Phew! You guys really spend a lot of time in traffic!

It currently takes me about 5 minutes by car plus 5 minutes searching for parking (I keep promising myself I would go on foot from tomorrow - 20-25 min ). In Zagreb it is usually quicker to go by car than public transport, unless the endpoint is the strict city center, but my commute was never longer than 45 minutes, even by public transport. Then again, Zagreb has barely 1M people, and I never lived in the suburbs.

When I worked in Vienna or Paris it was either the same or the train/tube/tram/bus were quicker. For example, in Paris it took from the flat near Trocadero to the customer in Saint-Denis (near the Stade de France) some 15 min walk plus 30 min by Metro. Once or twice when I was being given a lift it was more than an hour...

Ride my bike to work (~10 miles each way): 32 minutes going to work; 40 minutes to ride from work. (Downhill vs uphill commute)

Cost to bike: ~10 cents per round trip (maintenance on the bike)
Benefits: an hour and 12 minutes of empeg time. An exhilarating, energizing experience.

Driving my car to work: 17 minutes each way. (the ShoWagon goes up hill as fast as it goes downhill) .

Cost to drive: ~$5.00 per round trip. (gallon of gasoline + 10 cents a mile for tires, depreciation, wear and tear etc.)
Benefits: A very powerful listening experience. A smooth, comfortable, no-effort ride.

There are pros and cons to each scenario. In general, I bike to work whenever I can, usually about four days a week. There are difficulties, however... my bike commuting route takes me through an army base (Fort Wainwright) and they keep tightening their security policies, making it more and more difficult to gain access. They don't allow bicycles at all when there is snow on the ground. And the riding season is relatively short. It's been said that Alaska has four seasons like everywhere else, but ours are June, July, August, and Winter.

tanstaafl.

I bike to work occasionally: 20 miles each way; 1:10 in, 1:20 home on a good day, 5 minutes more if I'm dragging (or there's a bad headwind off the Potomac). It's about 45 minutes in and home during rush hour by car. No empeg in either my car or my bike. It stays at home, and I listen at work via VPN.

I love to bike, but our nanny gets cranky if I'm more than a little late (she has a 16 year old at home herself) so I can only do it 1 day a week. Sigh.

-jk

I have a 10 minute walk to work

I live in Garrett Park - a small town near Kensington - and work at the northern edge of Old Town. When I bike, I use the sidewalk of Connecticut Ave to the Capital Crescent and Mt Vernon trails, crossing at the Key bridge. (My wife works on capitol hill, but I almost never actually get into the District except when I'm biking.)

When I drive, I come over the Legion Bridge and down the GW. In August or during off-peak hours, it's about a 30 minute drive each way.

-jk