Commuters in UK travel 2.5 times around the world during working life

23 May, 2007: The average commuter in the United Kingdom travels two and a half times around the globe during his or her working life.

A new research conducted by the RAC Foundation on Work Wise Transport Day shows that 25 million people in the UK commute to and from work, with 72% – i.e, 18 million – travelling by car.

The research also shows that the number of commutes over 50 miles is increasing, with the average commuter spending 58 minutes a day behind the wheel.

Four million people now work from home or act as ‘mobile workers’ and, as congestion increases and reliability on the road network becomes less certain, this trend is likely to continue.

Over the past 10 years, there has been a trend for fewer, but longer commuting journeys, suggesting that people in the United Kingdom are adjusting their living arrangements to deal with the frustrations of the commute.

In the UK, 13% of all long-distance trips are attributable to commuting, and the country has one of the longest commutes in Europe. The average commuter travels for 58 minutes a day and one in ten people have a daily journey of over two hours.

‘Extreme commuters’ – who commute at least three hours daily – make up 3% of the population.

The RAC Foundation’s survey on commuters in the UK has found the following facts:

19% of all distance travelled is for commuting purposes.

The average daily commute is 8.7 miles – a 6% increase since 1995-97.

The average commuter makes 161 commuting trips and travels 1391 miles over a year.

16% of all trips in the UK are made for commuting reasons.

When business travel is taken into account, workers travel an additional one and a half times around the globe.

The RAC Foundation recommends that individuals and businesses take stock of their commuting habits by considering how and when they travel.

Elizabeth Dainton, research development manager at the RAC Foundation, says that many people aspire to travel around the world, but very few realise that they already travel two and a half times around the globe during the course of their working life.

Adopting smarter working practices can make a big difference to the distance and time committed to the commute, adds Elizabeth Dainton. Working from home just one day a week can reduce commuting distance by 20% and working outside the normal 9 to 5 helps reduce congestion and time spent at the wheel.

According to Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK, an overall reduction in the need to travel is a key benefit of working smart. The requirement to travel to and from work at the same time to the same place every weekday, and also to travel many miles for meetings, is largely unnecessary considering the technology available and the nature of the global market today.

Changing our working practices, says Phil Flaxton, could be one of the solutions to road congestion, and probably the only one that is currently achievable.

As part of Work Wise Week, the RAC Foundation and Traffic Master have produced a Congestion Index, which demonstrates that peak commuting in the UK is spreading over longer periods during the day.

London has the greatest peak spread lasting for approximately three hours each end of the working day.