[James]

It really is amazing how technology can help us in something so dynamic and something so entrenched in our daily lives, like traffic! The efficiency, accuracy and flexibility now does make my old Garmin nüvi 255W seem like just a kid's toy.

 

[Dan416]

For those who don't know, Waze is now owned by Google so a lot of the data gathered by Waze is used by Google Maps now as well. In theory, they should both be giving you the same suggestions now.

 

[mdrejhon]

Good point. You are right.

Tory's also impressed by the crowdsourced traffic data that City Hall is now using it for planning, upon Tory's orders.

 

[Electrify]

I'm pleasantly surprised that commute times seem to fall within the 15-45 minute mark. By assuming the median is 30 minutes, it suggests that our commute times are closer to 60 minutes per day rather than 80 as some studies suggest.

This may also be in part due to the urbanized nature of posters on these boards. In the house I grew up in, besides work which was about a 20 minute walk away my commutes to college/university and into the city were always in the 90 minute range. Before Viva, 120 minutes each way was not uncommon!

Even where I am now, a 10 minute walk of the Richmond Hill GO station, I had a work placement at CUTA last year, which is located one block north of Union Station. My door to door trip usually came to 70 minutes.

 

[James]

Good point. I have friends who live in the 905 and their commute definitely hovers in the 1-hour one-way range, with a mix of driving/walking to the train station, followed by GO to Union, then either a short subway ride or additional walking to their downtown office.

 

[Lenser]

My present commute is a ten minute walk west - been that way since the top of the year. Last year it was a 20 minute drive east into Scarborough. Two years before that it was more like 45 minutes, westward into Etobicoke - considerably longer on the drive home.

It varies on the gig. Never had it better than this current one though. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, I can walk or bike and get to work in 15.

By the law of averages, I'm probably due for one of those loathesome longer commutes. The kind that sucks the soul out of you.

 

[MadioBruschetta]

Good point. I have friends who live in the 905 and their commute definitely hovers in the 1-hour one-way range, with a mix of driving/walking to the train station, followed by GO to Union, then either a short subway ride or additional walking to their downtown office.

not everyone lives walking or subway distance from union to their job. infact Union is the complete opposite of my work. go train is only good for people who work downtown, IT IS USELESS for people who work in parts of etobicoke or north york or scarborough or vaugnh.

 

[Eug]

I'm pleasantly surprised that commute times seem to fall within the 15-45 minute mark. By assuming the median is 30 minutes, it suggests that our commute times are closer to 60 minutes per day rather than 80 as some studies suggest.

This may also be in part due to the urbanized nature of posters on these boards. In the house I grew up in, besides work which was about a 20 minute walk away my commutes to college/university and into the city were always in the 90 minute range. Before Viva, 120 minutes each way was not uncommon!

Even where I am now, a 10 minute walk of the Richmond Hill GO station, I had a work placement at CUTA last year, which is located one block north of Union Station. My door to door trip usually came to 70 minutes.

I would suspect that there is a Toronto bias in play here. Most of the people here are probably from Toronto, with less from the 905. OTOH, a LOT of commuters are coming from the 905 into Toronto. Hence, the 80 minute number for daily commutes.

For me, I'm in the Scarborough Bluffs and it's about 30 minutes into downtown and about 30 minutes into midtown. For downtown I usually take Gerrard. For midtown I usually take Eglinton, although at times I will take St. Clair to O'Connor and then north on Donlands. That takes me a bit longer at about 35 mins. However, it often takes a little bit longer coming home, esp. with the road obstructions on Eglinton from the LRT construction. Going east of Bayview on Eglinton is a total disaster until Brentcliffe.

So actually, I'm probably closer to 75 minutes total each day real world these days (whereas it was closer to 60 minutes before the LRT construction).

 

[arcum]

I'd be walking if it didn't rain every damn day!

 

[James]

I'd be walking if it didn't rain every damn day!

Obviously, if it wasn't for the major thunderstorm watch that's affecting the entire area from New York to Chicago, we'd all be able to walk with no problems. Monday was tough for those travelling. NYC and DC flights were cancelled and Chicago flights were delayed. I got stuck at Pearson, ended up re-scheduling my flight for the next day, and going back home to sleep, only to return to YYZ on Tuesday. In keeping with the theme of this thread, my commute this Monday took about 24 hours.

 

[Electrify]

I think it is becoming clear that the GTA is too damn big for its own good.

 

[James]

...
However, it often takes a little bit longer coming home...

Taking a snippet from Eug's post, the line above made me think about something that's been on my mind for a while now. Why is it that rush hour commutes in the afternoon/evening almost always take longer than rush hour commutes in the morning? Theoretically, shouldn't they be equal since the same people going to the office in the morning should technically be the same people going home on the exact same route reversed? Is this what other people are noticing as well?

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Taking a snippet from Eug's post, the line above made me think about something that's been on my mind for a while now. Why is it that rush hour commutes in the afternoon/evening almost always take longer than rush hour commutes in the morning? Theoretically, shouldn't they be equal since the same people going to the office in the morning should technically be the same people going home on the exact same route reversed? Is this what other people are noticing as well?

I always thought morning rush hour was worse because while everyone is going to work between 7-9am, people leave work and head home anytime between 3-9pm spreading the demand over longer time.

 

[TOareaFan]

I always thought morning rush hour was worse because while everyone is going to work between 7-9am, people leave work and head home anytime between 3-9pm spreading the demand over longer time.

There is also a lot more non work traffic in the evening...people going out after work, people just "moving around"....there is less of that in the morning and people driving at 8 a.m. are likely just commuting to school or work.

 

[nfitz]

I always thought morning rush hour was worse because while everyone is going to work between 7-9am, people leave work and head home anytime between 3-9pm spreading the demand over longer time.

In terms of traffic volume, it is. Look at the peak load numbers for most links, and the AM peak is normally higher than the reverse direction in the PM.

The same holds true in transit, where the peak hour for most routes is in the AM, not the PM - which is why most routes normally have more vehicles running in AM peak than PM peak.

There are some locations where this doesn't hold for various reasons - perhaps where shopping trips are significantly greater than work trips. Or perhaps leading to a sorts stadium with a lot of 7 pm games.

It does often seem worse in the PM though. Not sure why ... more people stopping for errands on way? More time for the whole thing to break down which manages to reset itself overnight? Maybe everyone just has more desire to go home, than go to work, and therefore a lot of it is perception? Not sure.