Cologne, 2016

A walkable bridge with trains and the skyline in the background! That was a regular feature of my evening walks in the summer of 2016 at Köln, Germany. This was on the Hohenzollern bridge across the Rhein River, which all the trains, to and from the city, would cross. My daily commute to the plant would begin in the Hauptbahnhof (Main station) right after this bridge. The red-liveried DB regional train would curve into the station, “Heute circa, funf minute spater”! (~5 mins late). I did not mind the delay, as it meant I did not have to sprint up the stairs, after my usual, late start. Once in the train, it would be a calming ride, which commenced amidst the densely packed apartment complexes of the city center and gradually flattened out to the open fields of countryside Germany.

Some of my American colleagues were surprised that I opted out of the rental car option from the company in favor of slogging it out on public transport. But this was just the break I needed from my mundane car-commutes. I would sit back, relax and enjoy the 35-min journey, piloted by a qualified operator on a controlled network. Some days I would chat with friends from work and on others, I would simply stare out of the window and contemplate life; or just doze off, knowing that I had a full-time designated driver. The point was, I could do whatever I wanted. My arms weren’t bound to a steering wheel with my eyes fixated on the road ahead. I could do something more productive, like reading. Of course, that didn’t that mean I did that! Thanks to Europe’s weirdly stingy cellular plans for foreigners, I never had enough data. The days that I had some, I would judiciously use all of it, to scroll through Instagram for weekend travel ideas (on trains across Europe).  If only there was a non-electronic reading medium! Anyway, the takeaway was that this was a great way to commute. And just like that, a little seed was sown in my mind! The roots to that sapling were further consolidated in Japan in 2020, where my commutes included Shinkansen rides.

Boston, Present Day

After a few a more years of driving on the same route, followed by a dramatic drop to walking from my bedroom to living room during lockdown, the commuting tree has finally come to fruition. Here I am now in Beantown, commuting on the “T”. After the Longfellow bridge, we enter the tunnel that takes us through downtown Boston. With nothing to look at outside, the phone pops out again. Here is my moment of truth. I have cellular data. I have some time left in the commute. “Let’s do this!” I open the news app and begin reading – Recession, war in Ukraine, politics in India, gun-violence in the US… That’s enough for this millennial! I need a distraction. My thumb swiftly taps on that pinkish app, leading to a plethora of 30-sec memetic clips, called “Reels”. I keep scrolling mindlessly, until I reach my stop, thus fulfilling my morning entertainment quota. My commute ends with a short walk to the office and I am now ready to earn that bread!

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a few thoughts

As of February 2023, I was car-free for a whole year. At one point, it was hard to imagine ever having that life in the US. Do I love it? Yes, for the most part! Commuting, in conjunction with Boston’s dense, ultra-walkable environment, has improved my health vitals. I can set out on spontaneous plane-spotting or sunset-catching ventures, without ever thinking about parking. I also have a slightly better tolerance for snow, now that I don’t have to worry about cleaning and skidding. No more worrying about maintenance or check-engine lights. Then, there is the carbon footprint aspect too. I am no environmental activist, but I can’t be harming mother nature with this decision! And of course, I am on a train every day – My beloved mode of transportation, which has become a part of my external identity.

So, is this my ‘happily ever after’ in commuting?