Claim types
Ten ways to describe a commute, and what each leaves out.
None of these pages quotes a real ad or names a project. They describe how each kind of claim is built, so you know what to ask.
How the claim was timed
How you will travel
The hour
Sunday, 7 am
The hour
Tuesday, 8:45 am
The start point
Highway exit
The start point
Your gate
The end point
Metro station
The end point
Your desk
The distance
Straight line
The distance
The road you drive
The road
Expressway, not open
The road
Roads open today
- 01Minutes to a place“X minutes to the tech park”The most common claim: a single travel time to a named destination, with no hour, day or mode attached.
- 02Distance in kilometres“Only X km from the CBD”A distance stands in for a time. Buyers convert it in their heads at a speed the road rarely allows at peak hour.
- 03As the crow flies“X km aerial distance”Straight line distance ignores rivers, rail lines, lakes and the roads that go around them.
- 04Walking distance“Walking distance to the station”“Walking distance” has no number in it. It can mean three minutes or twenty.
- 05Near metro“Next to the metro”Being near a station is not the same as being near your destination by metro.
- 06Upcoming metro“Upcoming metro station nearby”“Upcoming” is a status, and its owner publishes it. The ad usually does not say which status.
- 07On the expressway“On the highway”Being on a fast road helps only if you can get onto it near the gate and off it near your destination.
- 08Minutes from the CBD“X minutes from the business district”A business district is an area, not an address. The claim usually times the trip to its nearest edge.
- 09Minutes to the airport“X minutes to the airport”Airport trips are rare but high stakes. The time that matters is the one at the hour of your flight.
- 10Close to schools and hospitals“Schools and hospitals nearby”“Close” usually means a list of names, not a trip time at school run hours.
Measure the trip you’ll actually make.
Your home, your office, your hours, across ten working days. Typical and bad day time, with the method on the page.