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@evan I think it depends on the type of public transit. I could see it being pretty intrusive if I were super close to a train or metro where noise or people would be an issue, but 5 minutes is pretty nice to be near a bus stop, especially in the colder weather.
Hey, all. Thanks for the responses. I was thinking about this topic while in Dublin; the apartment I was in for the week was about 100m from the DART line, and we could see the trains going back and forth from the balcony.
My house in Montreal is about 250m from a Metro station, and the Orange Line runs deep underground beneath our house.
I think proximity to a train line or bus route is really convenient. It's also intrusive. You get more foot traffic than if you were further from a hub. You might literally have thousands of people looking in your bedroom window from their passing train every day.
@evan My bedroom window is over 30 meters above the ground; good luck looking into it from a passing bus.
That is, vertical distance also matters, even though it adds a minute at most to the travel time. It also affects noise (higher = less noise), ventilation, lighting, and so on.
@evan someone should invent "curtains"
There are other factors. Here in Montreal, when it's -25C, the difference between a 5-minute walk to the Metro and a 15-minute walk is pretty significant.
![Birdhouse in Your [Redacted]](https://mediacdn.aus.social/accounts/avatars/109/299/873/808/002/836/original/e3f4136099a90a1c.jpeg "Birdhouse in Your [Redacted]")
@evan My nearest bus stop is a five minute walk away. The bus goes once a day one weekdays. Twice on a Thursday.
Nearest train station is 2.5 hours.
@evan
Why would anyone say living more than an hour from public transport would be best?
Anyone but a complete cynic, that is.
@toothpaste_sandwich some people like living in remote places, like on a farm or in the woods.
You have places that are more than 5 minutes walk from public transport ????
(or are you talking about rural areas/the wilderness ?)
@lienrag those would be good examples of places more than 60 min walk from public transportation, yes.
@evan depends on how much i live in a city. if i live in the country, my expectations change. but i'll answer as though I'm in a city
@joshbuddy which do you prefer and why?
@evan between cities and the country? i've lived in a few big cities, since having kids, i think i'm a little more into being out of the city tbh. if i live in a city, i want to live near a streetcar line or a subway. in the country i'm more tolerant of it taking longer to get to public transit.
but i would detest living in a place where i can only ever rely on cars. most rural places in north america you don't have transit. so far i'm pleased to find europe has better transit out of the city.
@evan I feel like 5 minutes would be the sweet spot for me. I live just over 10 minutes from a train station and that’s juuust enough to create a bit of friction in the “should I drive or should I take transit” decision.
@evan I think 10-15 minutes should be the longest distance to the closest public transit. Not that you should have all of them at that distance, would be fantastic but it's not realistic.
@evan 5/10 minutes to walk or 15 minutes to bike
@Ramonsta72 that's interesting! Can you explain?
@evan bike is nice and I find 15-minute by bike is easier than walk
A 5-minute walk to the tram to get to the next village or small town.
Or 15-minute by bike to the train station to quickly continue your journey by regio-train
@evan I live about 5 minutes walk to the nearest bus stop, 10 from a hub and 20 to the main train station. Buses and trains run every day. I can't understate (or overstate?) how useful this is.
@chillicampari @evan Approximately same times for me. Bus service into city for main hub and rail mostly every 30mins during the day. Most significant benefit is being of an age that qualifies for free public transport across the entire network on the island of Ireland.
@chillicampari @evan I also live in such a place.
This must be very common ;)
@evan It would be good for someone to live atleast a 5 minute walk distance from the main public transit, but here people settle to close
@evan Didn't have a chance to answer before the poll ended, but I'm in the "about 15 min" group, closer to 10 to be precise. I think it's perfect for what you mentioned: getting close to my 10 000 daily steps (including walk at work destination), having many services on my way to the subway station, or a few minutes extra walking distance. Price of transportation is not an issue - enjoying free transit in Montréal (because of my age) is an additional incentive!