There isn’t any for a lot of us. No public buses, trains, subways etc.
My drive to work takes 25-30 minutes each way- in this time there are no stop lights, and just one busy road to cross. I think it would take about 3 hours to walk.
Sadly, I don’t have six hours a day to devote to walking. I bet I’d be in great shape if I walked 120 miles a week, though!
Walking takes about 45 minutes, while taking the bus is about 30 minutes (and 50 cents) each way. Driving (well, actually parking) is too expensive to contemplate on a graduate student stipend.
I walk when the weather allows it. That means I walk from late September to mid-May, but the summer is too miserably hot and humid so I take the bus.
25 minute bus ride, 45 minute subway ride, 10-15 minutes of walking (this can get as high as 25 if the snow is particularly bad in winter - Toronto is not so much on the snow removal thing). Add in about 20-30 minutes leeway in case of public transit emergency (which happens with distressing regularity here). Twice a day, five days a week. I spend roughly four hours a day in transit or getting to work 30 minutes early.
We’re looking at moving someplace closer to either a: my office, or b: the subway line, which would at least eliminate the bus portion of the trip.
Id say around 20mins of windshield time. I could probably walk it if I really really wanted but I prefer to get those few extra minutes in bed!
It’s about a 10 or so minute drive or a 20 minute bus ride. The walk home is probably about 25 minutes, but there tends to be lots of stopping along the way. I never seriously consider walking to work (I’m not very focused in the morning), and I haven’t tried biking there yet.
My previous job was about 1/2 hour drive each way, about 75 minute bike ride, and I’d need to schedule 2 hours for the bus each way when I took it. (Plus, until March, the gas spent driving was cheaper than the bus, even with a bus pass.) Walking was out of the question.
Depending on traffic and time of day, I can drive to work in about 2 minutes. (Depends if I hit the stoplight, if I can make a right on red, and how long I have to wait for oncoming traffic to turn left.)
Walking: 5 to 10 minutes, again depending on how fast I want to walk and if I’m stuck waiting for the walk signal. One more reason I have an iPod.
Now, even if I wanted to drive every day, it wouldn’t make sense since I’d have to buy a parking pass and fight for a spot, probably winding up so far away from my building that I’d still have to walk 10 minutes or more. So I only drive to work after 4:30 and on weekends.
Walking to work takes me 45 minutes, door to door.
Catching the bus or the train (I have both options) takes about 20 minutes, door to door. But it can vary too, depending on traffic, problems with the trains etc.
drive: 10-15 min each way
walk: unknown and going to stay unknown
I’m halfway remembering an episode of Car Talk where the boys said that modern cars don’t need the warmup the way older ones had. Could be mixing it up with other things, though. Either way, I’m driving.
55 mins of windshield time on a good drive TO work.
80 mins of windshield time on a mediocre drive back home.
My carbon footprint is sasquatchian. 
On the upside, I drive a scion which means that A.) I’m not using as much gas as I could be and B.) I have a REALLY BIG windshield to stare at.
My walk is about 35 minutes each way. I don’t have a car, but it’s a very short drive as there’s no real rush hour here.
25 miles in. 25 miles back home again.
About 35 minutes in the early morning (I leave at 6 am)
And up to 45 minutes coming home. A little more ‘traffic’.
About half of it is two lane mountain highway with switchbacks. Then a small resort town and a few stop lights. Then more 2 lane highway (with it widening to 4 in a few portions) into the town that I work.
In the morning, going into work I could count the cars that come from the other direction. And it never gets backed up. I may have an idiot behind me trying to speed on occasion, but it is pretty rare.
Coming home in summer, I may have to wait through a traffic light for a few cycles, but that’s because of all the road construction.
Driving into work and driving home is actually a nice calm part of my day that I have to myself.
10.5 miles driving, 15 minutes.
11 miles walking, probably, what, three hours?
Bus: at least two hours. This is one messed up town.
I think I need to get a bike. I could probably do the walking route in, what, 45 minutes?
Until a couple months ago:
Five minutes on foot to the bus stop. 10 minute ride directly to work.
Then, thanks to high gas prices, the bus system had to cut routes (even during a record breaking year for ridership) to meet a $3M shortfall, and my route was one of those eliminated.
So now it’s 10 minutes to a stop, 5 minute ride, and another 10 minute walk. Which I can live with for now. Unfortunately the place outside where I work isn’t a good place to be walking around alone after dark, and once it gets toward winter, that won’t be a good option.
So it looks like I’m going to own a car for the first time in my life (I’m 34.) Bleah.
I have a car and a free bus pass, but I choose to walk.
One hour. Each way. Seven miles total.
People find it either amazing or ridiculous when I tell them this, but to be honest it’s really relaxing and something that has made my life better. It helps that I get to walk through nice historic neighborhoods where the same friendly people walk their dogs in the mornings, and there’s no dangerous traffic or scary people to avoid. I get to take in all the trees, showcase gardens, squirrels and the cats trying to kill them, and experience all the sundry weather. I walk when its sweltering (like the 105-degree day we had to today). I even walk when it’s raining, because that’s why they make umbrellas. It was great watching the winter give over to spring and then change to summer. The humidity sucks; I come into work with a glistening face quite often and I frequently have to shower as soon as I get home. But I’m awake and alert when I get to work, which I would otherwise not be, and by the time 5:30 rolls around, I’m ready to do it all over again. I actually get sad when my schedule prevents me from walking.
The pros are that I’m getting good exercise. Two hours of aerobic activity are nothing to sneeze at, and my toned legs are a testiment to this. My office is full of overweight people, and I could see myself turning into one of them if I wasn’t walking. Additionally, I’ve found some good music to keep me entertained. I’m also saving a lot of money not driving and parking downtown (where I work). The only downsides are that I have to do laundry more frequently (because of all the sweating) and I don’t get as much couch potato time. But couch-potatoing isn’t a good thing to do anyway, so that’s really a pro.
Driving - an average of 45 minutes each way, but it depends strongly on time of day and traffic. It can be half an hour easily. I try to look at the on-line traffic maps before I leave for home, since I have alternate routes.
Walking would be impossible. Public transit might be theoretically possible, but it would require several buses and light rail, and would easily take a few hours to do. If for some reason I couldn’t drive, I’d work from home.
Well, if we’re going to start including winter conditions, my longest walk home shoots up from 10 minutes to more like 45 minutes, if there’s a good blizzard going.
I have a 30 minute walk to work. It’s probably my favorite part of the day.
Instead of thinking of it as a lost hour, think of it one reclaimed. It’s the best thinking time. It’s a great time to catch up on podcasts or listen to language learning tapes (many libraries offer them free- check it out!) and audiobooks or just plain music. It’s good for your health- people in cities with the most walking are in the best shape. It’s good for your soul to get outside and get some fresh air now and then. You get to know your surroundings, feel in touch with the seasons, and reconnect to the world outside of the work-play-sleep cycle.
Maybe this is in some ways a gift. Try convincing yourself to enjoy it.
5 minute walk, then 26 minute train ride, then 15 minute walk. Reverse on the way home. (I love] my iPod.)
Walking isn’t an option; it’s 12.5 miles from home to work, and my bad ankle wouldn’t hold up walking that far, even if the time issues (and weather issues for much of the year) didn’t make it totally unrealistic.
Driving time would actually be a bit longer, with rush-hour traffic. And I’d get to work a stressed-out wreck. If I drive to work 4 or 5 times a year, it’s a lot, and only when I have to go somewhere directly after work (like out of town) that requires a car.
I love public transportation.
Twenty minute walk, four on a bike. Only slightly less than four if you drive, once you find a place to park on the other end.
I have to brag a bit. It’s about 40 feet to get from my front door to my business. Then, I drive 14 miles on a designated ‘Scenic Byway’ through red rock canyons to the boat launch. I launch my boat on the Colorado River and paddle down stream a mile to the job site. Do I win? 