Guilty Commuting

By now, we're getting to be more cognizant of our commuting habits to and from work....but what about to and from meetings?!

I'm lucky to work in a very transit-friendly city (Washington, DC), but sometimes transit is not the easiest solution for commuting to and from meetings.

Last week, I went to a meeting near the White House from our office in Georgetown. I took a cab to get there because I was carrying binders full of paper (GASP - I'd tried to do an electronic submission, but the client was just not quite ready for that). Our partner firm is another big green company, so when it was time to go, I felt like I couldn't possibly take a cab home (hello 7 MPG!).

My options:

• Cab (~$8, 8 minutes)
• Metrorail (~$1.35, 2 minutes on train; 30 minutes walking; unknown wait time)
• Bus ($1.25, 15 minutes on bus; 10 minutes walking; unknown wait time)
• Walking ($0, 35 minutes walking)

Other considerations besides time, direct cost, and carbon footprint included outfit (were my shoes appropriate for a long walk), hourly rate (walking costs my company/project more than a shorter commute), health (walking is good for me, cabs frequently cause car sickness, and there are opportunities for germ sharing on transit), and thermal comfort (have you ever been to DC in late July/early August - hazy, hot, and HUMID).

I ended up walking because I hate riding the bus, and the metro would take nearly as long. I arrived back at work a hot, sweaty mess...but with a carbon-free commute. What would you do?