Hack This Commute

Jon at work (top center). Happy or delirious from a long commute?

Today we ask our readers to help T rider extraordinaire Jon Keleher. Jon's daily round trip commute clocks in at a whopping 3 hours (Concord to Dorchester and back). Lately, he's been taking Fitchburg Commuter Rail from Concord to Porter Square and transferring to the red line to get to JFK/UMass. No one deserves to spend so much time on the T without getting paid. Got any ideas to save our friend Jonny some time and hack this commute?

Jon visiting WROR's Loren and Wally show

Want to know more about whose commute you're hacking? Jon is a bit of a local celebrity having been featured in a story on NPR. As the story tells us, Jon has a very rare neurological condition which makes activities like driving difficult making robust public transit that much more important. He's also been known to rub elbows with drive time DJ's Loren and Wally from WROR. Our staff "sat down" with Jon to learn more about his commute.

What is something very weird you've seen during your commute?

JK: Weird is a subjective word and hard for me to determine. It can mean different things to different folks. I don’t really like to use that word because of how subjective it is. I like to use words like surprising, unexpected, unusual, and interesting. I think life is just one big adventure and I look forward to what I might see or hear from day to day.

You have a very long commute. What do you do to kill time?

JK: I listen to music: rock 'n and roll and Motown classics. I have a Motown playlist on iPhone I use to cover up the high pitch squeal of the subway.

The Red Line at 8am on Monday.

What would you do if you could change something about the T so you would enjoy your commute more?

JK: Widen the seats and make it roomier. People are getting wider and wider. I don’t think any one of us can deny that. I feel like sardines in there sometimes.

Got any ideas to hack Jon's commute? Add them to the comments and you might even win a prize.