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They have this nifty chart (above) of how many days that works out to, over a 250-workday year, but there also have a table of commute by minutes per day. The rankings do not count the outlying suburbs' commute into the city, which is why places like Dallas and Houston don't make the cut, as well as higher numbers for L.A.
The Daily News on the "worst commute". Well, given that most people take the subway or public transport (not also that fun, we know), Gothamist says this about New York's long commute: It's the price we pay for living in the greatest city in the world. But if hearing about this makes people scared to moved here, that's fine by us.
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If your commute isn't in a car, that time is much less likely to be "dead time". I can't say I love my subway commute, but it is much more useful than my car commutes ever were. I read or relax or chat or write 75% of the time. It is rare that I am so packed in that all I can do is stand for the whole commute.
Yes, but NYC is also the only city where one can have a 4 minute commute to work like I did. Alarm set for 9:15. Snooze. Get up at 9:20. Out the door at 9:26. Arrive at work 9:30.
In all the commuting I did in California, I never got to read the paper while driving to work. (I did, however, eat breakfast in the car. Now I do that at my desk when I get to work.) Sure, I get in a lot of train time in NYC, but at least I can be somewhat productive, and subway gridlock, though frustrating, is much better than highway gridlock. Plus, New Yorkers can always blame tardiness on the MTA. In California, trying to blame traffic when you're late just isn't the same.
I do wonder, though, how so many people can sit or stand on the subway and do nothing. Absolutely nothing. Stare at their feet. Stare at other people. Daydream. It's lost time. Why not buy a newspaper or read a book? Cost isn't an issue--library cards are free.
My city beat out LA? Weird, the commute never seemed bad around here, as compared to the horror that was DC commuting. I suppose that I'm biased, as I have a 1 block commute. woo hoo
This has got to be the craziest study ever. NYC the longest commute? What the hell kind of data are they using? I don't buy it at all...
I do wonder, though, how so many people can sit or stand on the subway and do nothing. Absolutely nothing. Stare at their feet. Stare at other people. Daydream. It's lost time. Why not buy a newspaper or read a book? Cost isn't an issue--library cards are free.
Ah, I used to think like that. Now one of my favorite things to do -- especially after a really draining day at work -- is just to sit and watch people on the subway. The diversity of riders, the various outfits, nervous habits, reading materials, and the way people move around in the car, or speak to each other, fascinates me. I'd never call it 'lost time', just observing people is one of the things I love about living in NYC and taking the subway. It's what makes the city so vital and makes me feel so alive and such a part of it.
Commute is only part of the story. One of the nice things about NYC is that once you get back to where you live, you can grab your handy rolling wire basket and go grocery shopping on foot. Or you can walk down the street to get dinner, coffee, or your clothes cleaned. In just about every other city in America, any of those after-work activities would require an additional car trip.
I'd kill to have a 38 minute commute. Anyone coming from the suburbs or Staten Island has a commute of at least 60 minutes.
to glenn:
also, some people cannot read a book or a newspaper on their commute to work because it makes their head spin to see such words move with dizzying speed across a page. i don't even live in NYC, but know too well that's what happens when i do step on that subway with a book in hand.
i would be willing to guess that many great ideas came out of daydreams -- maybe not while riding the NYC subway in particular, but on a gondola in a venice canal or in a hot air balloon or on the back of those old-fashioned carriages and things while trekking across the ozarks. perhaps?
It's my understanding that the statistic is based on all five boroughs, and that Manhattan by itself, however, has one of the shortest average commutes of a major city.
Anyone know the 2003 tax rate for a NJ commuter who works in NY? I'm trying to figure out how much $ I get to keep after all taxes are taken?