Rural route or in town?

[Old Man Jingles]

However I know several drivers who absolutely hate doing rural routes so I was curious what the majority of drivers thought.

People who don't like to think do not like rural routes.
Also, rural routes tend to have longer hours since the to-from to route is longer.

I hated city routes and loved residential and rural routes.

 

[GenericUsername]

Call me crazy but I'd rather be on a mall route. You get to work in the AC the majority of the day and don't have to drive too much. Most of the bulk deliveries are done through back doors that you can pull up to early in the morning. Plus there's the food court and multiple bathrooms so you're never too far from one. And yoga pants everywhere....

 

[Old Man Jingles]

Call me crazy but I'd rather be on a mall route. You get to work in the AC the majority of the day and don't have to drive too much. Most of the bulk deliveries are done through back doors that you can pull up to early in the morning. Plus there's the food court and multiple bathrooms so you're never too far from one. And yoga pants everywhere....

Good argument!
I never ran a mall route.
I do remember to a small mall that surrounded an ice rink ... great place in the summer.

 

[Heavy Package]

I did 210 stops at 95 miles yesterday. Just one subdivision after another.

My key criteria for a good route are this:

1. No (few) pick-ups
2. Weather for road conditions

Here, we do get some snow and ice and they don't plow or know how to handle it. So for 3 months out of the year I wouldn't want a rural route. Flip side is the wear and tear on your body and knowing that 1-2 times a year a jackhole safety manager may be watching you with a cheap pair of UPS binoculars from their personal vehicle checking to see if you are ringing doorbells.

 

[bottomups]

Call me crazy but I'd rather be on a mall route. You get to work in the AC the majority of the day and don't have to drive too much. Most of the bulk deliveries are done through back doors that you can pull up to early in the morning. Plus there's the food court and multiple bathrooms so you're never too far from one. And yoga pants everywhere....

I'll pass.

 

[1989]

View attachment 231886
I'll pass.

 

[3 done 3 to go]

Yesterday was 99 stops 180 miles. 8 45 to 1838. First time I've done my whole route in at least 5 months. Now just waiting for my yearly ride. So I don't get to hear anything after. For the rest of the year

 

[JL 0513]

Ouch that sucks

My first stop was 60 miles from the building

LOL, there's like 10 centers in a 60 mile radius of me.

 

[burrheadd]

LOL, there's like 10 centers in a 60 mile radius of me.

Parts of 4 different counties

Sometimes 10 or 12 different zip codes

 

[gman042]

I have the best of both worlds
In town for about 120 which takes me about 4 hrs
Then the rest of my day is spent in the country for about 80 more
Run about 150 miles

 

[DOK]

Just for something to talk about,

Which do you prefer?

I think there are several factors that can make you love or hate one or the other.

Rural routes- less stops, less physical work, easier on your body but they tend to be harder to get done early or make up time on if you get behind. Also, the weather can often make or break your day especially in the winter time with snow. Highly unlikely you get sent any help on a high volume day. Also I have noticed that management tends to leave the guys doing rural routes alone for the most part (at least here)

In town- more stops, less miles, harder on your body but you can control your day a little more in terms of speed up or slow down to stay on time and you likely don’t get affected by the weather nearly as much. You are also more likely to receive help on high volume days.

I personally prefer the rural routes. Give me 45-90 stops and 100-300 miles (depending on the route) over 150-250 stops and 30-60 miles any day of the week.

However I know several drivers who absolutely hate doing rural routes so I was curious what the majority of drivers thought.

Rural. But our rural routes do 115 stops minimum and between 140-170 miles. So yeah bad weather days suck, but I like driving the miles, 31 years later.

 

[ajax25]

I would say the majority of our rural routes are 100-120ish stops and between 100-200 miles. The week before this my route was 260 miles a day and between 60-100 miles. On Tuesday this week my first stop was over an hr from the hub haha only 43 stops that day but every stop is like 20 min from each other other than the couple you have in the 3 tiny towns you deliver to. It’s really crazy to be at a hub that’s located near a state line and so it’s possible to deliver in 2 different states in one day.

 

[scratch]

The best route I ever ran was about 60 stops and 200 miles out of a P500. I started out driving a 24' van on a warehouse route, I delivered and picked up a thousand packages. I got a lot of discounts and free stuff from my shippers, so that was a good perk. The last 22 years I have been on an all subdivision route. 150 stops with no pickups.

 

[rod]

A rural route with lot's of miles no dirt roads and every stop is in a gated community with cul de sacs on every street would be ideal. I can appreciate the old man routes because it's easier on my body and very little/no pressure with air or pickups. But some of these driveways I've been going down on rural routes are a UPS driver's worst nightmare

That by no means is a "rural route".

 

[DiadTrainer]

aren't 22.4s taking over pick-ups and airs seeing they are 'removing' air drivers. doesnt matter to me, I'm 7years Rural

 

[Mycow]

I like my mix about 60 to 80 city then 20 to 40 dirt stops 70 miles about ten hours

 

[Ecw21411]

I’m rural.... 70 some stops @150 miles

 

[DumbTruckDriver]

I’m rural.... 70 some stops @150 miles

LOL! If I’m on a route with 70 stops, I would have no less that 230 miles.

 

[iruhnman630]

It really is a personal preference.

I hate country routes, with the higher miles and negotiating long driveways. Too many more risk factors to think about, and I often felt more exhausted on the country routes.

I was fortunate to win one of my two favorite routes.

Plenty of indoor work for those Winter months, and my resi stops are, in my opinion, some of the easiest in our center.

Park, deliver, move on.

Few to no driveways to negotiate, short walks, plenty of street lights, well maintained streets in the Winter.

 

[Ecw21411]

LOL! If I’m on a route with 70 stops, I would have no less that 230 miles.

Yeah but I’m on goat paths