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If large corporations or governments were actually trying to reduce hydrocarbon dependence they would bend over backward to promote work from home.

6Eye6Ear6Nose 4y ago
They will eventually but they still have a lot of legwork to do before their 15 minute city plan (needed for long term climate lockdowns) can be implemented.
Mountain_Skies 4y ago
For about two decades I was a big-time transit advocate. Did lots of organizing and protests, in addition to working with our local transit agency to improve their service to the public. Work from home was always one of our "commute alternatives" that we promoted but once the pandemic started and a significant number of information workers started working from home, my fellow transit advocates turned strongly against the concept of remote work. Turns out many of they were never really for remote work but simply gave it lip service because it was so uncommon and could be used to bash commuting in a car. Now they're quite open about hating work from home because their agenda was never about reducing vehicle emissions, it was about creating more transit that they desired since they don't want to own vehicles themselves. If people can work from home, that takes cars off the road, but it also reduces the need for public transportation. The latter is what they were truly after, not the former. There's also a smaller group who want public transit to dominate because they see it as a form of egalitarianism. If lots of well-paid people can work from home, they're not forced to sit next to people different than them on the bus and train each day. It becomes easier for them to stop caring about the issues that urban areas face when they stop going to urban areas to work. This is also part of the reason why they get so angry about private bus services bringing workers into the city. Workers on those buses aren't forced to "sit with their fellow man" nor do they have reason to support increased funding for public bus services when their employer has a private bus that provides a superior service (at least for commuting).
- hinkley 4y ago
  > If lots of well-paid people can work from home, they're not forced to sit next to people different than them on the bus and train each day. This is why I always use the cashier at businesses instead of the machine. I’m fully convinced that cashiers are the only “low” people that some people deal with all day and we lose something as a society if they go away.
- ghaff 4y ago
  Although it's been creeping back up [1] transit use still seems to be down relative to pre-COVID. The stats aside that's pretty much my anecdotal observation as well. Rush hour traffic seems to be as bad as ever. But commuter trains that were packed by the end of the line pre-pandemic aren't especially crowded at all. Subway usage feels lighter as well. [1] https://www.osc.state.ny.us/reports/osdc/impact-covid-19-pandemic-subway-ridership-new-york-city https://www.osc.state.ny.us/reports/osdc/impact-covid-19-pan...
hinkley 4y ago
I don’t know if they still do, but Boeing used to have a deal with the state where if they allowed employees to work from any office of their choosing they’d get a break on taxes. In Seattle, Boeing employees are the beginning of rush hour. They like to work 7-3 and so the highways fill up just before the school day starts/ends. So getting even a few thousand people to avoid cross town traffic is huge.

6Eye6Ear6Nose 4y ago

They will eventually but they still have a lot of legwork to do before their 15 minute city plan (needed for long term climate lockdowns) can be implemented.

Mountain_Skies 4y ago

For about two decades I was a big-time transit advocate. Did lots of organizing and protests, in addition to working with our local transit agency to improve their service to the public. Work from home was always one of our "commute alternatives" that we promoted but once the pandemic started and a significant number of information workers started working from home, my fellow transit advocates turned strongly against the concept of remote work. Turns out many of they were never really for remote work but simply gave it lip service because it was so uncommon and could be used to bash commuting in a car. Now they're quite open about hating work from home because their agenda was never about reducing vehicle emissions, it was about creating more transit that they desired since they don't want to own vehicles themselves. If people can work from home, that takes cars off the road, but it also reduces the need for public transportation. The latter is what they were truly after, not the former. There's also a smaller group who want public transit to dominate because they see it as a form of egalitarianism. If lots of well-paid people can work from home, they're not forced to sit next to people different than them on the bus and train each day. It becomes easier for them to stop caring about the issues that urban areas face when they stop going to urban areas to work. This is also part of the reason why they get so angry about private bus services bringing workers into the city. Workers on those buses aren't forced to "sit with their fellow man" nor do they have reason to support increased funding for public bus services when their employer has a private bus that provides a superior service (at least for commuting).

hinkley 4y ago
> If lots of well-paid people can work from home, they're not forced to sit next to people different than them on the bus and train each day. This is why I always use the cashier at businesses instead of the machine. I’m fully convinced that cashiers are the only “low” people that some people deal with all day and we lose something as a society if they go away.
ghaff 4y ago
Although it's been creeping back up [1] transit use still seems to be down relative to pre-COVID. The stats aside that's pretty much my anecdotal observation as well. Rush hour traffic seems to be as bad as ever. But commuter trains that were packed by the end of the line pre-pandemic aren't especially crowded at all. Subway usage feels lighter as well. [1] https://www.osc.state.ny.us/reports/osdc/impact-covid-19-pandemic-subway-ridership-new-york-city https://www.osc.state.ny.us/reports/osdc/impact-covid-19-pan...

hinkley 4y ago

I don’t know if they still do, but Boeing used to have a deal with the state where if they allowed employees to work from any office of their choosing they’d get a break on taxes. In Seattle, Boeing employees are the beginning of rush hour. They like to work 7-3 and so the highways fill up just before the school day starts/ends. So getting even a few thousand people to avoid cross town traffic is huge.