How long is your regular daily commute?

[DarnDirtyApe]

Option 1: Subway from Woodbine-St. Andrew - 40 minutes door to door
Option 1a: Cycle to station, subway thereafter - 35 minutes
Option 2: Cycle entire route - 30 minutes
Option 3: Drive - 25 minutes

The subway is about 5 minutes faster outside of rush hour as overcrowding on both lines leads to longer running times along the whole route.

 

[James]

Haha I knew people would be curious about my bike commute...I'm pretty sure I'm like the only person who does this route. I bike straight up Yonge...Bathurst and Bayview are too far out of the way for me, and taking the Don Trail would almost double my distance each way.

Biking northbound in the morning is the hardest part due to the hills, and the setup at Yonge/401. It's very difficult to switch lanes right here when cars are trying to speed onto the 401 westbound, while I'm moving pretty slowly after just having conquered Hoggs Hollow. There there's this point where I have two lanes of 401 eastbound entering Yonge, and I need to get into the right lane.

Southbound is a lot easier since the route is downhill at the 401 merge points, so I can do 50km/h and keep up with traffic. On Friday I was able to get from Finch to Bloor in 31 minutes, which is a new record for me. Hoping to be able to do the trip in under 30 minutes as I get more fit!

Hoggs Hollow used to be very difficult for me, but it's getting easier and easier as I bike this route more. Other hills are nothing for me, now that I conquer Hoggs Hollow twice everyday.

The Hoggs Hollow section is definitely not for the squeamish. A nice, light bike helps tremendously too!

Someone on another forum mentioned recently that they commute all the way to Sheppard from Bloor by bike, and I had the same thought.

So I actually tried doing it on an off day, and it is quite the nerve racking experience the further north you go. The closer you get to the 401, the faster people seem to drive, and l don't think drivers are used to seeing bikes up there either.

Yonge Street traffic really frees up north of Yonge Blvd, as you approach York Mills. Even the whole Eglinton to Lawrence stretch, because of the narrow lanes and the parked car lanes, I'd be pretty nervous biking along the road on a daily basis. I see a lot of cars weaving and switching lanes, avoiding cars waiting to turn, etc. It can be pretty intimidating. Once you get closer to the 401, forget it. I'd be downright scared to bike that stretch!

 

[lister]

Two jobs ago it was a six minute walk.
The previous job was a 30-60+ minute drive from downtown to the airport area. (That was a long 10 months.)
Now it's a two minute walk.

 

[JayBeeGooner]

Usually takes me 70-75 mins depending on the traffic. I live in Toronto and travel to 'Sauga for work. I considered moving closer to work, but I love living in Toronto, and 'sauga isn't a city I want to live in.

 

[ehlow]

Usually takes me 70-75 mins depending on the traffic. I live in Toronto and travel to 'Sauga for work. I considered moving closer to work, but I love living in Toronto, and 'sauga isn't a city I want to live in.

Anecdotally, I find this very common, especially among 20s & 30s single professionals. People want to live in the city yet need to commute out the 905 for work.

 

[WislaHD]

Usually takes me 70-75 mins depending on the traffic. I live in Toronto and travel to 'Sauga for work. I considered moving closer to work, but I love living in Toronto, and 'sauga isn't a city I want to live in.

The Toronto to 'sauga commutes are from my impression, really really bad.

When my dad was job hunting, we've found that commutes to the Mississauga business parks were on average 20-25 minutes longer drive than to Markham or to Liberty Village (via subway+streetcar) from Midtown.

People always say that the Midtown GO line would have lowish ridership. I wonder how true that actually is, and whether it should even matter as it would unlock all kinds of new commute patterns not previously thought possible with transit.

 

[JayBeeGooner]

If you're travelling during the peak periods, and using the 401, it's going to be a slow commute. I work 7:30-3:30, so I don't experience traffic. The 109 is a quick ride to SQ1 area, I'm looking forward to when the transitway is fully open.

 

[JayBeeGooner]

Anecdotally, I find this very common, especially among 20s & 30s single professionals. People want to live in the city yet need to commute out the 905 for work.

I think it's very common. Many, like myself, were probably born in the 905, and have no desire to live in the 905 even if it means a long commute.

 

[ehlow]

The Toronto to 'sauga commutes are from my impression, really really bad.

When my dad was job hunting, we've found that commutes to the Mississauga business parks were on average 20-25 minutes longer drive than to Markham or to Liberty Village (via subway+streetcar) from Midtown.

People always say that the Midtown GO line would have lowish ridership. I wonder how true that actually is, and whether it should even matter as it would unlock all kinds of new commute patterns not previously thought possible with transit.

What about living on the western part of the Bloor subway line, like the High Park area to Etobicoke. Then you have access to downtown and hopefully not too long of a drive to Mississauga.

I think it's very common. Many, like myself, were probably born in the 905, and have no desire to live in the 905 even if it means a long commute.

That's why all the companies in Silicon Valley need to run private bus lines from San Francisco. The workforce wants to live in urban areas yet work in suburban office parks.

 

[James]

Haha I knew people would be curious about my bike commute...I'm pretty sure I'm like the only person who does this route. I bike straight up Yonge...Bathurst and Bayview are too far out of the way for me, and taking the Don Trail would almost double my distance each way.

Biking northbound in the morning is the hardest part due to the hills, and the setup at Yonge/401. It's very difficult to switch lanes right here when cars are trying to speed onto the 401 westbound, while I'm moving pretty slowly after just having conquered Hoggs Hollow. There there's this point where I have two lanes of 401 eastbound entering Yonge, and I need to get into the right lane.

Southbound is a lot easier since the route is downhill at the 401 merge points, so I can do 50km/h and keep up with traffic. On Friday I was able to get from Finch to Bloor in 31 minutes, which is a new record for me. Hoping to be able to do the trip in under 30 minutes as I get more fit!

Hoggs Hollow used to be very difficult for me, but it's getting easier and easier as I bike this route more. Other hills are nothing for me, now that I conquer Hoggs Hollow twice everyday.

Usually takes me 70-75 mins depending on the traffic. I live in Toronto and travel to 'Sauga for work. I considered moving closer to work, but I love living in Toronto, and 'sauga isn't a city I want to live in.

You are definitely not alone! Ditto the other comments here, I would choose living where I want to live over living where I work...without a doubt.

 

[James]

Anecdotally, I find this very common, especially among 20s & 30s single professionals. People want to live in the city yet need to commute out the 905 for work.

Anecdotally, amongst my friends and I, who are in their 30's, married with kids, there still is a group of us who choose to live in the city. Some of us work in the 905, others work in the 416, and some work from home (not fair for this discussion!).

From our group, most who work in the tried and true downtown core, i.e. central business district (CBD), commute via public transit. Others who work in the city but outside of the CBD, predominantly drive and brave the city traffic to get from one part of town to another. The ones who work in the 905 tend to say that the worst part of their commute is just getting from their house onto the highway!

 

[Jonny5]

95% of the time it's about exactly 1 hour total door to door time. I usually leave at about 6:50am

I live just south of Mississauga Road and Dundas Street. Clarkson is my closest GO station, only a few minutes away, but I have a ride to Oakville GO each day, which I prefer over Clarkson anyway. I take the train that runs express to Union from there, walk up to King Street, and arrive at about 7:50 AM.

My old commute was a 30 minute walk from Dundas and Parliament to the financial district. I am indifferent between the two. My current commute is more expensive, but I feel my quality of commute is sufficiently higher to offset this. I admit the drop in excercise has added a few inches to my waist. I still need to figure out that part!

 

[nfitz]

I admit the drop in excercise has added a few inches to my waist. I still need to figure out that part!

Ah, that would be the same few inches I noticed when I bought a car, rather than sharing with my partner.

The solution ultimately was buying a Metropass, as the TTC commute was always faster if I walked 10 minutes here and there, rather than waiting for a bus. My current commute isn't as opportunistic for exercise, but TTC streetcar service is sporadic enough, and I'm impatient enough, that I still get some reasonable walking in each week!

 

[the lemur]

Biking northbound in the morning is the hardest part due to the hills, and the setup at Yonge/401. It's very difficult to switch lanes right here when cars are trying to speed onto the 401 westbound, while I'm moving pretty slowly after just having conquered Hoggs Hollow.

Are you ever tempted to bypass that intersection on the way up by taking Mill St and Old Yonge to the pedestrian underpass under the 401?

 

[TOareaFan]

You are definitely not alone! Ditto the other comments here, I would choose living where I want to live over living where I work...without a doubt.

It is funny, however, that the young folks who live in the city but commute to the 905 (and just watching the traffic on the other side of the street as I commute I can confirm this has been a huge growing trend in the last 10 - 15 years) never (nor should they) be told "move closer to work".....whereas some of us who make the opposite choice (live in the 905 and commute into the city) have been hearing it for a long time with some regularity.