For the last couple of weeks my commute has degenerated into pure HELL. Please forgive the overly long details.
I drive the new Mrs Stuffin to work from Oakland to Union City then backtrack to San Leandro to my job, and repeat the process in reverse on the way home. There are several reasons for this, Mrs. Stuffin likes to put in a few extra hours a day, so going early works for her. We also can leave Intrepid at home and drive the more gas friendly/cheaper insured Escort. Besides it’s a good time to talk for us as we have the Kool Aid House.
This whole commute used to take 50 minutes (roughly 30 miles). We’d leave Oakland at 6:40 and I’d arrive at work no later than 7:30. Now it’s taking closer to 90 minutes. This morning it was 1hr 15 minutes. We’ve been leaving earlier and earlier to make it at the same time.
I think the Bay Area is turning into LA North. Anybody else’s commute time expanding?
My commute time’s pretty consistent at 50 minutes (I have a 42 mile drive), but I keep Computer Programmer’s Hours – I leave home at around 10 AM and leave work at around 7:30 PM.
I do wish they’d get around to adding that third lane to Highway 101 between Morgan Hill and Highway 85, though.
I have to agree, the 880 has gotten worse in the last couple of months. I live in Alameda (get on at Broadway) and commute down to San Mateo. I started this job in June. I also work programmer hours (well for me it’s QA but…) and it took me about 35 minutes to get there and 45 minutes to get home. Now I’m averaging 60 to 75 minutes there and 60 minutes home, and I don’t leave until 8:00 lately. I know construction on the 92 is part of the problem, but that random slowdown at the 238 is making me insane.
My wife does the Oakland-to-Palo Alto run, and she attributes this recent deterioration (for her, about a month) to the influx of students, since we have Cal on one end and Stanford on the other, with both starting school now…