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Comment by api | Hacker News Reader

Now think about the economic savings in the areas of energy and capital depreciation on cars. The overall economic efficiency boost from this could be unbelievably huge, not to mention the environmental benefits of less routine commuting.

I wouldn't be surprised if this approves economic efficiency by trillions of dollars.

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If only there were some way to transport people that wasn’t cars!

That's the thing, remote working decreases the reliance on cars to some extent and not for everybody. Yes, cars are still used for transportation. In some urban settings public transportation is an option. I live in NYC and never owned a car not only because I rely on public transportation but it's a complete pain in the neck with parking, unwanted tickets and high cost for insurance.

For every one of you, how many people are priced out of living in the city and have to drive to a parking lot to take the train in, or want their kids to have some semblance of a yard so they live in New Jersey and do the same?

It's true and it's their choice of course. If I lived in NJ I'd surely own a car too. Sometimes I wish I had a car, especially on weekends so I and my family can do some outings but it's so expensive and cumbersome in NYC.

Oh, it's impractical to own a car if you live in NYC. There's really no point, unless you make stupid money or have a car fetish, or have some specific reason.

If only there was some way to live near work.

And that's the irony. People living in the city wants people back in office, which will force all of us who were able to move to the country to find a place in the city. It will put even more pressure on the housing market of big city. And then, they'll complain that they can't buy anything and are forced to rent for life.

Yea, if only housing prices were reasonable in any major U.S. metropolitan area right now where tech companies are located.

Do you live in a major metro area? If you do, you should know that the rest of the country was designed for cars. Mass transit in your average US isn't feasible as everything is so spread out. There is no city center. There's no downtown.

Telecommuting is a solution for many situations where a public transport is simply impractical. At my last in-office job we had many people who chose to live in unincorporated areas across state lines and commute 100+km via car to the office. I currently live 400km+ from my job here in the US... 4 hours by car or 14 hours by ground-based public transport.

no matter the transportation mechanism it still takes time. Unless someone can invent a star trek'esque transporter the commute will always suck.

Yeah. Personally, I don't mind working in the office really, what I really want from WFH is the elimination of my commute.

It will take some time work through, but there will also be cost savings on office spaces for companies.

Also, the effect this would have on reducing rent and cost of living.

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