Public Servant Lifestyle

UK workers spend the most time commuting in Europe, according to research findings. The vast majority - a massive 72% - of commuters outside of London use the car to get to work, and UK workers spend the most time commuting in Europe, according to research.

Now the RAC Foundation is calling upon the Government to take a fresh look at commuting from the perspective of the commuter. The Foundation sees it as essential to consider a mixture of measures to ensure that transport and planning policy are integrated; to improve road and public transport access to workplaces and to encourage teleworking and forward travel planning.

The RAC Foundation commuting fact-file shows that:

11% outside London commute by public transport of whom most (68%) take the bus

22% of car driver trips are made for the purpose of commuting

Only 5% of commuting is by national rail but these journeys account for 46% of rail with more than half of these journeys made in London and the southeast

Almost 50% of rail travel is by those in the top 20% of household incomes

Only 3% cycle to work but 28% cycle to work in Cambridge

10% walk to work but in Norwich 24% use their legs

The UK has the longest average commuting time in Europe at 45 minutes per day. Almost twice as long a commute as the Italians

In the last decade commuting passenger miles have increased 6%

The average distance travelled has gone up 17% to 8.5 miles

David Leibling and Edmund King from the RAC Foundation, examined why commuters in the UK travelled further and longer. They found that most people lived in the same house for at least ten years. There has been a sharp reduction in the proportion of households that move home because of jobs – between 1984 and 1994 it halved and there have been further falls since. This reflects choices related to second earners’ employment, children’s education and improvements in transport facilitating longer journeys.

Reasons for not living closer to work included:

Like the area 28%

Easy journey 6%

Good housing 7%

Good schools 7%

Never thought about it 27%

Have always lived there 16%

To be near friends and family 8%

Like to separate work and home 7%

One respondent choose the area they lived "because it looked nice on a calendar". A small minority (7%) says they like to keep home and work separate. Nearly three in ten had never thought about it. Drivers also commented that commuting time is not entirely lost time as it helps them to prepare for the day in the morning and to unwind in the evening.

Public Transport

One of the critical issues for transport planners is whether commuters would want to move closer to work if congestion got worse, or whether they are insensitive to changes in commuting times. The research suggests that most people live where they do because they have deep roots in the area or because they made a positive choice to live there, rather than choosing a location on the basis of their commute. On average car commuters would be willing to travel for about 15–20 minutes more than they do at present with a commute of over 50 minutes being acceptable. If car-commuting time doubled 46% would leave more time with 23% using other routes. Just 7% say they would use public transport.

Main reasons for driving to work:

55% quicker than other options

36% need to use car at work

28% public transport is inconvenient

26% more comfortable than other options

23% enjoy driving

21% convenient/cheap parking at work

Parking is an important factor in commuting. Some local authorities are looking at introducing workplace-parking levies. These moves would not be popular with motorists.

The following shows the impact of a £5 charge to park at work being introduced:

53% park on road

13% change job

10% use alternative transport

6% pay to park elsewhere

4% share driving

2% would pay the charge

Car Dependence

The strength of the car dependence is clear. If people could not use their own car to commute the majority (58%) would get a lift and 8% would even change jobs.

Edmund King, Executive Director of the RAC Foundation told the conference: "Our research shows that we are a nation of car commuters. We have the longest commute in Europe and even if our commuting time doubled most of us would just shrug and leave more time for the journey. Drivers would rather sit in their cars twice as long rather than change jobs, move house or change their work base. However, many commuters would revolt over the prospect of having to pay workplace-parking levies.

"Our research into ‘Motors and Modems’ shows that teleworking would cut commuter traffic by 15% by 2015. Currently some 9% of people work from home."

David Leibling, the main researcher and member of the RAC Foundation’s public policy committee, said: "We found that people are wedded to the car for practical reasons. Public transport performs an excellent function for high volume radial journeys into cities. In London and the southeast, the rail network and the underground fulfill that role. Elsewhere commuting into cities is by car with the bus a poor runner up. Outside of London rail only plays a small part in commuting."

The RAC Foundation improved commuting action plan calls for:

Work place travel plans

Individualised travel plans

Teleworking/video conferencing

Business parks linked to public transport

Better road access to business parks

Car sharing incentives and high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes

Park and ride

Better cycle/motorcycle facilities at work

Better interchanges

Better interactive information

Improved capacity on rail commuter routes

The average worker in the UK commutes 2,906 miles per year by car. Commuting in the UK currently accounts for 78.5 billion miles of car travel. The information compiled in the research is based on the census, the Labour Force Survey and the National Travel Survey - as well as on information from the annual RAC Report on Motoring - and the previous Lex reports on motoring.

The findings were presented by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) Foundation to a joint RAC Foundation/Railway Forum conference.

More information available in Eco Motoring, Commuting, Work Life Balance