Commuting & transportation system congestion - is it necessary?

[rogson]

I don't think so in the age of the modern communications.

How many commute to (and from) work every weekday at the same time to sit at a computer and communicate with fellow commuters (be they co-workers or outsiders)? Plenty, I imagine.

Why not communicate with them using their computer at home linked through a broadband connection?

Because they need to have face-to-face meetings with their co-workers or visitors I hear them say? So, arrange to meet with them out of commute hours and travel accordingy, so spreading the load on the transportation system more efficiently.


Or, because they need the social interaction with co-workers? Firstly, they need to be careful not to tell the boss they spend company time BSing with co-workers - but suely they can also arrange to meet them for coffee or lunch, etc., again avoiding travel during the busy times.

Or, they can't work at home - too many distractions? OK, go to a local (around the corner) satellite/serviced office (sort of an internet cafe for business people).

Or, how the boss know they are working if they are not in the office where he can see them? If the criterion for getting paid is to be present in the office - why are they employed in the first place?

Surely there are better solutions to the commute/congestion problem than spending billions of dollars (in roads, public transport systems, fuel, pollution, etc) in order to move people around when the information that people exchange that underpins the economy can be moved around for virtually nothing!

Wouldn't the ultimate benefit be greater freedom of choice and movement than we have today - and therefore a higher standard of living?

[Blairos]

Good post

My Employer is in the City, I am in Manurewa - I have Broadband, and have been working remotely up to 4 days a week sometimes, for nearly the last year. My Employer even subsidises my Internet as an official policy, however, I choose not to accept this.

They even jokingly call my place the "Hamilton North Office"

The reason is, I am more productive, get less interruptions, and do not have to face the mayhem that is the AKL Motorway each morning at rush hour. It gives back up to 2.5 hours a day in won-back productivity.

If I need to see my customers etc, I do so between 10am and 2pm - it works!

Email and phone are pretty good, but there are times where you need to be face to face (ie Performance reviews ), seriously - it does help to know your workmates, and this is a little hard to do over a phone line...

As long as my productivity is enhanced or maintained, then my impression is they do not have an issue with my work practice.

There is, exceptions to every rule, so I tend to take a flexible approach to everything, and they in return...

On the subject of Social interaction, this is important and necessary, but I am there to work, thats what they pay me to do - and I get more of that done in the most part, by doing what I do...

Another bonus is being able to drop tools at lunchtime and do an uninterrupted ride out in the rural parts near where I live, and then get back refreshed, and ready to knock the afternoon over.

[mdb]

I work from home reasonably regularly and have through my past several jobs. This was always a great way to get stuff done and be able to enjoy a bit more time at home. Unfortunately a 3 year son now makes working from home not very productive .... Maybe I need an office!

[Motu]

Yeah,I'm all for it! You could just forward all the details of your bike or car,take a photo,and I'll issue a WoF over the internet,and send a sticker you can print on your printer.I'm pretty sure we can overcome some very minor glitches,and then I can change your oil and filter,machine your rotors and fits some new disc pads....all without leaving home and commuting 85km into the city.Bring it on!

[James Deuce]

When the last baby boomer dies this will be a goer. Until the attitudes that govern current corporate culture have died out, jobs that require no physical interaction with a product or person will still need to be serviced by wage slaves that congregate in one place so management types can terrorise them. The wage slaves less productive, and feel embittered about the lack of control over their own destiny, but they are powerless in the face of the pointy haired manager who must see everyone at their desk at 8:30am, and leave said desk at 8:30pm. With no overtime or breaks.

[justsomeguy]

I used to work from home. Loved it.

Got up 1 minute before I needed to log in to work

But the work wasn't too challenging, so had to move on.

Current job doesn't allow such luxuries.

P.S: Any evening you're in Pakuranga you're welcome to drop in for a snack. Thanks for all your help with the blown engine. Never had a total stranger be so helpful - Check your rep for my contact details.

[Swoop]

Has anyone else noticed that during the school holidays the traffic is much less?

Solution: Ban education!
The gubbinment would support this. An uneducated population would be able to be manipulated far easier...

My 2c+gst.

[The_Dover]

nah, just make the little fuckers walk to school. They don't all need mummy dropping them off in the remuera tractor.

[ManDownUnder]

Yeah,I'm all for it! You could just forward all the details of your bike or car,take a photo,and I'll issue a WoF over the internet,and send a sticker you can print on your printer.I'm pretty sure we can overcome some very minor glitches,and then I can change your oil and filter,machine your rotors and fits some new disc pads....all without leaving home and commuting 85km into the city.Bring it on!

SWEET... pics attached...

[Blairos]

nah, just make the little fuckers walk to school. They don't all need mummy dropping them off in the remuera tractor.

Completely agree with this... Roads outside schools are more congested than the motorway at "Drop-off" and "Pickup" times

[Ixion]

Yeah,I'm all for it! You could just forward all the details of your bike or car,take a photo,and I'll issue a WoF over the internet,and send a sticker you can print on your printer.I'm pretty sure we can overcome some very minor glitches,and then I can change your oil and filter,machine your rotors and fits some new disc pads....all without leaving home and commuting 85km into the city.Bring it on!

Actually when I was working in the diesel service industry a few years back, Robert Bosch were working on a scheme whereby they would do diagnostics and repair remotely from Germany.

Thing was , modern fuel and ignition systems are so complex that it's getting really hard for them to train enough experts around the world.

So their idea was you took your car into the local servo, they hooked it up to a PC, and Bosch in Germany connected to the in car compueter systems and did whatever needed doing. Obviously couldn't do the physical part swap, but once the servo knows what part to swap out, that's usually trivial.

Dunno if it ever came to anything , I moved on at that point, but the idea is perfectly feasible.

[kickingzebra]

I'm all for working remotely. See when I work at work, it takes me hours to do anything, yet when I do it at home, it is done in minutes. in many respects an office building is actually an expensive white elephant, fulfilling no real function. I can do everything needed with drawings on the computer, stuffing envelopes etc can also be done whereever, and keeping up with most of the work our contracts require is also probably best done at home.

Someone once said a man should have 8 hours a day to sleep, 8 hours to work, and 8 hours for himself... I want 16... haha

(where does one fit KB time in there?)

[Swoop]

Completely agree with this... Roads outside schools are more congested than the motorway at "Drop-off" and "Pickup" times

And people wonder why there are so many fat kids today......

[Biff]

I worked from home for a period of around 2 years some time ago. Initially I found it great - nice new office furniture and PC widgets (printers, fax, scanner etc), walking down the hallway to my office (in whatever I chose to wear, or not, that day), nobody wandering past my orifice poking their nose in just to talk shite. But after a while the novelty wore off, I missed the interaction with my colleagues, and the drive to work. The problem was more the psychological issue of being at home for most of the day every day, and not seeing anybody for hours and hours each day. Although I did find I was actually putting in more hours while working from home than I would have had I been in the office. Which is a little weird.

The extra money was great though - saving cash on fuel, plus earning extra cash thanks to allowances for boredband, insurance, electrical costs etc. Nice.

IMO - A nice option to have for those days you want/need to be at home. But I'd hate to work from home full-time again.

[Lou Girardin]

Try working remotely in sales or service industries.
And the way various recent Govts are turning us into a 3rd world economy we will soon all be waiters and shop assistants.