u/Motiv8_me_m8

When I recently looked at changing jobs, it also got me looking at different suburbs around Brisbane.

What I found was that comparing the houses was actually the easy part. Working out what my day-to-day life would look like from each suburb was much harder.

I’d have Google Maps and TransLink open, then start wondering whether I’d be better off driving to a train station, paying tolls to save time, or whether paying a bit more for a house closer in would actually give me an extra hour or two back every day.

Before long I’d disappeared down a rabbit hole comparing the same handful of suburbs over and over.

It made me realise that most of the effort when comparing properties, or jobs, revolves around price, schools, flood maps, crime, shops and everything else, but the commute often ends up being an afterthought despite it affecting your life almost every weekday.

I couldn’t find an easy way to easily compare different commuting strategies side by side, so I ended up creating something for myself that compares things like driving, park-and-ride, total time away from home and a few other factors.

It’s built around my own commute into Brisbane, so at the moment it uses a database of around 80 major bus and train stations with free parking rather than every stop in the network. That means it won’t always suggest your closest or most convenient option yet, but expanding the coverage is one of the biggest things people have been helping me improve.

A few people in r/brisbane and r/movingtobrisbane have already given some fantastic feedback that’s shaped where it’s heading, so I thought I’d ask here as well.

I’d genuinely love to know:
- Do you factor the commute into where you buy or rent?
- Has a commute ever made you rule out a property you otherwise loved?
- Is there anything you’d want to compare that isn’t obvious?

It’s Brisbane-only at the moment and still very much a work in progress, so if you do have a look I’d much rather hear what’s wrong with it than have people tell me it’s great.

https://commuteiq.com.au

Cheers!

I was looking at changing jobs recently which also had me looking at different suburbs around Brisbane to live in.

I’ve found comparing jobs or rentals to be the easy part. Comparing the commute is the bit that drives me mad.

I’ll have Google Maps open, Translink open, then start wondering whether I’d be better off just driving to a train station instead, or whether taking this or that job or paying a bit more in rent would actually save me an hour or two every day and before I know it I’m down a rabbit hole.

After spending several hours doing this over and over again, I figured surely there was a tool that compared those options side by side. I couldn’t find anything, so I just created something myself. It worked pretty well so I figured I’d see if it could help anyone else.

A few people over in r/brisbane found it useful, so I thought I’d see whether it resonates with people who are comparing rentals as well. It’s Brisbane only at the moment, so unfortunately it won’t be much use outside the Greater Brisbane region just yet.

It’s designed around my own use case, living in the outer suburbs and commuting into Brisbane. At the moment it uses around 80 major park-and-ride bus and train stations, so it won’t necessarily suggest your nearest stop. Walking and cycling connections aren’t included yet either, but they’re already on the roadmap thanks to feedback from r/brisbane.

I’d genuinely love to know whether this is something you’d actually use when comparing places, or whether I’m the only person who overthinks this stuff lol.

https://commuteiq.com.au

If it’s rubbish, please tell me why. If it misses your usual commute or gives you a weird result, tell me that too. The feedback so far has already resulted in a heap of improvements and a few ideas I hadn’t even considered. There’s a feedback link at the end of the search results, otherwise just leave a comment here and I’ll get back to you.

Cheers!

Hey r/MovingToBrisbane ,

I'm a SEQ local and recently built a tool called CommuteIQ after spending way too much time trying to compare where I could realistically live versus where I could realistically work.

One thing I've noticed in this subreddit is that people often ask questions like:

• Is Ipswich too far from the CBD?
• How bad is the commute from Logan?
• Is North Lakes realistic for daily commuting?
• Would I be better off paying more rent to live closer in?

The answers are usually "it depends", and I found it surprisingly difficult to compare the options properly.

Google Maps is great for showing a route, but I wanted something that compared different commuting strategies and showed the impact on the whole day.

So I built a tool that compares:

• driving the whole way
• park-and-ride options
• train and bus combinations

and shows things like:

• total time away from home
• daily driving distance
• different commute options
• how changing your willingness to drive to a station affects the results

It's currently focused on Greater Brisbane and uses around 70+ major park-and-ride locations across SEQ.

I'm not selling anything. I'm just trying to work out whether this is actually useful for people making decisions about where to live and work.

If you're considering a move to Brisbane, I'd be interested to know:

• whether the results seem realistic
• whether it helps compare suburbs
• whether it changes how you think about a particular area

https://commuteiq.com.au

Happy to answer questions or take feedback if anything looks wrong.

Hey r/brisbane,

I'm based in the Scenic Rim and commute to Brisbane for work.

A few months ago I found myself potentially facing unemployment and looking at jobs all over Brisbane. The problem was that every job application turned into the same exercise:

• Check Google Maps
• Check TransLink
• Check driving times
• Check train options
• Check park-and-ride options
• Repeat for the next job

After doing this dozens of times I started wondering whether there was a better way to compare commute options.

I couldn't find anything that really did what I wanted, so I built my own.

The idea is pretty simple:

Instead of only showing how to get somewhere, it compares driving the whole way against park-and-ride options and shows the impact on your day, including things like:

• total time away from home
• driving distance
• park-and-ride alternatives
• different commute strategies
• maximum drive-to-station preferences

It's currently Brisbane-focused and uses around 70+ major park-and-ride locations across Greater Brisbane.

I originally built it for myself, but I'm curious whether it helps other people too, particularly if you're:

• looking at a new job
• comparing suburbs
• renting or buying
• considering moving further out
• trying to reduce driving

It's definitely still early and I'm sure there are things I've missed. I'm not selling anything, just looking for honest feedback from people who might actually use it.

If you give it a go, I'd love to know:

• what worked
• what didn't
• whether the results were accurate
• whether it changed how you thought about a commute

https://commuteiq.com.au