad thing. -- Nutty

A commute from Finsbury Park to Brentford
 

"Tom Anderson" wrote in message
rth.li...
Hmm.

The prospect of a new job near Syon Lane has come up. I live in Finsbury
Park and won't be moving any time soon.

Any thoughts on what commuting options look like?

I'll mention that the company runs a shuttle bus from Osterley (taking 5
minutes), and a peak-hours shuttle from Gunnersbury (whose timetable i
cannot decipher - possibly goes backwards through time?). Also, that i
like cycling, although not enough to cycle 18 miles twice a day.

Off the top of my head:

Piccadilly from Finsbury Park to Osterley, bus to the office. That's 50-60
minutes on the tube, and 5 on the bus. Standing from Finsbury Park; i
might get a seat at, what, Leicester Square?

Victoria from Finsbury Park to Vauxhall, train to Syon Lane, walk to the
office. That's 20 minutes on the tube, with some hope of a seat past
Oxford Circus, some amount of waiting, then 30 minutes on the train, i
imagine with an excellent chance of a seat.

Victoria (or Great Northern) from Finsbury Park to Highbury & Islington,
North London on to Gunnersbury, bus to the office. That's a short hop on
the tube, then 37 minutes on the overground, then some unknown time on the
bus; no idea if i might get a seat.

Folding bike from Finsbury Park to Gospel Oak, North London to
Gunnersbury, unfolded bike to the office. That's 2.6 miles cycling at one
end, half an hour on the train, then 2.9 miles at the other end (on roads
of uncertain enjoyability). I would at least be guaranteed a seat for 5.5
miles of the journey.

Any other options to consider? Do any of these have unforeseen pitfalls?

I currently work 4.5 miles from home, and cycle. None of these options are
remotely as good :(.

tom

--
Or is it? It's hard to tell if making a loss in a transformative business
is a bad thing. -- Nutty

Why not train to Kings X - no chance of seat (or is there, how many get off
at FP?), cycle to Waterloo and train to Syon Lane? At first glance the
trip from KX to Waterloo is only 3 miles and as you explore alternatives
you'll get off the main arteries no doubt and if you have to be at work by
the traditional 0900 you'll be doing that part of the trip out of the
absolute worst of the rush (but you won't miss it, I accept).

Reports suggest the loadings on the NLL are now very good and with only
longitudinal seats there aren't that many actual seats.

Unless the move is not voluntary (and I apologise for preaching to the
converted here) makes sure (1) your extra commuting cost is covered by any
change in salary (unless this is a step up with expectations of later salary
improvement) (2) that you can deal with the extra time out of your day - I
went from a 10 minute walk to a 15 minute walk/15 minute train/2 minute walk
and even that was a nuisance.

A commute from Finsbury Park to Brentford
 

On Nov 22, 9:30*pm, Tom Anderson wrote:
Hmm.

The prospect of a new job near Syon Lane has come up. I live in Finsbury
Park and won't be moving any time soon.

Any thoughts on what commuting options look like?

I'll mention that the company runs a shuttle bus from Osterley (taking 5
minutes), and a peak-hours shuttle from Gunnersbury (whose timetable i
cannot decipher - possibly goes backwards through time?). Also, that i
like cycling, although not enough to cycle 18 miles twice a day.

Off the top of my head:

Piccadilly from Finsbury Park to Osterley, bus to the office. That's 50-60
minutes on the tube, and 5 on the bus. Standing from Finsbury Park; i
might get a seat at, what, Leicester Square?

Victoria from Finsbury Park to Vauxhall, train to Syon Lane, walk to the
office. That's 20 minutes on the tube, with some hope of a seat past
Oxford Circus, some amount of waiting, then 30 minutes on the train, i
imagine with an excellent chance of a seat.

Victoria (or Great Northern) from Finsbury Park to Highbury & Islington,
North London on to Gunnersbury, bus to the office. That's a short hop on
the tube, then 37 minutes on the overground, then some unknown time on the
bus; no idea if i might get a seat.

Folding bike from Finsbury Park to Gospel Oak, North London to
Gunnersbury, unfolded bike to the office. That's 2.6 miles cycling at one
end, half an hour on the train, then 2.9 miles at the other end (on roads
of uncertain enjoyability). I would at least be guaranteed a seat for 5.5
miles of the journey.

Any other options to consider? Do any of these have unforeseen pitfalls?

I currently work 4.5 miles from home, and cycle. None of these options are
remotely as good :(.

tom

--
Or is it? It's hard to tell if making a loss in a transformative business
is a bad thing. -- Nutty

If I were you, I would take the Piccadilly Line all the way to
Osterley. This is because there is only one leg of the journey. If
you have to change trains, then there is more potential for delays and
increased journey times.

On the way back from your office, you could get the first bus which
comes along. If it goes to Gunnersbury, you could get the District
Line to Hammersmith and then cross the platform for the Piccadilly
Line.

It is always good to have alternative routes up your sleeve in case of
delays or disruption.

Perhaps the best thing would be to try each of the routes you have
suggested and see which one suits you best.

A commute from Finsbury Park to Brentford
 

On Wed, 23 Nov 2011, Graham Harrison wrote:

"Tom Anderson" wrote in message
rth.li...

The prospect of a new job near Syon Lane has come up. I live in Finsbury
Park and won't be moving any time soon.

Any thoughts on what commuting options look like?

Why not train to Kings X - no chance of seat (or is there, how many get
off at FP?), cycle to Waterloo and train to Syon Lane?

Oh, good one! Yes, that would probably be very practical. It might even be
worth cycling straight to Waterloo.

Unless the move is not voluntary (and I apologise for preaching to the
converted here) makes sure (1) your extra commuting cost is covered by
any change in salary (unless this is a step up with expectations of
later salary improvement)

Good point. I don't have a number from them yet, but i would be surprised
if there was not a big enough step up to cover the extra cost.

(2) that you can deal with the extra time out of your day - I went from
a 10 minute walk to a 15 minute walk/15 minute train/2 minute walk and
even that was a nuisance.

This is the real sticking point. At the moment, between, sleep, work,
commuting, and basic functions like shopping and washing, i reckon i have
about four hours per weekday to actually enjoy myself. Commuting for an
extra half-hour each way would reduce that by 25%.

tom

--
If god did exist, we would have to abolish him. -- Mikhail Bakunin

A commute from Finsbury Park to Brentford
 

On Wed, 23 Nov 2011, Paul wrote:

On Nov 22, 9:30*pm, Tom Anderson wrote:

The prospect of a new job near Syon Lane has come up. I live in
Finsbury Park and won't be moving any time soon.

Any thoughts on what commuting options look like?

Perhaps the best thing would be to try each of the routes you have
suggested and see which one suits you best.

Very true. I took the Vic/SWT combination there, and the Picc back. On the
Vic i was standing all the way to Vauxhall; if i'd been a bit more
sharp-elbowed i might have got a seat at Green Park, but it's not like
there were seats to spare. The train was then surprisingly busy - lots of
people on board when it pulled in, quite a few boarding at Vauxhall, and a
lot more at Queenstown Road and Clapham Junction. The main destinations
seemed to be Wandsworth and Brentford. Coming back, i got a seat
immediately, although only just, and new boarders were standing after a
couple of stops. I imagine it would be a lot worse coming in in the
mornings.

Thanks to you both for your thoughts.

tom

--
If god did exist, we would have to abolish him. -- Mikhail Bakunin

A commute from Finsbury Park to Brentford
 

"Tom Anderson" wrote in message
rth.li...

I commute from Hove to Brentford, although I tend to put myself in an
expensed hotel 2 or 3 nights per week, in which case I do the journey by
car.

Victoria from Finsbury Park to Vauxhall, train to Syon Lane, walk to the
office. That's 20 minutes on the tube, with some hope of a seat past
Oxford Circus, some amount of waiting, then 30 minutes on the train, i
imagine with an excellent chance of a seat.

Getting a seat between Clapham Junction and Brentford depends a lot on the
time of travel. I usually get a seat on the 08:02 from CLJ, and you would
have a better chance nearer the front of the train because a lot of people
get off at Brentford for GSK.

In the other direction I find I have a reasonable chance of a seat on the
17:24 from Brentford, but trains after that are usually standing room only.


Folding bike from Finsbury Park to Gospel Oak, North London to
Gunnersbury, unfolded bike to the office. That's 2.6 miles cycling at one
end, half an hour on the train, then 2.9 miles at the other end (on roads
of uncertain enjoyability). I would at least be guaranteed a seat for 5.5
miles of the journey.

There are cycle-paths along the A4.

I tried the North London Line for a journey to Maida Vale after work. It was
scenic, but I wouldn't say that a seat would be 'guaranteed' ...

If you can get some flexibility in hours of work you can improve the
experience. When I travel in by car or from the hotel I tend to get to my
desk around 7.00am ...

--
DAS

A commute from Finsbury Park to Brentford
 

On Sat, 26 Nov 2011, D A Stocks wrote:

If you can get some flexibility in hours of work you can improve the
experience. When I travel in by car or from the hotel I tend to get to
my desk around 7.00am ...

I don't think my delicate constitution could stand that.

In the end, i solved the problem by not taking the job. I've taken one on
London Wall instead, which is a much easier commute!

tom

--
Science is bound, by the everlasting vow of honour, to face fearlessly
every problem which can be fairly presented to it. -- Lord Kelvin

A commute from Finsbury Park to Brentford
 

In message . li, at
22:29:47 on Sat, 3 Dec 2011, Tom Anderson
remarked:
In the end, i solved the problem by not taking the job. I've taken one
on London Wall instead, which is a much easier commute!

Sensible chap. That's what we need - shorter commutes, not better ways
to do long ones.
--
Roland Perry