Part of making the choice to live and work in separate
cities is committing to the weekly commute. San Francisco has
consistently landed on the top-five lists for the worst traffic and commute,
and the stories of hour plus drives to and from work is a very real
occurrence. As the young kids like to say, the struggle is
real.
The average morning drive in the bay area can range
anywhere from 40 minutes to over an hour and a half each way. With hiking
commutes, people have begun exploring different forms of transportation trying
to alleviate the costs. From local tube transports to hybrid vehicles,
San Francisco has been a front runner for commuter convenience.
Known for its illustrious BART system, San Francisco’s
tube takes you from one end of the bay to the other at the cost of a cup of
coffee. In addition The Ferry services, offered from Vallejo, Oakland and
Larkspur, Sausalito, he San Francisco Ferry Building, Fisherman’s Warf
and even AT&T Park for the occasional Giants games give you ample
opportunity to arrive to work fairly stress free, having been able to avoid
sitting in hours long traffic.
Not a fan of the public transportation options? I can
understand that, I love my car just as much as the next. In fact, being a
Los Angeles transplant, I grew up knowing nothing about public
transportation. Cars were all we knew. So then how about looking
into a hybrid vehicle?
When driving three hours a day in traffic, gas millage
and vehicle wear and tear become major concerns. Having the available hybrid or
eco system, allows you to conserve gas when needed. On average, you can
actually save from upwards of $500+ dollars per year, but the cost of the
vehicle can be slightly higher than standard engine vehicles. Also if you do
your homework, certain green vehicles let you drive in the HOV lanes on
highways. That can definitely help save some time on your drives home,
and depending on the actual gas cost savings, hybrids could be a great choice for
most!
Now if you are anything like me, I love the idea of the
hybrid, I am just not a fan of how they look. Thankfully in this day and
age, hybrid vehicles have jumped on the sexy car bandwagon. Following
suit of the likes of Tesla, Lexus has taken the hybrid engine and placed it
inside some of its most popular models including the CT200t and the
NX200t. The CT is a nice sporty hatchback, reminiscent of the Honda Civic
Hatchback, but with that much needed very sexy upgrade that includes leather
seats, Navigation, and push start engines. The NX is a smaller SUV that
also provides the ECO/Hybrid engine with a luxury upgrade. Leather seats,
surround sound, streaming Pandora and XM radio, and USB ports come standard,
making this vehicle ideal for long road trips or even that long drive into the
city.
Now, the self-driven vehicles are still a very new
concept, however with Google, Audi and Tesla breaking ground on these cars the
concerns regarding safety are currently in discussions. Although testing
has shown that no more accidents have occurred than in stander drivers, the
self-driven vehicles are still very much in trial phases. We might have
to wait a few more years before we can let our cars take the wheel.
For more information on hybrid vehicles or to shop for
one of your own, check out the link below!
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