Speed of Transit to Work

A while ago, I wrote about how long it took me to take public transit to work compared to driving. Since then, Clipper cards (the payment method for transit in the Bay Area) have rolled out their 2.0 upgrade, which makes inter-agency transfers significantly cheaper, or even free. On the other hand, the bridge toll for driving has increased every year. Let's compare this again, with an interesting twist. On the ride to work, the weather was clear and sunny. On the ride home, it was raining. How much does poor weather conditions affect a commute in the Bay Area? You're about to find out.

Timetables

Thanks to our heavily-measured society, I know exactly the dates and timestamps of when I got on and got off at various different transfer points using the Clipper website (or app.)

To Work

In the morning, the weather was clear.

Agency	Line	Entry	Exit	Duration	Cost
GGT	101	6:37AM	6:56AM	0:19	\$1.80
GGT	580X	6:56AM	7:24AM	0:28	\$0.00
BART	Red	7:30AM	7:44AM	0:14	\$0.00

Not included: Walking time from home to bus stop or free Berkeley Lab shuttle from BART station to work.

• Total moving time: 1:01
• Total waiting time: 0:06
• Total travel time: 1:07

I estimate a walking time of around 10 minutes, a waiting time of around 5 minutes, and an additional travel time of 10 minutes for the shuttle, making my total travel time around 1:30 and my total cost \$1.80.

To Home

In the afternoon, it started raining.

Agency	Line	Entry	Exit	Duration	Cost
BART	Red	4:15PM	4:35PM	0:20	\$2.55
GGT	580	4:38PM	5:31PM	0:53	\$3.15
SMART	NB	5:34PM	6:03PM	0:29	\$0.15

Not included: Free Berkeley Lab shuttle to BART station from work or walking time from bus stop to home.

• Total moving time: 1:42
• Total waiting time: 0:06
• Total travel time: 1:48

I estimate the same walking, waiting, and additional travel time as before, increasing my total travel time to around 2 hours and 10 minutes, and a cost of \$5.85.

Weather Comparison

The poor weather increased BART times by 42% and 580 times by 89%! Although, that might not be a fair comparison, because in the morning I took the 580X which is the express line, but caught the regular one on the way home. As for the 101, I didn't even try to ride that home because of the awful traffic, and opted to pay the extra \$0.15 to ride the SMART train instead. Although, I think even that train was experiencing delays.

The increase in times for the bus is expected, but I am really disappointed by the increase in travel time on BART. There is no "traffic" that it has to pass by, and it is probably one of the most expensive methods of travel per unit distance in the bay area, and it continues to increase. Maybe they could call it "Bay Area Raising Taxes"?

For example, the 580 from end-to-end travels around 13.5 miles, and without discounts, it costs \$6.00, which is a cost-per-mile of \$0.44/mi. The segment of BART I take travels 5.5 miles, and without discounts, it costs \$2.55, which is over \$0.46/mi. It's not a huge difference, but based on what you get out of it, the 580 is a much better deal. Plus, with the Clipper 2.0 discounts, it's free for me.

Personal Vehicle Comparison

As promised, let's revisit the comparison between bay area transit and driving a personal vehicle. The Richmond-San Rafael bridge toll has recently increased to \$8.50. With a one-way distance of 30 miles, I drive 60 miles per day. Based on an average vehicle operating cost of about \$0.25 per mile, my gas + wear-and-tear cost is an additional \$15.00. That means, in total, each two-way trip costs \$23.50. Compare that to the two-way transit cost of only \$7.65 (or \$7.50 without SMART!) However, the monetary cost isn't everything. I also pay with my time on transit. Whereas I could drive one-way in about 45 minutes, adding in 5 minutes of "shuffle" time (going to the car, finding parking, etc.) my total travel time is only 50 minutes compared to the hour-and-a-half I spend taking transit on a clear day. That means, I save \$16.00 but "pay" 40 minutes when I take transit.