Abandonment due to commute time. HELP

[chazz237 0]

I have a growing city that has many med/high density res areas abondoning due to a long commute time. I have a good mix of avenues, roads and highways. I also have bus stops and subway/stations literaly at EVERY corner connected throughout the city, yet they are still being abandoned due to the long commute. What else could i possibly do to rectify this situation? commercial and industrial areas aren't that far from res areas either, I feel like i'm doing everything right.

[earwax_man 18]

Do you use NAM?

[chazz237 0]

No I dont. I'm relatively new to the game however I seem to be catching on fairly quick. I've heard of NAM before but what exactly does it do and how do I get it?

[svachon 3]

The NAM is easy and it's awesome.  It will take care of your commute problems.  You will have options to click on during install.  I like Simulator Z which option- it's an option that will make commute time more realistic.  After install of SimZ I immediately saw mass transit time go up and car time go down (check graph for transit time).

Good Luck! 

[tks3162001 3]

What should you do if you have the NAM, like I do (the latest version at that), and still have high abandonment due to commute times?

And yes I've covered the basics regarding adequate tramnsportation facilities and distance between residential and commercial/industrial areas.

[whitecity999 0]

There may be not enough jobs in your city. Is abandonment due to "long commute times" concentrated amongst your R$$$ and R$$ Sims? As even though you may have some CS$$, CS$$$, CO$$$, CO$$$ and IHT jobs only a certain proportion of these jobs are actually taken up by R$$$ and R$$ Sims. The rest are taken up by R$ Sims. The message "abandonment to commute time" can also mean that your Sims have travelled all around the city and that they cannot find a job as well as that your Sims cannot get to work because your transportation net works are too congested. Perhaps the former is more relevant to your city the fact that your Sims cannot find work rather than they take too much time to get to work.

I had to the same problem as you even after installing the NAM but I found that by taxing R$$$ and R$$ Sims more highly this controlled their population, this meant their were enough jobs for them when they settled in my city. I also found that by setting up good transportation networks with my neighbouring city (with lots of jobs) that this enabled some of my Sims to commute to this city and find jobs.

These are just a few ideas for you and I hope this helps.

[jantolini 0]

Have you added adequate jobs? Cause that's what's causing the problem

[chazz237 0]

I'm not so sure that jobs are a problem. My res population is almost double commercial jobs, I think I have enough jobs because there is no commercial or industrial demand, in fact its well in the -'s. Should I zone more commercial anyway to see if it helps?

[whitecity999 0]

There are a few ways in which to stimulate industrial and commercial growth (you may know these already). Firstly you could establish connections to neighbouring cities (or to Sim Nation if you do not have any cities on adjacent tiles) this will stimulate growth. Secondly you could attract more commerce and industry by lowering taxes. I don't know if you invested much in health and education, but in the long term this will attract more higher paying jobs in your city.

Also there is something called the "Super Demand Mod" that you can download from this website (STEX Files), the description states that it boosts Residential, Commercial and Industrial Demand. Though I have not used it myself. From reading your first post you said that you have not downloaded the NAM. I recommend this if you want to reduce commute time as it increases the capacity of your road network (if install "simulator z") thus reducing traffic congestion. Though from experience the NAM helps it does not entirely remedy the problem of "abandonment to commute time" as you still have to ensure that you have a good city layout, plenty of jobs, adequate mass transit etc etc.

Hope this helps

[Faded Glory 13]

Yes the NAM definatly helps, and I'm sure that the Super Demand Mod does too, but i have personally never used the second one (it feels like cheating >.>). If the city is big enough, you might want to give monorail a try. It drastically reduces commute time because (in theory) it is the fastest form of transport in the game. Connect it from your people to your jobs and abandonment ought to slow down.

Hope this helps.

[SC4BOY 21]

A simple ratio of R to I+C is inadequate to judge.. you must have the correct MIX of R$ $$ and $$$ for the I/C in your city.. typically about 35%R$, 45%R$$ and 10%R$$$  for an educated city .... this iwill vary slightly depending on the education quotient for your city.. The usual problem is that you have way too much R$$$ because the game encourages you to overdevelop your cities. I'm guessing this is the real problem for your city since you seem confident about your travel distances and transportation system

[errantry 0]

It's jobs like what other people said. Different sims with different wealth and education levels like different jobs. Highly educated, richer sims like IHT and CO$$$. Poorly educated sims like ID and so forth. I find that the census bureau mod on STEX is extremely helpful. Look for what type of jobs people are leaving your city to get, and try to make more of those. You don't need a certain ratio of R$:R$$:R$$$. I have cities with 10:85:5 and 100% R$$$. It's about finding jobs for them.