Teamster Offices: Where's the best location?

[Gemega]

Where's the best place to locate a teamster office? Close to the dock or close to the farms, mines, etc or somewhere in between?

Should their housing be close to the office or dock?

[Eddy]

I prefer to put them close to the resources because when your teamsters get to work, they may be tired, but once they get to the mine/farm they will take the load of goodies and take them wherever they need to go.  If you have the office far away, the worker may get too tired and never actually get to the mine/farm.

[Maus]

Right on, Eddy.  I've noticed that once my teamsters have a load to deliver, they turn into Teamstinators:  they will not stop, (ever!) until said load is delivered.  I tracked one temaster who picked up a load of ore just as his rest bar hit the normal "go home and sleep" level.  He had to cross half the island to reach the dock, but he never gave up, even though his rest bar was at dead zero for the entire trip.  Dumb, but loyal.  I renamed him "Boxer" and taught him to say "El Presidente is always right; I will work harder" to the other teamsters.

[flagator_]

Here's a related question: Where do you put your industries?

If you put them near the raw material sources (farms, gold mines), you gain the advantages that they're out of your city center, the teamsters office is nearby (assuming you put one there near the farms), and the teamsters don't have far to take the supplies from farm to industry. That leaves them with a long walk to the docks, though.

I usually put my industries near the docks, so once the teamsters get the supplies there, it's a short jaunt from the industry to the docks, and it can be served by the initial teamster office that the game usually puts in the least convenient spot possible. Plus, industries are big, and land near the coast is flat.

What do you think?

[Maus]

I try to put them near the docks also; along with the above reasons, it keeps most of the pollution in one spot and concentrates more of the workforce near the entertainment/admin centers.  The only absolute rule I have is that the industry is never placed so that teamsters have to walk the same ground twice (i.e., industries are always along the path from the resource to the dock)

[Dreamweaver]

With regards to the above post, I just want to say that it does not appear that putting the factory between the farm and dock will make things more efficient. The Teamster will haul something from point A to point B. But, he will not pick up a load directly at point B and make his way to point C. At least not that I ever observed.

[Maus]

Good abservation, Dreamweaver, the rule is poorly worded.  I must rephrase it, inasmuch as it is based on what the cargo does rather than how the teamsters make it all happen.  

I try to place factories so that whenever cargo moves, it moves closer to its ultimate destination (the dock).  Ideally, the sum of the source-factory and factory-dock distances is no larger than the source-dock distance.  

An example is a tobacco farm 10 miles from the dock: if I place the cigar factory anywhere along the direct path from the farm to the dock, the teamsters have to haul each unit over a total distance of only 10 miles to place finished product at the dock.  However, if I place the factory, say, 5 miles on the opposite side of the farm, each unit must be hauled a total of 20 miles (5 miles source-factory, plus 15 miles factory-dock) before product appears at the dock.

[Hambil]

The problem is, Teamsters are rock stupid. I've assassinated more Teamsters than political opponents just out of sheer frustration. If they only make one enhancement to this wonderful game there is no doubt it should be patrol zones, like in Rollercoaster Tycoon, so you can control what areas your Teamsters service.

As a side note to making Teamsters more efficient, every now and then you need to pause the game and evict everyone. They will find housing closer to their jobs. If they are married to someone with a job on the otherside of town either relocate her (limit her places to go then fire her), or if you are feeling especially mean have her killed.

Finally, make sure every area has a doctor, church and pub nearby - you can almost not build to many clinics and pubs... churches are a little more expensive though. Still - most of the waisted time for a Teamster (and others, I've assassinated a few dock workers out of frustration too) is spent taking care of the "needs" - whiners.

[Riftwar]

    I generally build a second dock very early, with a second teamster office nearby. Block all jobs at both locations until I have industry. The buildings I place as close to the dock/office as possible. Then I place another office near resource points. Remove job lock-outs and watch the mucho pesos roll in.