[blindLaw] Commuting from Outside the City

Sun Feb 9 16:19:34 UTC 2020

I prefer taking cabs to the extent I can. In India, I had access to my
own car and driver, but in the West, that costs a bomb, so services
like Uber are the next best option.

I sometimes feel guilty about not braving the public transport system
or going to some places by foot. But, as Laura says, I see that as the
price to be paid to ensure that I am able to get where I need to go
faster and can spend the time so saved more productively, rather than
just doing what the ideal blind person is supposed to do.

Best,
Rahul

On 09/02/2020, James Fetter via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> What Laura said. I frequently feel unsafe or at least uncomfortable
> during my commute, which is on the Baltimore subway system (really just
> one line). But it gets me practically to my building, and my wife is
> able to drop me off at the station, just a two-minute drive or 15-minute
> walk from my place, in the morning. I'm very hesitant to recommend
> relying on paratransit given its notorious unreliability. Alternatively,
> you may have to tolerate a certain, hopefully not too high, level of
> danger. Given where I work, I can't get too worried, unless people start
> being victimized in broad daylight. In other words, if you can live
> somewhere near a bus line where you wouldn't dare go out by yourself
> after dark but you're fine during normal business hours, that might be a
> trade-off worth considering. It is very unfortunate that we have to make
> these kinds of trade-offs, while sighted professionals simply drive and
> complain about traffic. But I don't see a way around it at this point.
>
>
> On 2/9/2020 7:55 AM, Laura Wolk via BlindLaw wrote:
>> I also take ride shares every day. And I get a lot of grief for this
>> sometimes from other blind people because I both live and work in DC. But
>> the fact of the matter is that I can drive to work in eight minutes and
>> the walk plus metro ride is somewhere closer to 25 to 30. And there’s a
>> whole lot more that I’d like to do with those 40 minutes every day then be
>> stuck in the metro and subject to the added stress of people grabbing and
>> pulling and pushing me around. I don’t make a lot of money either, and I
>> definitely hear you on the budgeting aspect. But it all depends on what is
>> more important to you.
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On Feb 9, 2020, at 7:12 AM, Kelby Carlson via BlindLaw
>>> <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Given the salary I'll be making and the expense of ridesharing (even at
>>> short distances Uber can often cost $6-8) using a service like to get to
>>> and from work isn't feasible at all. The place I'll be has paratransit
>>> services, so I'll have to see if those are reliable enough to use
>>> consistently or not.
>>>
>>>> On Feb 8, 2020, at 11:35 PM, Deepa Goraya via BlindLaw
>>>> <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I would recommend either using rideshare services like Uber and Lyft or
>>>> hiring a driver. I hired a driver when I used to intern in downtown Los
>>>> Angeles and had to commute by driving and  there were no rideshare
>>>> services  back then.
>>>>
>>>> Deepinder K. Goraya, ESQ.
>>>>
>>>> Sent From My iPhone
>>>>
>>>>>> On Feb 8, 2020, at 10:14 PM, Angie Matney via BlindLaw
>>>>>> <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>> I personally use rideshares every day. I live close to a metro
>>>>> station, but for various reasons (including that I like to bill while I
>>>>> am commuting) this works best for me.
>>>>>
>>>>> In some areas there are driving services. You might check into the
>>>>> feasibility of hiring a service like this for one or both directions of
>>>>> your commute.
>>>>>
>>>>> I used to live where I could walk to work, and I do miss that. Hoefully
>>>>> you'll find a solution that works for you.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Feb 8, 2020, at 10:16 AM, James Fetter via BlindLaw
>>>>>>> <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>>> Unfortunately, until automated cars are a reality and not perpetually
>>>>>> "five years away," there are no alternatives aside, of course, from
>>>>>> having a partner who drives. You may just have to tolerate a long
>>>>>> commute or put your safety at risk. From my perspective, the former is
>>>>>> much preferable to the latter. Depending on salary and whether the
>>>>>> employer reimburses for transportation under any circumstances, taking
>>>>>> an Uber either all the way in or at least to a bus stop is an option.
>>>>>> What city are you moving to?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On 2/6/2020 8:53 PM, Kelby Carlson via BlindLaw wrote:
>>>>>>> All,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> This is not a specifically law-related question, but a question about
>>>>>>> commuting to a legal job. At the moment we are living in a small town
>>>>>>> where I can walk to work, but soon I will be working in a larger
>>>>>>> city. We were hoping to find housing in an area where I could either
>>>>>>> walk or take a short bus ride, but the areas where that is possible
>>>>>>> are not safe. Unfortunately farther out it is very difficult to find
>>>>>>> anything that connects to a bus line and provides for a reasonable
>>>>>>> commute time. Are there other alternatives people have found in
>>>>>>> situations like these? Buses are by and large the only option—there
>>>>>>> is paratransit, but its timing is likely not reliable enough that
>>>>>>> commuting exclusively with it would work.
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> BlindLaw mailing list
>>>>>>> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>>>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>>>>> BlindLaw:
>>>>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/jtfetter%40yahoo.com
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> BlindLaw mailing list
>>>>>> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
>>>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>>>> BlindLaw:
>>>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/angie.matney%40gmail.com
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> BlindLaw mailing list
>>>>> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
>>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>>> BlindLaw:
>>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/deepa.goraya%40gmail.com
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> BlindLaw mailing list
>>>> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>> BlindLaw:
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/kelbycarlson%40gmail.com
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> BlindLaw mailing list
>>> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> BlindLaw:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/laura.wolk%40gmail.com
>> _______________________________________________
>> BlindLaw mailing list
>> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> BlindLaw:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/jtfetter%40yahoo.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> BlindLaw mailing list
> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> BlindLaw:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/rahul.bajaj1038%40gmail.com
>

-- 
--
Rahul Bajaj
Candidate for the MPhil in Law
Rhodes Scholar (India and Linacre 2018)
University of Oxford