Extreme commuting
 | The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (December 2010) |
Extreme commuting is commuting that takes more than daily walking time of an average human. United States Census Bureau defines this as a daily journey to work that takes more than 90 minutes each way. According to the bureau, about 3% of American adult workers are so-called "extreme" commuters.[1] The number of extreme commuters in the New York, Baltimore–Washington, San Francisco Bay Area, and Los Angeles metropolitan areas is much greater than the national average.
Midas sponsored an "America's Longest Commute" award in 2006. The winner, from Mariposa, California, drove a 372-mile (599 km) round trip (about 7 hours) to and from work in San Jose each day.[2]
United Kingdom
[edit]A survey over 2,000 British workers by Randstad Holding revealed that 9% of British workers commute for over 90 minutes each way.[3] 7.5% of the Survey's correspondents worked during their commute, with 18% of them believing that smartphones and tablets have made this easier.[3]
A BBC article in 2013 highlighted multiple reasons for extreme commutes, including lifestyle choice (living in the country and pursuing a London career), relocation of employers, and people increasing their search area when looking for work after redundancy.[4]
China
[edit]As a result of China's rapid urbanization, cities have grown larger, but largely remained monocentric, increasing commute times drastically.[5] According to a 2022 survey, many Chinese cities have high proportions of their population who commute an hour or more each day, including 30% of Beijingers, and 18% of Shanghainese. This has been attributed to inadequate transit expansion and job centralization. Chinese cities have been trying to build "15 minute cities" in polycentric areas, and improving public transit to address this.[6][7]
See also
[edit]- Reverse commute
- Super commuter
- Commuter worker, describing commuters who cross an international border
References
[edit]- ^ "Americans Spend More Than 100 Hours Commuting to Work Each Year, Census Bureau Reports". US Census Press. Archived from the original on 7 May 2005.
- ^ "Is working at Cisco worth a 7-hour commute?".
- ^ a b "Britain's workers are using their commutes to become more productive, according to research by recruiter Randstad". Randstad. Archived from the original on 2013-12-27. Retrieved 4 Feb 2022.
- ^ "The rise of the 'extreme commuter'". BBC News. 27 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ Roxburgh, Helen (2017-05-05). "Endless cities: will China's new urbanisation just mean more sprawl?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
- ^ Ye, Zhanhang (Aug 1, 2022). "China's City Dwellers Endure 'Extreme Commutes,' Report Says". Sixth Tone.
- ^ Liu, Daizong (Mar 21, 2023). "What's So Scary About the 15-Minute City?". Sixth Tone.
External links
[edit]- "There and Back Again: The Soul of the Commuter" (from The New Yorker)
- "Extreme Commuting : More workers are willing to travel three hours a day. But what is the long-term cost?" (from BusinessWeek)
- "Think your commute is tough?" (from USA Today)
- "Extreme Commuting: Is It For You?" (from Investopedia)