Hi, I'm a final year University transport design student. I'm
undertaking a report on private commuter travel and I am interested in
the opinions of both public and private users. I would like to know why
certain people prefer each type of commuter travel and what problems
are encountered day in day out.

Below is a very brief summary of my initial thoughts

Background : A significant percentage of commuters travel privately
when making the journey to and from their place of work. They travel
the same route at the same time, day in day out. Often encompassing the
stress and boredom of congestion and road-works. Their time spent here
can add considerable time to their day and can thus be described as
being 'wasted time'.

Any views and opinions would be appreciated.

Andy

In message .com, at
04:34:54 on Mon, 31 Oct 2005, Andy remarked:
Background : A significant percentage of commuters travel privately
when making the journey to and from their place of work. They travel
the same route at the same time, day in day out. Often encompassing the
stress and boredom of congestion and road-works. Their time spent here
can add considerable time to their day and can thus be described as
being 'wasted time'.

It's not wasted time if it's quicker door to door than using public
transport.

Nor is it wasted if they can listen to the radio (or other forms of
"entertainment" if preferred).

I used to listen to the R4 "today" programme for the hour I drove to
work, and "PM"/"6-O-Clock News" on the way home. As a result I was much
better informed about what was going on, and didn't regard the time as
wasted at all. In fact, it was quite relaxing. No need to get stressed
out by delays, any more than similarly regular delays on public
transport. Indeed, one is much more the master of one's destiny in a car
as you can take an alternative route so much easier than if you are
stuck on a train.

If I'd taken the train, the journey would have been more like 1.5hrs,
and it's much more effort to listen to the radio whilst buffeted around
on a commuter train, and getting to and from the station, compared to
sitting in a comfortable car.
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry wrote:
I used to listen to the R4 "today" programme for the hour I drove to
work, and "PM"/"6-O-Clock News" on the way home.

My travel patterns vary but I've listened to both Today and PM whilst
commuting (I hate that word!) without the need for a car... there's
this great invention called a personal radio! Sony make some really
tiny (cigarette-lighter sized) FM personal radios. Obviously no good
for any subterranean travel though.

I find John Humphries a bit of an assault on my senses in the morning,
as I'm rarely fully conscious then, but I rate Eddie Mair's wry style
and the varied content of PM very highly. Alas 5pm is a bit early,
though I sometimes catch it whilst still working.

In message .com, at
04:44:27 on Wed, 2 Nov 2005, Mizter T remarked:
I used to listen to the R4 "today" programme for the hour I drove to
work, and "PM"/"6-O-Clock News" on the way home.

My travel patterns vary but I've listened to both Today and PM whilst
commuting (I hate that word!) without the need for a car... there's
this great invention called a personal radio! Sony make some really
tiny (cigarette-lighter sized) FM personal radios. Obviously no good
for any subterranean travel though.

It's much more effort to listen to the radio whilst buffeted around on a
commuter train, and getting to and from the station, compared to sitting
in a comfortable car.

I find John Humphries a bit of an assault on my senses in the morning,
as I'm rarely fully conscious then, but I rate Eddie Mair's wry style
and the varied content of PM very highly. Alas 5pm is a bit early,
though I sometimes catch it whilst still working.

Yes, I only listened to PM from about 5.45pm most days.
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry wrote:
In message .com, at
04:44:27 on Wed, 2 Nov 2005, Mizter T remarked:
I used to listen to the R4 "today" programme for the hour I drove to
work, and "PM"/"6-O-Clock News" on the way home.

My travel patterns vary but I've listened to both Today and PM whilst
commuting (I hate that word!) without the need for a car... there's
this great invention called a personal radio! Sony make some really
tiny (cigarette-lighter sized) FM personal radios. Obviously no good
for any subterranean travel though.

It's much more effort to listen to the radio whilst buffeted around on a
commuter train, and getting to and from the station, compared to sitting
in a comfortable car.

Er, perhaps, but I've never really found it a hassle, unless I'm so
crammed in I can't reach in my pocket to change the volume or
frequency, which happens more often on a bus than a train (but I'm
quite tall ). So I get it all set up right before embarking my public
transport vehicle of choice. I'd recommend it to those who only ever
stick their headphone jack into Apple's white miniature hard-disk
drive.

I do drive, but avoid doing so in the rush hour if at all possible. No
matter how comfortable the car, I find being in a traffic jam an
uncomfortable situation, and start dreaming about merrily peddling down
some parralel side-street on my bike going , or being on that bus
that's cruising down the big red expanse of the bus lane.

But I do totally understand that for some, being stuck in a traffic jam
for 15 minutes is only a part of a longer journey that is most quickly
completed by car.

I find John Humphries a bit of an assault on my senses in the morning,
as I'm rarely fully conscious then, but I rate Eddie Mair's wry style
and the varied content of PM very highly. Alas 5pm is a bit early,
though I sometimes catch it whilst still working.

Yes, I only listened to PM from about 5.45pm most days.
--
Roland Perry

Workload dependent, I can sometimes sneak it on the radio in the office
where I am now whilst doing some more mundane tasks at the end of the
day, though that'd be a hanging offence in some other places I've
worked.

On 2 Nov 2005 04:44:27 -0800, "Mizter T" wrote:

Roland Perry wrote:
I used to listen to the R4 "today" programme for the hour I drove to
work, and "PM"/"6-O-Clock News" on the way home.

My travel patterns vary but I've listened to both Today and PM whilst
commuting (I hate that word!) without the need for a car... there's
this great invention called a personal radio! Sony make some really
tiny (cigarette-lighter sized) FM personal radios. Obviously no good
for any subterranean travel though.

There was some talk a while back about setting up DAB reception in the
tubes... here's hoping!

--
James Farrar
. @gmail.com

On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 11:25:58 +0000, James Farrar
wrote:

There was some talk a while back about setting up DAB reception in the
tubes... here's hoping!

More likely to be video & audio delivered over mobile phones, judging
by http://www.drdb.org/newsletter/news.php?id=248

DAB would be a natural fit for us moles, ideal for leaky feeders, a
natural monopoly to push DAB on, captive market, well suited to the
tunnels. So it'll never happen :-(

--
New anti-spam address cmylod at despammed dot com

Heres a questionnaire for a uni research report I'm undertaking on
commuter habits, attitudes and experiences. if you could spend a minute
responding then that would be much appreciated.

Thanks again
Andy

http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?id=125880

In article ,
(Roland Perry) wrote:

In message .com,
at 04:34:54 on Mon, 31 Oct 2005, Andy :
Background : A significant percentage of commuters travel privately
when making the journey to and from their place of work. They travel
the same route at the same time, day in day out. Often encompassing
the stress and boredom of congestion and road-works. Their time spent
here can add considerable time to their day and can thus be described
as being 'wasted time'.

It's not wasted time if it's quicker door to door than using public
transport.

Nor is it wasted if they can listen to the radio (or other forms of
"entertainment" if preferred).

I used to listen to the R4 "today" programme for the hour I drove to
work, and "PM"/"6-O-Clock News" on the way home. As a result I was
much better informed about what was going on, and didn't regard the
time as wasted at all. In fact, it was quite relaxing. No need to get
stressed out by delays, any more than similarly regular delays on
public transport. Indeed, one is much more the master of one's
destiny in a car as you can take an alternative route so much easier
than if you are stuck on a train.

If I'd taken the train, the journey would have been more like 1.5hrs,
and it's much more effort to listen to the radio whilst buffeted
around on a commuter train, and getting to and from the station,
compared to sitting in a comfortable car.

I find the time on the train used most productively reading newsgroups
like this (though I have to admit I didn't read this thread until after
I got home tonight). A good reason for a laptop and offline reader.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In message , at
00:05:00 on Sat, 5 Nov 2005, Colin Rosenstiel
remarked:
If I'd taken the train, the journey would have been more like 1.5hrs,
and it's much more effort to listen to the radio whilst buffeted
around on a commuter train, and getting to and from the station,
compared to sitting in a comfortable car.

I find the time on the train used most productively reading newsgroups
like this (though I have to admit I didn't read this thread until after
I got home tonight). A good reason for a laptop and offline reader.

Yes, and I've done that regularly over the last six years. Something you
definitely can't do in a car!

On the other hand, you can't do it standing up on a train, either - and
I found it rather uncomfortable when sitting on the floor. Sadly, during
the latter period of my Royston/KX trips I found it increasingly common
not to get a seat. Perhaps twice a week. And needing to shove oneself
into a seat (literally) made it even more stressful when boarding the
train.
--
Roland Perry