Growing up in Beijing, I spent a lot of time on the road.
As soon as I had my parents’ permission when I was in elementary school, I would walk or take a bus to school and home, which was about 20 minutes every time. In middle school, I would take the subway and then bus and then walk back home, which took about 50 minutes in total every day. On the road, I spent the time reflecting about myself, looking at the surrounding people, and observing the passing-by environment.
One time, when I was like 10 years old, my mom took me to somewhere near the Tian’anmen Square and we took a bus back. I begged her to take a taxi so we could get back home faster, but she refused. On the bus, I looked out the window. I saw the never-ending red wall of the Forbidden City, crowded visitors busy taking pictures, and trained soldiers on their sentry duty. I was thinking, why do people like traveling? You’d spent endless time on the road, looking at a brand new cityscape which you don’t really know much. Sure, it could be cool. But it could also be kind of boring.
Another time, during my teenage years, when I was enjoying watching my shows in an air-conditioned room, my parents forced me to take a walk with them, in a 100 degree Fahrenheit summer. Walking on the riverwalk that I had walked thousands of times before, everything got boring. My knee also felt painful and my feet were burning because of the friction. I was wondering, why do people like walking?
I was upset, I wish I could teleport, so I can watch my favorite TV shows /finish my homework / eating some favorite food instead of staring out of the window / walking in pain / running out of things to think about in my head.
Now that I’ve been living in a college town for 4 years, there are several things I found out about commuting. They came with experience/age.
First, commuting can be annoying. When I had a lot of assignments to complete, I really wished I didn’t have to budget 15 minutes to walk to class. I spent countless time sprinting to my 9am class. Yes, as a spoiled student, 9am was early for me. I hated the bad weather, especially the chills, the snow, and the wind. The school should build an underground tunnel, I thought.
Second, commuting can be soothing. When I had tons of work to do, I enjoyed the 5 minutes walk down the main quad. I saw different people with different facial expressions. I especially liked looking for squirrels and watching them hunting for food. There is something about nature that is attractive to human, my boyfriend Ethan commented.
The conclusion here is, it all depends on the weather. Transportation is a derived demand during bad weather, when you just want to be in a warm place drinking hot chocolate. But let us not forget that transportation is a perfect gift for busy workers on a good day. It is something that is a part of your daily routine which your boss cannot take away from you.
It is also a passive form of exercise. It was really easy for me to gain weight living in the medium-size college town. I was really confused why even when I ate the same, worked out the same (maybe a little bit less), my weight would stay the same. Ah ha, because I was not walking as much. In Beijing, it was easy for me to walk 10,000 steps a day. According to my experience living not far away from campus, which I really enjoyed, 5,000 steps would be rare, even though I usually walk and bike to classes. During quarantine, less than 1,000 steps a day is not an exaggeration. Hmm, passive commuting experience as a way to boost residents’ health is what planners and urban designers can force upon people … even though people are not doing it voluntarily. But, think about it, if you were given a choice, to walk or not to walk, without any immediate penalty, what would you choose? I choose not working out at all 100% if I could. People undertake painstaking tasks not because they naturally want to, but because they are making early investments for the greater outcome in the future. Not everyone is always looking out for the future though.
One can argue that, during long and uncomfortable bus, train, plane rides, they just want to be at the destination already. Well, then I would say that the service provider should upgrade their services instead – make the ride more comfortable rather than faster. If I must go on a meeting to another city, I don’t want to be there right away. I want to take the forced transportation time to connect with my surroundings and take a little break.
在北京长大的我，有很多时间在路上。
小学时期，爸爸妈妈一准许，我就走路或坐公车上学，路程大概要20分钟。中学时期，我会地铁转公交再走路，需要50分钟。我经常用在路上的时间来反思自己，不经意地看周围的路人，还有路途的风景。
有一次，我大概10岁吧，妈妈带我去天安门附近，乘公交车回家。我想要打车，但妈妈不同意。在公车上，我看着长长的红色围墙，拍照的旅客，还有敬业站岗的士兵。我当时在想，为什么人们会喜欢旅游呢？旅游要花费那么多时间在路上，看着其实并不怎么了解的城市人文风景。是的，旅游听起来很酷，但也有点无聊哦。
又一次，在我少年看剧时，爸妈把我从空调房拽出门在35度的热天里在河边走步。这个河边是我每天去地铁站都要经过的地方，走多了，景色也禁不住看了。我的膝盖有点疼，脚底也快要磨出水泡。我又在想，谁会喜欢走步呢？
我有点郁闷，我真希望我可以瞬间移动，这样我就可以马上去做我想做的事情了。现在我在大学城里生活了4年有余，我对通勤产生了新的认识。这些认知是随着年龄阅历来的。
首先，通勤还是可以很恼人。当我有很多作业要做的时候，我很希望我不用预支15分钟去走去上课。无数次，我都得冲向我的9点早课。是的，对于我这个被惯坏的大学生来说，9点是很早的。我痛恨坏天气，特别是寒冷、下雪、刮风的天气。我经常打趣，学校应该建一个地下通道。
其次，通勤也可以很安抚我的心情。当我有很多事情要做时，我享受在学校的院子里走的那5分钟。我可以见到挂着不同表情的人们。我还可以看到觅食的松鼠。人们总是对自然着迷，我的男朋友评价道。
我在这里的结论是，通勤好不好，受天气影响很大。天气坏时，通勤是派生需求，因为人们只想在暖和的地方喝热巧克力。但我们也不要忘记，通勤在好天气时是个难得的礼物，你的老板也剥夺不了你通勤时不劳动的权利。
通勤也是个被动的运动方式。我发现我在大学城生活时很容易增长体重，即便其他生活习惯变化不大。原来这是因为我通勤运动减少了。在北京，每天走上万步是再正常不过的事情。在大学里，每天5000步都不是很多。在隔离期间，即使我每天做家务，都经常走不到1000步。这种被动的通勤是可以被规划师用作提高全民健身的工具的。虽然这种运动不是个人主动选择去做的。但是，如果你有这个选择，在没有即刻惩罚的情况下，你会去走路运动吗？我会100%选择不运动，因为其他诱惑很多。人们选择去做往往枯燥但对长远有好处的事情，不是因为他们本能地想做。当然有人比较自律，但不是所有人。
有些朋友也可以反对，如果交通公司能缩短通勤时间是最好不过的事情了，这样人们就不用受不舒服的旅途折磨。我觉得这样的话，交通公司最好去提高他们的服务水平，让人们在旅途更加舒适。如果我要去另一个城市开会，我不想一睁眼一闭眼就到那里了。我想用这个派生需求的时间来感受一下周围，也休息一下。