Regular commuters: What are your current plans and preferences after lockdown?

[whole diary]

[Robin Summerhill]

Even if not ‘eligible’ to vote, it’s good to hear how those who didn’t do a full week in the office before are likely to change their habits, so please give a description of your plans as ellendune has done.

Once we get back to normal, or new normal, I intend to return to my previous habits of going somewhere at least two or three times a month. These are usually always day trips from Chippenham or on my way to airports or similar for onward travel.

It is I suppose difficult to define what normal or new normal may be, but my decisions will be based on criteria like these:

No or limited government restrictions on travel
A daily infection rate that I would feel comfortable with (under 50 in 100,000)
Face masks not compulsory
A  train service that was back to normal enough to make travelling at my choice of time possble

I am also hoping that I will be able to have the 14-day all line rover that I planned to have last year.

[Sixty3Closure]

Pre-lockdown I was in the office 4 days a week with one day WFH^▸ (Working From Home). This was travelling into central London from Thames Valley. This was partly through choice but also to keep in touch with the rest of the team who tended not to have the flexibility I had.

After lockdown my ambition is to work remotely from rural Wales going to a office a couple of days each month. My work is likely to change to cover England rather than just London which may mean racking up more miles but less of the daily commute. It makes my basing myself outside of the south-east more sensible.

[MVR S&T]

My rail 'commute' was pre lock down, 3 or four times a week to visit a pub or three, at weekends usually somewhere like Weymouth, Southampton, Basingstoke (yes there were some good pubs) or Reading, durning the week, from my local station, Hinton Admiral, to either Christchurch or New Milton, then walk back. was a shame I couldnt use my network railcard for those trips, despite usually having the coach of a 5 car train to myself!
In the ihe future probably half the amount of trips I think, as going to one of my local brewerys and DFH. Which I have got used to, better than sitting on a cold Basingstoke platform on a winter evening.

[TaplowGreen]

1 day a week for me, very occasionally two...already pretty much confirmed......seems to be the way the wind is blowing...............https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56198750

[rower40]

Working from home(WFH^▸ (Working From Home)) saves me having to iron 5 shirts a week.  But I miss my train trip (7 mins each way).


Edit: VickiS - Clarifying abbreviation

[IndustryInsider]

After lockdown my ambition is to work remotely from rural Wales going to a office a couple of days each month. My work is likely to change to cover England rather than just London which may mean racking up more miles but less of the daily commute. It makes my basing myself outside of the south-east more sensible.

Is anybody else considering that needing to commute much less often might mean being able to live in a nicer and/or cheaper home further away from their offices?

[Lee]

After lockdown my ambition is to work remotely from rural Wales going to a office a couple of days each month. My work is likely to change to cover England rather than just London which may mean racking up more miles but less of the daily commute. It makes my basing myself outside of the south-east more sensible.

Is anybody else considering that needing to commute much less often might mean being able to live in a nicer and/or cheaper home further away from their offices?

I already do, but in a somewhat more extreme way than you are envisaging in your question, I would imagine!

[IndustryInsider]

I already do, but in a somewhat more extreme way than you are envisaging in your question, I would imagine!

Perhaps, Lee.  Though I think what would have been considered 'extreme' might soon be considered as fairly normal.  I used to know someone reasonably high up in a well known company who lived in the Shetlands If I remember correctly (IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly)) and commuted down, by air to Edinburgh then usually an onward flight or occasionally a train, from there to London for a couple of days a week staying overnight in a hotel.  I used to think he was mad.


Edit: VickiS - Clarifying acronym

[eightonedee]

Is anybody else considering that needing to commute much less often might mean being able to live in a nicer and/or cheaper home further away from their offices?

Maybe, but many of those places are in National Parks, Areas of natural beauty (AONB^▸ (Areas Of Natural Beauty)) etc where there is a shortage of housing and strict planning policies against building many more. The "natives" will not be keen on changing this to accommodate commuters fleeing the south east and the commuter suburbs and satellite towns of our other large metropolitan areas.

Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[Sixty3Closure]

Is anybody else considering that needing to commute much less often might mean being able to live in a nicer and/or cheaper home further away from their offices?

Maybe, but many of those places are in National Parks, AONBs^▸ (Areas Of Natural Beauty) etc where there is a shortage of housing and strict planning policies against building many more. The "natives" will not be keen on changing this to accommodate commuters fleeing the south east and the commuter suburbs and satellite towns of our other large metropolitan areas.

When I was looking for my new home - I'm near a national park but not in it - that was one of the things I did think about. However, talking to many estate agents and sounding them out about the whole second home thing (which it would be for a while) they didn't seem that concerned. And yes I know they were trying to sell me a house

Couple of reasons - I was looking at old properties in the middle of nowhere, with land and within a certain price range. None of the locals wanted to live in the countryside or manage land (if 4 acres counts as land) and if they did they didn't want an old converted farm house with no broadband, mains water, gas or sewage. Rightly or wrongly I was also looking in a price range well outside the average for the area although to me very cheap/good value. The locals have been incredibly welcoming and accept that you need incomers to keep the small towns and villages alive as the young people head to the big cities.

My circumstance are probably not quite the same as everyone moving out of the south east but I suspect far from unique.

[grahame]

BUMP! .... Just a day to go in this poll - which provides an indicator - a small one, but in an area that "the powers that be" are not ovwewhelmed with data - as to what people's commuting habits might be in "the new normal". If you haven't voted and you previously commuted to work, please vote!

[IndustryInsider]

Thank you Graham.  If we can make it to 30 respondents that gives a small but reasonable sample.  Sadly, a few of our regular commuters and posters, such as NickB from Maidenhead, haven’t logged in since they stopped commuting in the first lockdown, so we’re not going to capture the views of everyone.

It looks like the results of our little survey will paint a very mixed picture with businesses still expecting to take very different approaches.  That echoes the findings of this article from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56319623

In summary you have Beyond Petroleum (BP^» (Beyond Petroleum (Former name - British Petroleum) - home page)) expecting a three day commuting week, Phoenix Group keen to keep their staff at home for the time being at least, with Goldman Sachs very against continuing working from home (WFH^▸ (Working From Home)) longer than necessary. 

Others are still sitting on the fence.  It will be fascinating to see on which side they get off.


Edit: VickiS - Clarifying abbreviation and acronym

[grahame]

Thank you Graham.  If we can make it to ...

It is already significant though a few more votes will certainly reduce the margin of error and width of the possible outcome "spray".

COME ON members - 105 of you have been logged in during the last 24 hours alone and the "turnout" for this poll so far measured against that is in line with an election such as that for a Police and Crime Commissioner; we'll never get it up to the MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) level, but how about Parish Council turnout?? Please vote.

[rogerpatenall]

Retired, and not relevant to me.

When I was living on Alderney part time there was quite a circle of British Airways (BA^» (British Airways - about)) flight and cabin crew staff living there. Then I moved to the Cotentin in Northern France, again part time and behold - another circle of BA long haul staff in the area. Many using their own light aircraft for the commute from both Alderney and Cherbourg.

Before the lockdown, the closest to a rail commute was in alternate months a trip from Greenwich to Rochester to meet a friend for lunch, and, in the other month a trip from Valognes to Paris - just because we could. How I miss both trips.


Edit: VickiS Clarifying abbreviation

[GBM]

My regular commute to/from work is by own car.
Nearest rail station to me is 11 miles away.
Early start; late finishes precludes any form of public transport for my commute.