A Human Perspective on the Daily Commute: Costs, Benefits and Trade‐offs

Abstract

The average worker in Britain spends 139 h/year commuting—the equivalent of 19 standard working days. While the average distance and time taken for journeys to work has been steadily increasing, the average number of journeys has been decreasing at a similar rate. The aggregate picture inevitably masks an array of underlying trends. This paper offers a multi‐perspective examination of commuting drawing upon the literature in transport, planning, geography, economics, psychology, sociology and medicine. It examines statistical evidence on trends in commuting travel behaviour and finds that one in 25 commuters now travels to work in excess of 100 km (both ways) and one in ten commuters now spends over 2 h/day travelling to and from work. It explores the different impacts (economic, health and social) that commuting has on the individuals who conduct it and seeks to understand better the role of commuting for individuals in today’s society. The paper finishes its examination by reviewing the commute experience itself, including attitudes towards it and the use of time during the journey. It concludes by highlighting a dilemma facing transport planning and policy. There are social, economic and financial benefits from an improved travel experience for people with long commute journeys, yet improving the travel experience may itself contribute to the trend towards long‐distance commuting.

Notes

1. Differences in available data mean that this paper variously refers to the UK and to Britain. To avoid doubt, Great Britain (GB) is comprised of England, Wales and Scotland; as distinct from the United Kingdom (UK) which is comprised of Britain and Northern Ireland.

2. This increase has largely been driven by women: “The employment rate for men fell from 92 per cent in 1971 to 79 per cent in spring 2005 … while the rate for women rose from 56 per cent to 70 per cent” (ONS, 2006, p. 52).

3. Teleworkers are here defined as individuals who work mainly in their home or in different places using their home as a base and who use a telephone and computer to carry out their work.

4. This is distinct from part‐time working (where the timing rather than the number of commute journeys may be affected). According to the ONS (2006, p. 50): “Over a quarter of employees were working part time in spring 2005 and around four in five part‐time employees were women”.

5. See also Laurier (2004).

6. For the many women in the UK engaged in part‐time work (as noted above), the burden of the commute will be lessened (often through necessity arising from spatial separation) by having a shorter commute (Hamilton et al., 2005), while the gift of (some) time out because of the commute will remain.