How much time do we waste traveling?
Uber here, Uber there, wait in a line here, wait in a line there…
Business travelers value their time more than anything else. From dealing with TSA lines to waiting on late passengers for a bus, there is a ton of time wasted traveling between cities. How much time do we waste? Let’s take a look at four travel options from the Regency Hotel in Austin to the Regency Hotel in Houston.
Flying
Flying is the standard option for most travelers, but it wastes a ton of time. Starting with an early morning Uber, you have to get to the airport about 1.5 hours early to check-in luggage and clear the TSA lines. The Uber itself only takes 10–20 minutes but during rush hour this can easily double in Austin. Only after checking in and getting through TSA can you do some work in a lounge or at the gate for about 30 minutes. The flight itself is quite quick at about 1 hour and you can finish some emails. The final Uber from Houston IAH Airport to the Regency Downtown is about a 25–30 minute Uber. Not counting for airline delays, picking up baggage, etc., the total time elapsed on average is about 3 hours, but only 1.5 hours of this is productive.
Bus
Another option is a bus. Vonlane specifically caters to business travelers and comes with WiFi. They only have one pickup in Austin at the Regency and drop off directly at the Regency in Houston. They have departures a couple of times a day and are quite comfortable. The total travel time is about 3 hours, but if you don’t stay at either of the Regency hotels in Austin or Houston, you will have to Uber to the pickup spot and your final hotel. Although you can be productive the whole time, it takes the longest and you don’t have much privacy.
Driving
Driving yourself is another option but many companies prohibit any productive activities such as phone calls due to safety. This limits productivity since you are focused on the road. The graph also doesn’t account for time that might be spent picking up team members for groups. Driving from the two locations will take 2.5 to 3 hours of mostly unproductive time.
Private Car Service (ElecTrip)
Lastly is a new service called ElecTrip. ElecTrip does Texas city to city travel in Teslas. They are outfitted with WiFi and laptop chargers. They have very flexible pickup and dropoff and can pick up multiple passengers in their vehicles. Total travel time will be 2.5 hours to 3 hours of productive time.
What’s the best option?
It’s clear after evaluating convenience, productivity, and time, that ElecTrip brings the best for professionals on the go. Not only is it door to door, but it also gives you the shortest travel time with the most productivity. Look out for our next article on how these stack up when it comes to cost.
