11 ms·

The commute time has grown over the last few decades[1]. I wonder if commuting not on the list because the polled older Americans didn't have to commute as long

• dredmorbius 9y ago
  That's a rather modest expansion: five minutes over 35+ years. Not that commute time isn't a drag, but I don't really see this being a significant factor. Particularly if you consider that the mode of commuting, the conditions, and outlier commutes are likely to have far larger impacts. Consider: Mode: If you're commuting by train or bus point-to-point and the ride takes five minutes longer, you're not going to be much bothered. If you have to transfer or connect between multiple modes along the route, the journey is far more stressful. Similarly, highway driving with radio or audio material (or a phone) is relatively productive time, vs. stop-and-go city traffic. Conditions: Having space to work (say on a commuter bus or rail) vs. being sardined into a city bus or urban subway makes a difference not captured in time alone. Outliers: One pattern that likely has emerged are "marathon commuters" -- people with exceptionally long commutes. You'd need to compare the mean and median commute times to see what this trend is. It might well be that most people have the same time, but a small number have much longer commutes. How to lie with statistics and all that.