Hello, friends,
I hope you have a tasty beverage and a comfortable chair, because this is going to be a doozy.
Background: I work at a university located 20 miles, one way, away from my home. I do have a good boss who gives me the flexibility to work from home when I don't have meetings scheduled, which is about two to three times per week. The other days, I need to be in the office for meeting and other face-to-face reasons. I've been driving my car into town and parking a block away from the office. My parking space costs $60/month, which is half the price of what a university-owned space or a space in the garage below my building would cost me. My car also gets about 30mpg. Driving to the office takes 45 minutes. I do get a free bus pass from the university that allows me to take any county buses for free; I live just over the county line and the closest county bus stop is five miles away. The bus that stops there drops me off four blocks away from my office.
The guy from whom I lease the parking space told me today that the neighbors re-surveyed their property and are putting up a fence that will cut a foot off of my parking space, rendering it unusable. He says I may be able to get another space from him in the same location for the same price, but it's got me wondering if there are other options.
As we know, there are ALWAYS other options, and these are them:
Option 1: Get a university parking space or a space in the garage below the building.
Pros: Close parking to office; flexible scheduling (I could leave whenever I wanted)
Cons: FUCKING EXPENSIVE; have to deal with traffic
Costs: $120+ per month; 45-minute commute one way
Option 2: Continue renting a space from the guy.
Pros: I like the guy (he's been quick to respond when someone's parked in my space, for example, and he's a good landlord); close to office; flexible scheduling
Cons: New space might not even be available; have to deal with traffic
Costs: $60 per month; 45-minute commute one way
Option 3: Drive to the park-n-ride, then get a bus there.
Pros: Park-n-ride is 20 minutes away; free parking is nice; bus ride allows for hobbies
Cons: Bus is occasionally unreliable; bus takes longer to get to town than car does; stuck with bus schedule to some degree
Costs: $0 per month for parking, $0 per month for bus; 1-hour commute one way
Option 4: Have husband drive me to bus stop in the morning before he goes to work and pick me up in the evening.
Pros: Car stays parked all day, so I don't have to drive; bus ride allows for hobbies; bus pass is free
Cons: Bus is occasionally unreliable; construction along the route makes it 10 minutes longer; have to get up with husband and leave house at 6 AM, which is less fun in winter; stuck with bus schedule and husband's schedule
Costs: $0 per month for parking, $0 per month for bus; 1.5-hour commute one way
If it were just a financial consideration, then obviously Option 4 is the way to go, since it's cheapest overall, but like many things that are cheap, it takes the most time. It would really be ideal if I could park close to the nearby bus stop, but there's no park-n-ride there and it seems unlikely that there will be one any time soon. Plus a bridge close to there is under construction, which means a ten-minute detour for the bus.
However, like many things in life, the considerations are not purely financial. There's a time and annoyance factor, too. The bus takes longer. Everything involving the bus takes longer. Sometimes it's not too much longer (about half an hour, in Option 3), but an extra 45 minutes one way is kind of a pain. I don't know if it's prudent to assume that my time has no value, or even that it has a minimal value, if I would just be spending that time enjoying hobbies that I could also enjoy on the bus.
I have a bike and I could theoretically bike to the five-mile bus stop, but I am a giant bike weenie and am not at that point yet. I may be optimizing my life as much as possible, but...no. Not yet.
What do you think is my best option at this point?