How Whitepagers Get To Work (Part 2)

Stay Updated Life At Whitepages May 8, 2017

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How Whitepagers Get To Work (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of a two-part series exploring how employees at Whitepages get to the office, with contributions from employees in both our Seattle and New York offices.

May is Washington’s Bike Everywhere Month. We are honoring the occasion by learning more about the different ways our employees commute!


Last week we met Whitepagers who bike to work in Part 1 of our Commute Blog. In addition to our “Biker Gang,” our employees use various other methods for their commute. They walk, take the bus, the light rail, the train, or even the monorail to get to Whitepages.

Walk!

Kathleen Moore, a Software Developer, and Rebecca Coenning, a Reliability Engineer, “rely” on their own two feet and walk to work. Why not, with springtime views like these?

Kathleen enjoys listening to podcasts during her 30-minute walk: “I find walking to work to be a relaxing start to my day. It gives me a chance to be outside and relax before getting busy at work.”

Rebecca’s walk takes about 25 minutes. “I feel, it’s the perfect distance. It’s long enough to feel like you’ve gotten some exercise but not so long that it feels arduous. Currently, all the cherry blossoms are in bloom around Seattle and I was walking down my street on my way to work, it was one of those weird spring days when it was raining and sunny at the same time and slightly windy. I was walking under the cherry blossoms as they were falling around me and it just felt really serene.”


Bus!

Lucky and Luna – Trevor’s alarm clocks.

 

Trevor Power is a Risk Partnership Manager at Whitepages. He wakes up early (at the urging of his two dogs) and catches the bus along with his wife. “My wife and I wake up bright and early at 6 am to our two crazy puppies, Lucky and Luna. We then head down our cul-de-sac to catch the bus to Seattle for a ~30-minute ride to our offices. We take another bus ride home in the evening that usually takes longer with the increasing traffic in Seattle. We pass our time reading (I enjoy poker books) and laughing at funny memes.”


Link Light Rail!

The Link Light Rail is awesome!

Our Seattle office is fortunate to have the Link Light Rail nearby. Brandon Dilbeck who works in Customer Analytics takes advantage of our employee commuter discount. “I leave the office, ride Link into South Seattle, and then it’s a short walk home. Because it is so convenient, frequent, and affordable (thanks to the Whitepages subsidy), it is easy for me to treat the stops along the way as an extension of my own neighborhood. It is great being more connected to the city!”


Sounder Train!

Conor Garside, a Recruiting Coordinator enjoys the beautiful views while taking the Sounder North Line train from Mukilteo to downtown Seattle. “Depending on the time of year, you’ll see different things, but some things remain constant, like the seals. From the island cabin’s lights in Winter to the sunrise highlighting the snowy tops of the Olympic Mountains in Fall and Spring, whether it’s rain or shine, foggy or clear, it is never a disappointment…I spend almost two hours of every work day on the train and the ride never ceases to cause me to look up from whatever I’m doing to appreciate the place where I live.”


Monorail!

Happy commuter on the Seattle Monorail!

Chris Hales, a Sales Engineer, sometimes utilizes a Seattle tourist favorite: the Monorail. “When I am feeling lazy or I do not want to test my rain jacket, the monorail is a great way to get to and from work. Of course, if you do not live in the Lower Queen Anne area of Seattle or work outside of the general area of the South Station it is just a tourist attraction. Though for a few of us, it’s the perfect commute.” Chris also gives a shout out to the locally famous Lead Cashier, Jayme, who greets the regulars as well as the tourists daily. “He greets most commuters each morning with their name and a smile warming up the experience.”


Long Island Rail Road!

At our New York office, Tom Maddock, a Sales & Licensing Data Executive for Whitepages Pro shares his adventures taking the Long Island Rail Road from the Manhattan suburbs:

“Driving is no longer a real option with traffic, tolls, and parking up to $40 per day, so I take the Long Island Rail Road. If I take the express train which I do most of the time, it is a 48-minute train ride and another 15-minute walk to the office, or a 5-minute additional subway ride if the weather is bad.”

New York’s MTA Long Island Rail Road

“Today, the train ride is much more comfortable with new and faster trains. I have Wi-Fi access so I can catch up on email, HipChat or scanning the news with Spotify on in the background. It is really a way of life in NYC and we have all grown accustomed to it. Half of the people on my neighborhood block take the train in the morning, so there is always a friendly face.”

Like most major cities, there are often transit delays for some reason or another. “Taking the train is a convenient option but it is hilariously unpredictable. If trains are late or delayed at night, you can find me in Tracks Raw Bar & Grill where I will undoubtedly run into someone I know for a pint of beer and some oysters! I can also get out to Citifield in less than 20 minutes to watch my beloved NY Mets. I am excited for the upcoming summer weeknight games!”


Welcome to NYC’s Flatiron District!

Subway!

Amardeep Hansra, who works in Financial Services and Katie Krueger, the New York Office Manager, both take the Q line from Brooklyn to the office in Manhattan. “The best part of the ride is coming out of the tunnel and getting a gorgeous view of the Brooklyn Bridge with the Statue of Liberty in the distance,” notes Katie. The Q goes express to Union Square, where they have to people-dodge customers at the enticing Farmers Market three days a week, but then it’s just a short walk into New York’s Flatiron District.

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As mentioned in Part 1 of our Commute Blog, Whitepages fully supports employees in the quest for the reduction of commuter traffic, through subsidizing the Seattle-based ORCA card or reimbursing New York employees for their MetroCard or train passes. Many grateful employees take advantage of this generous benefit.
And it’s better for the environment, too!

However our employees get to the office, they arrive ready and willing to work hard, continuing our mission to utilize DATA FOR GOOD.