Driving Commute

[Medic Tim]

I am currently about a mile from my primary base. I would be willing to drive more than an hour for 24 but we don't have 24s anymore .... When in school It was an hour drive each way 4 to 6 days a week for class, clinical, and preceptorship.... While working full time.

 

[Hunter]

Bwwaaahahahahahaha.....got you all beat!

The company I worked for was just bought out by another and the new folks closed my station. Until another one opens, hopefully soon, 85 miles one way, 1.5 hours if no traffic, 2+ hours if traffic. Right now is a 24 hour shift, so it's not bad, but they are talking about going to 12's.

I converted some shifts as a favor, drove 3 hours in each direction, about 180 miles

 

[Clare]

Most people live fairly close to their assigned station; average commute might be 10 to 20 minutes.

We also have what are called a casual pool which is sort of what I am doing at the moment that do not have an assigned roster. Furthest they might have to go is 45 minutes to an hour drive to Warkworth or Waiuku.

 

[NomadicMedic]

I used to live in western Washington and commuted to Yakima. 198 miles from my house to the station. 400 mile round trip. But, we worked 48s, so I only did it once a week.

But still... That sucked.

At my current job Im on float, so I can be assigned to any station. Closest station is less than 10 minutes, furthest is about an hour. (And that's where I am this tour...)

 

[usalsfyre]

Drove close to 100 one way while flying for a 24.

Currently about 20 miles one way...but five days a week..

 

[JPINFV]

For my EMT jobs I've mostly been about 30-35 minutes away. For school, this month I'm about 1.5-2 hours away from my rotation site, but I'm car pooling with another student. However, for most of my rotations I'm about 10 minutes away from the hospital.

 

[Christopher]

What's the farthest you drive/have driven for your EMT job?

Furthest I have to go is ~15 miles (I live on the Western border of my county) either due East or due South.

Usually I go 3 blocks (ALS 3rd service) or 5 miles (ALS fire department).

Longest during clinicals was ~1 hour (40 miles).

 

[Veneficus]

50 minutes at highway speeds for a 24 that often bevame a 48 because of voluntary OT.

I will never commute that far again. Too much uncompensated time.

 

[med51fl]

Currently doing 2 1/2 hour commute each way for a 24 on / 48 off schedule. The drive sucks, but the pay/benefits are excellent.

 

[Handsome Robb]

I drive 10 minutes more like 7 when I get off at 0-dark-thirty as long as the lights aren't being dumb.

 

[adamjh3]

For a 5 weeks I did 275 miles one way each weekend for 3 ~12-hour shifts.
Granted, this was for stand-by work, and the boss paid for a hotel in the area.

Right now my commute ranges from 5 to 100 miles depending on where I pick up work

 

[chillybreeze]

I work at 2 different depts. one is 25 miles away and the other one is 2 miles away. Im full time at the one that is 2 miles away and part time at the one that is 25 miles away. That will be changing after the first of the year and Ill be full time at the both of them. Plus.....I work part time at an RV dealership that is 3 miles away!

 

[JMorin95]

I drive 20-25 minutes depending on the traffic lights.

 

[highglyder]

My communte for my FT job is 16 km (10 mi) and takes me 17 minutes door to door. For my PT job, it's 95 km (59 mi) and takes me about 65 minutes. That's not bad since our cottage is a 15 minutes drive from that station.

The furthest I have ever driven was 350 km (218 mi) over 4 hours for a 24 hr shift. The mileage pay was more than the shift so it was worth it! Never did it again though.

 

[DrParasite]

The furthest I have ever driven was 350 km (218 mi) over 4 hours for a 24 hr shift. The mileage pay was more than the shift so it was worth it! Never did it again though.

mileage pay? what's that? and if the mileage pay is more than the shift, than either you aren't making much $$$ as a medic, or your company should only hire from a certain geographic area.

I would love to have a job that pays me mileage pay.....

 

[Akulahawk]

The farthest I have ever driven for an EMS job is approximately 132 miles. My current job is 22 miles away, takes me about 25 min. door to door. Unfortunately it is a nonmedical job, so it does not really count for this particular question.

 

[abckidsmom]

Today I'm going to the farthest station from my house. 30 minutes. Most days it's 800 yards.

 

[lightsandsirens5]

My home station is about 10 minutes now. I could drive for two hours and still be in the system though.

 

[highglyder]

mileage pay? what's that? and if the mileage pay is more than the shift, than either you aren't making much $$$ as a medic, or your company should only hire from a certain geographic area.

I would love to have a job that pays me mileage pay.....

As mentioned, this is at my PT job. To give you an idea of the area that we cover, you can find our map at http://www.msdsb.net/index.php/ems-station-locations. (Note: We do not cover the City of Greater Sudbury, and as EMS is considered a provincial resource, no service is bound by municipal, district, or county borders.) Our catchment is split into four service areas and mileage is paid to those who travel outside of their assigned area. Staffing our northern stations used to be an issue, but has that has since been resolved.

Foleyet is 8 hours on-site with 16 hours of on call. The reason that mileage paid better was 700km @ 42cents/km (294$) vs. 8 hours @ $27/h (214 + 60ish for the on call portion).

 

[Trauma_Junkie]

I recently got on part-time at a company that is a 1hr drive (50 miles) one way for a 12hr shift. My job search radius is 2hrs max but then for me to take a job 2hrs out the pay and hours would have to be decent enough to justify the drive time and fuel.