Few activities that bead our everyday lives have earned such dubious notoriety as commuting. That the words “hell” and “nightmare” are sometimes invoked to describe journeys to and from work indicates just how disparaged this part of our lives often is. The commute has often been depicted in dystopian terms, standing for all that is stressful and wearying about our contemporary daily routines.

Sure, it's a public holiday for much of the country but tomorrow. you'll go back to work and probably have to spend a good chunk of your working day just getting to and from work. Commuting times are up as public transport systems get more congested, traffic on the roads its worse and people live further from central business districts in order to find affordable real estate. So, what can you do to fill in the time?

Giving up your seat on public transportation for someone who needs it should be a simple, easy gesture. And yet, almost all of us have seen an exhausted, heavily pregnant woman standing, ignored, in a train full of comfortably seated passengers; a not-at-all-pregnant woman humiliated by an unsolicited offer to sit; an elderly person forced to stay standing while struggling with heavy grocery bags... the list of cruel indignities goes on.

Fair warning: This hack is not for the faint of heart. But if you can't afford a train ticket (or are shockingly cheap with no self-respect, like me) this ticket inspector avoidance strategy could be worth pursuing.

Bike sharing giants ofo has chosen Adelaide as their first Australian city as the company seeks to expand their footprint into the southern hemisphere. The bikes use GPS-enabled geofence technology which guides users to park bikes within the current area in which ofo is operating and where the pre-determined preferred parking zones are located. Charges start at $1.00 for 30 minutes, with an individual ride cap of $5.00.

The standing pregnant train passenger poses a dilemma for politeness: Do you offer up your seat so she can sit down, or mind your own business in case she isn't pregnant and would be mortified that you assumed she was?

Your daily commute, whether you get behind the wheel and drive or hop on a bus or train and wait, doesn't have to be sunk, wasted time. Whether you use it productively or just use it for a little solace, here are some great ways to make use of the downtime.

Dear Lifehacker, Like most full-time professionals, I rarely have time to sit down to a leisurely breakfast. Or even a rushed one. Annoyingly, most of the fast food options on the market seem to be loaded with sugars and/or saturated fats. What's the healthiest breakfast I can take with me on the train?

Walking or riding a bike to work is often seen as a way to save money or get some exercise. However, it may also have another benefit: it could make you happier with your commute.

Being stuck in traffic always sucks, and some days are worse than others. Data from GPS manufacturer TomTom highlights which cities in Australia have the biggest congestion problems, and which days are the worst to travel on.

Commuting, especially for hours a day, can be a drain. You might think there's only one efficient way to and from the office, but if you test out other routes when you can, you may be surprised to find an unconventional route that's a smoother or less stressful trip.

A long and tiring commute can eat into your productivity, but that doesn't mean you should try to be productive while commuting. Instead, do something that makes you happy, says says productivity coach Hillary Rettig.

Whether it's a short trip or a long haul, most of us commute to work or school. We'd like to know how you do it.

Hi Lifehacker, I take the train to work and every day near the end of my trip a well-dressed, professional-looking guy gets on as well. The problem is he stinks of old whisky. What should I do? I have two concerns: helping him, and not suffering from the overwhelming smell. Any advice? Thanks, Smelled Out

After being aggressively abused for once taking an emergency phone call, I have mixed reservations about quiet train carriages. A lot of our readers seem to love them though. You’ll therefore be pleased to know that all NSW intercity trains now have double the number of quiet carriages. This means that effectively 50% of each train is now silent.

Dear Lifehacker, I'm new to train commuting and have been pondering the best seat direction to sit in on the train. I'm preferring a rearward facing seat at the moment because in an accident the seat will brace my body keeping me in the same position.

If you're used to driving everywhere, taking the train or the bus might seem overwhelming and just too much hassle. Even so, if you live in an urban area (and most Australians do), it's a sensible option and a way to escape rising petrol prices and car maintenance costs. Here's how to learn the ropes of your local public transit system quickly and painlessly.

Last week, I inadvertently stepped into one of the 'quiet carriages' that were recently introduced into NSW trains by CityRail. This is the story of the verbal-lynching that soon followed . . .

Public transport is an important component of reducing our dependence on private cars and making commuting less horrific, but it's also a massive and frequent source of complaints. Here are the five ways in which public transport can be enhanced to make it more effective.