Commuting Can Waste Upto 18 years Of your Life

The average commuter spends more than five years of their life travelling, and for those with very lengthy commutes, end up absorbing the equivalent of all their childhood, a study from Workwise and the AA shows.

For those with an average commute of 54 minutes each day, they spend 29 days a year travelling to and from work, totalling five years.But some waste up to 96 days a year, equivalent to 18 years of their life commuting.

With car ownership rising five million to 27.8 million in the last decade, many parts of the UK are currently experiencing road congestion. This is seen by commuters as a significant inconvenience, by businesses as an unavoidable cost, and by local and national governments as a serious obstacle to sustained economic growth. Estimates are that if recent trends continue, by 2025 congestion will waste around £22 billion worth of time in England alone each year (3).

Work Wise UK and the AA are suggesting alternatives to commuting by car which will not only save the individual cash, but also save carbon emissions, pollution, stress and wasted time, as well as having a positive impact upon congestion levels. These include simple steps such as car sharing, cycling and taking public transport, or more fundamentally, adopting smarter working practices to enable home working, flexible working, remote and mobile working, to reduce the amount of commuting and work-related travel needed.

Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK, explained: "The vast majority of travel is work-commuting or work-related. A key benefit of the adoption of smarter working is it reduces the overall need to travel, and to travel at specific times.

The figures are based on a 7.5hour working day and a 240 day working year.AA president Edmund King said: 'The equivalent of our annual holiday from work is lost commuting by car. With running costs rocketing, Mondeo man may wish to consider car sharing, taking the bus or working from home.'