Bike Bus Bike Commute

Transit Option

In looking at going to Transportation Advocacy Day, I realized that I had an option to commute to work by adding the bus into my transportation tool kit. Seems obvious, but I hadn't realized it was an option.

Years ago, I biked, walked and rode the bus all the time. I didn't own a car. That wasn't an option to get around. Other than renting a car for vacations, I didn't drive. Then we got a car and driving became the rule. In fact, hardly a day passes when I don't spend time in the car! 

Time in the car gets you where you're going. That's about it. I know some people listen to talking books, I tend to tune those out. Mostly, time in the car is sedentary, maybe enjoying the scenery, except it passes by so fast. And you're isolated from it, enclosed in the car.

Riding to work means a ~17-20 mile ride each way depending on the route I take. Ten miles down the Yelm-Tenino trail, and then another ten down old highway 99. Or head down the Chehalis-Western trail and then over on Waldrick to 99 again, or down the CW trail to Yelm Highway and over. Nice rides. Except then after work I have to turn around and do it again, and it's uphill going home!

That's a harder distance to ride. I've been building up my strength, but riding back from Olympia the other day wore me out, and that was only one way!

Finding out that the Yelm transit route ran more than I thought, however, opened up another possibility. Ride to Yelm (which is weird, because I'm going away from work) ~4.96 mi, catch the bus (bike on the rack) and ride it down to Boulevard in Olympia (closest stop to work), and then ride to work ~3.7 mi. In all it adds up to about 17.47 miles, as tracked by my Endomondo app. About the same distance as it'd take to ride one way.

As far as the time it takes, well, it works out essentially the same as if I had ridden to work. That is, the time it takes to ride to Yelm, catch the bus, ride the bus to the nearest stop, then ride to work, is pretty much the same amount of time it would take for me to ride all the way to work from home. There's no time savings there. 

Yet, it cuts the daily mileage down to ~17 miles instead of ~34-40 miles. And the mileage is broken up into four shorter segments that pass quickly. 

Added bonus, on the bus ride I can read! That's at least 30 minutes each way when I have time to read. Between work, writing and everything else, it can be a challenge finding time to read. So I spend an hour and a half riding the bike, and at least an hour reading each day. 

Cost savings

I'm considering getting a monthly bus pass next month. Each day I don't drive the car saves ~$4, just in gas costs. If I was getting mileage reimbursements for driving it'd be more like $23 a day. Just figuring the $4 in gas, though, means $20 per week, up to $80-$100 per month. A bus pass is $36, a savings of $44-$64 dollars a month if I didn't drive to work.

Taking that out further, considering mileage reimbursements. That's not only for gas, but overall operating costs of the vehicle. If I'm driving the car less, that reduces our other expenses related to that also. I'll still drive it for errands, but that's usually one trip a week instead of the six days a week I've been driving.

What about health? We're talking about making health a priority in our state DOT policies, shouldn't it be a priority in our own personal transportation policies too? If I'm riding to work, with or without the bus, I'm going to be healthier and in better shape, and hopefully then less healthcare expenses. 

Moving forward

At least looking at the option of combining bike-bus transportation gives me another option when looking at how I get to work. It isn't that I have to ride the entire distance each way. If I'm tired, if I want to read, I can take the bus. If I'm just in a mood to ride, I can ride the whole distance. Or take the bus in the morning and ride back in the evening. Or the other way around. It just gives me another option.

This next week I'll probably do that at least one of the days, maybe more, but it's a short week. A week from today I'm heading down to Oregon for a writing workshop and I'll be off work until March. If I get the bus pass then I'll have that next month and may put in quite a few more miles!