noglider 

The word commute means to travel back and forth. It doesn't have to be to one's place of main occupation.

DX-MAN

Commuting can be defined as riding a bicycle from point A to point B, at which point you are doing something that returns compensation. Locally, there is a small fee paid for jury duty, and my employer CLAIMS to make up the difference between that and your normal pay. So, I'D say it DOES qualify as a commute.

Liesesturm, please note the mental image I am 'projecting'. . .that of a raised fist that seems to have a "pillar" in the center. . . . . . . . . Joey, I STILL wouldn't live where you live, bud! But goodonya for dealing with it.

CommuteCommando

Due to the length of my commute (65 miles) I am dependent on public transit. Having used many modes in different locations, I have found some to be worse than others. My primary is heavy commuter rail. Between Los Angeles and San Diego your choices are Amtrak, or two local systems; Metrolink from Downtown LA to points North, East, West, and South as far as Oceanside-my home station-and The Coaster from Oceanside to Downtown SD.

The Metrolink/Coaster costs about half what Amtrak does but is a little slower, or a lot slower depending on if the trains connect. There is no coordination between the transit agencies on this for some really BS political reasons, so it is coincidence if you will get a timely connection. Checking schedules is crucial.

The buses and light rail these connect to go from so-so San Diego Trolley, LA Metro Red Line to horrible NCTD Sprinter (Light Rail from Oceanside to Escondido) and LA Metro buses.

I rarely ride the buses and light rail unless really pressed for time. The worst thing about the SD Trolley is the overbearing, under trained rent-a-cop security. The NCTD Sprinter security is as bad, and are especially hostile towards bikes. They also patrol the Metrolink station and have been given grief on more than one occasion.

I could go on, but I'll stop now.

acidfast7

I agree. However, when one looks at the definition of commuter in most Germanic languages the word commuter has the same root as pendulum strongly suggesting two relatively fixed locations.

I noticed this first in Stockholm with its "pendeltåg" or commuter train.

I find it interesting that English elects to use a different Latin based word that most other languages. I find English to be less precise as time goes on, however, I do find it much more flexible

Leisesturm

I'll go you one better and allow that a "commute" might not even involve payment at point B. So, we've established that the o.p. has a valid commute. That was never my main point. I am capable of subtelty but in that post I was fairly direct. Too bad you can't be likewise. I hven't any freaking idea of what "mental image" you are projecting.

When I think of cities with top flight mass transit systems, New Orleans never, ever, made the short list. I stand by my earlier observations.

H

acidfast7

The pace of NOLA is too slow for effective mass transit. I love NOLA but mass transit would never work there.

noglider 

acidfast, yes English is less precise and more flexible than other languages. Very long story about that. It's basically a cultural difference.

acidfast7

actually, I find that as my German gets much better, my English has gone into the toilet. I use so many transliterations it's ridiculous

alhedges

No, it's not. Languages vary in detail, but it's simply not the case to say that one language is more or less flexible or precise than another. There's nothing you can say in German that you can't say in German or French, for example. Languages do have different strategies to communicate, but the result is the same.

Leisesturm

I'm not a linguist, but I suspect you are right... when comparing German and/or French, but lets get ridiculous... what about Mandarin? Tagalog? Inuit? Swahili? I overhear fluent speakers of s number of non-european languages dropping in English words here and there in their conversations, especially when they are on cell phones. Obviously, both ends of the conversation have been exposed to enough English to 'need' specific English words for which their natal tongue has no equivalent. Frequently, at that.

H

JoeyBike

I love this place.

Where else can we go from the short-falling of mass transit in New Orleans to Inuit linguistics in less than two pages?

As Spock would say..."Fastinating"

acidfast7

they're directly related, seems intuitive to me.

Medic Zero

Never heard of elevated trains I guess.

acidfast7

I didn't see elevated trains when I was in New Orleans. Perhaps now would be the correct time to integrate some mass transit into the city's infrastructure.

JoeyBike

No elevated trains. Been under considerstion for thirty years. Not one thing done. Just talk.

acidfast7

don't get me wrong ... i loved NOLA ... especially away from the french quarter ... but it's not a place where mass transit would work.

CommuteCommando

Mass transit works best in older cities where the population density is higher. Take a bus, for example. Two paralell lines would have to pass x-potential riders per mile to make economic sense. A city like San Francisco, or New York would serve that number by running lines two or three blocks apart. In Los Angeles, serving the same ridership requires bus lines run a mile or more apart. Walking further to take a bus encourages more private car ownership, reducing ridership, and revenues for the bus system. I have ridden public transit in San Francisco, and in LA. It is actually a good way to get around in SF. In LA it is horrible, unless you are a tourist and take the high-profile Red Line to downtown.