SW commuters spend five weeks a year travelling to and from work

Commuters in the South West spend the equivalent of five working weeks travelling to and from work every year, according to a TUC survey released today. 

TUC analysis of figures from the Labour Force Survey, which compares pre-recession commute times (2006) with the most recent available figures (2012), shows men in the region spend an average of 53.4 minutes a day commuting (an increase of 1.6% over six years), while women spend an average of 41.2 minutes (an increase of 0.4%). This works out at 4.45 hours a week, or 195.8 hours a year – the equivalent of five working weeks.

Nigel Costley, regional secretary of the South West TUC, said: “The average commuter spends the equivalent of more than five weeks a year just to get to work and back. With rising transport costs far outstripping pay rises, reducing the number of peak-time commutes would save both time and money for hard-pressed workers.

“Recent trends suggest there is a link between long commute times and longer hours in the office, with the growing number of men in part-time work having shorter journeys to work.

“The cost of commuting is effectively stopping people from applying for certain types of jobs. It might be a job that suits their skills, but they can't afford to do it because of the travelling. Businesses should use Commute Smart week to ask whether all those journeys are really necessary.”