Either doesn't know non-car options or just lazy

[shootingstar]

Tell me that I'm a judgemental jerk or maybe I should have said something:

Co-worker in our team tells me that he didn't attend a key meeting with an internal client ...because his truck broke down.
This meeting is long overdue. He had LOTS of time in work schedule because he (plus myself), and over 1,000 employees have been working from home for the past 2 months. I know, as well as other employees I've spoken with, we have some chunks of non-productive time, because we just can't do certain work things since it can only be done at our office building which is off-limits because the electrical and mechanical systems are being completely being replaced. (After a major river flood damage, that hit some international news.)

When he told me this, I said nothing. But it didn't feel right. I know our employer doesn't deliberately choose work buildings in hidden, inaccessible areas of the city.

So, later out of curiosity I checked the address of this aborted meeting.

There was a transit bus that went straight to this building. (In fact, his client is the transit authority!) Also a major bike route runs behind building, which I've cycle several times per month to my favourite Middle Eastern bakery. But I didn't know that building was one of ours. (Our employer owns over 30 buildings across the city.)


I'm not impressed. And no, our employer would not pay for a taxi cab ride. We have a small fleet of communal cars to sign out but not every dept. thinks of it/uses it.


Are intelligent car drivers that wedded to their habits? Same co-worker thinks I'm nuts for having a car-free lifestyle and not knowing every corner of the city. (Why would I want to? I think there are some ugly, boring parts not worth visiting...)

[OakLeaf]

And if you taco'ed a wheel on the way to a meeting?

Was he on the bus route that went to the transit center, when his truck broke down? Or would he have had to transfer one or more times, making him impossibly late in any case? Did it break down in a way and in a place that he could safely leave it where it was and hop on a bus?

[Blueberry]

People who aren't used to thinking of alternative transportation don't think of it/know how to use it. He might not *have* a bike. Depending on when/where his truck broke down, who knows whether the bus was a viable option. Or whether he knew about it. Or.... He probably feels about the bus schedule the same way you feel about the ugly, boring parts of the city that aren't, in your opinion, worth visiting.

I applaud those who use alternative transit every day. I am someone who has, for the next year, given up on it for a lot of reasons (including some very personal). I get a bit frustrated at what I perceive as reverse judgment by those who use alternative transit against those who don't. Where I live, there is a significant time cost to taking the bus (rail is but a dream). Not everyone can make that work. Not everyone has made past lifestyle choices (including living arrangements) that make that feasible. Once you've made certain choices, it's hard to "dig yourself out of that hole" (kids, home ownership, etc. - thankfully those do not apply to me). My DH bikes to work; I can't bike to school. If we moved near school it would be the reverse. There is no in the middle that would work for both because of our urban planning.

In sum: more constructive help; less judgment please

PS - I don't mean for my to come off as harsh. It's partly due to personal friends making judgments about my commute. Believe me, I've tried. I've gotten creative. There's no good way. If there were, I and the 20 people I've talked to about it would have found it. But people still judge.

[Skippyak]

If he was doing a kidney transplant, maybe, dull meeting of little consequence? Not so much. Co workers habits that really don't affect you shouldn't really take up your brain space, if you were his boss, sure.

[shootingstar]

Truck broke down day before meeting. His wife used their 1 car which is probably how he got to work site building, where he and I met.
He had several hrs. in the morning to get to his meeting.... You have to understand displaced employees (I'm one of them), working from home during the post-flood temp. situation have LOTS of time this summer to do work (more slowly) and unfettered by restrictions of typical work day being at an office building. It's not a great work productivity situation but it's not the worst either. (Imagine if we didn't have computers at all and Citrix.)

He lives near LRT line. But yes, he drives to work which is his mode of travel. Our LRT accepts bikes during non-peak hrs. Beautiful sunny summer day yesterday. Unlike our very cold winter days.

Yup he has a bike. He occasionally goes into the trails in a valley park area (which has City's bike paths) a few km. from home.

No children (therefore no demands on personal schedule comparable to parent), he is athletic (avid water kite-boarder, regular squash, x-skiing in mountains...and indoor bike spinning classes which is great. I know he appreciates my effort to be healthy.)

Dearie thinks it was better I kept my mouth shut from suggesting anything to him, Blueberry.

*Our city had a major river flood in late June this year. Sinkholes in some roads while some bridges collapsed and some river parks gouged, homes were flooded. Some neighbourhoods were closed off because of major construction garbage. Did it change people's choice of transportation, even temporarily? No, most people, I doubt it.

[shootingstar]

I guess I am *****.

He is someone who makes ado about others, or something else...but sometimes it's him that just delays project progress. Other work situations. In the end I feel sorry for the transit authority, the client.

No, he actually hates road cyclists. They get in his way on the road.

I'm just puzzled why he didn't even consider transit. All feasible. He doesn't live on a farm. In the city.

[PamNY]

Is there something in the culture where you live that might make him afraid he would be judged for using a bike or public transportation? I am often stunned by the things you post - you seem very worried about how people will react to your cycling, wearing cycling attire, etc.

Also, whether he has children has nothing to do with anything. His personal life is not your business.

Whether you should have said anything -- does he report to you? Or was your work/life negatively impacted by his absence to an extent that would justify your commenting?

[PamNY]

You haven't given enough detail for anyone to make an intelligent comment -- just glancing at your post I would assume you don't know much about using public transportation. When and where did his truck break down? Is the bus accessible from his departure point?

After living through 9/11 and hurricane Sandy, I am very familiar with the disruptions that occur after a disaster. After Sandy, when we didn't have power, I used my Xootr -- much more feasible to carry up and down the stairs from my 26th floor apartment than a bicycle. But I didn't berate cyclists (or anyone) for not having the foresight to buy a scooter.

Why do you care what anyone thinks of your car-free lifestyle? This sounds like a personal issue between you and your co-worker rather than a legitimate question about transportation.