Commuting to work is one of modern life's least enjoyable aspects, especially in light of the fact that the population of drivers across the nation has outpaced freeway construction at rates which give even the automobile industry pause. And commute times are only expected to increase as the national population swells around already heavily populated urban areas.

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	The average daily commute in 2003 was estimated at 24.3 minutes, with the usual metropolitan suspects tallying significantly higher.

According to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, the average American worker spends more than 100 hours every year commuting to work. That’s more than four full days stuck in traffic. To put this in perspective, consider this: the average American worker receives an annual total of 80 hours of vacation time. So we spend more time getting to and from work than we do recovering from it.

The average daily commute in 2003 was estimated at 24.3 minutes, with the usual metropolitan suspects tallying significantly higher: New York (38.3 minutes); Chicago (33.2 minutes); Newark, New Jersey (31.5 minutes); Riverside, California (31.2 minutes); Philadelphia (29.4 minutes); and Los Angeles (29.0 minutes) had the six highest average commute times. In what is somewhat surprising news, the national average rose by only two minutes between 1990 and 2003.

The locations with the shortest commutes in the nation among large cities were Wichita, Kansas (16.5 minutes); Tulsa, Oklahoma (16.8 minutes); and Omaha, Nebraska (17.3 minutes), all decidedly smaller urban areas than New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, which had at least twice as long daily commutes.

The vast majority of the cities with the longest commutes were on the East Coast, with only Chicago, Los Angeles, and Riverside being located in other regions of the country. “Large cities,” according to the study, were those with populations higher than 250,000. State-wise, New York had the longest average commute at 30.8 minutes, followed by Maryland (30.0), New Jersey (28.3), Illinois (26.7), and California (26.6).

According to the census report, the number of commuters traveling to work alone went up from 73% in 1990 to 77% in 2002. Many state and local governments have since implemented strict carpooling measures to encourage workers to commute together, easing congestion and the impact of nationwide commutes on the environment.

But the major work needed on highways across the nation is severely lagging behind the level necessary to keep up with traffic. According to a report released by the American Highway Users Alliance, the number of U.S. traffic bottlenecks rose by 40% between 1997 and 2002. These numbers do not bode well for future commuters, whose only recourse may be public transportation.

The data collected also put the spotlight on the need for major metropolitan areas to address the issue of traffic congestion, which plays an important part in determining a city’s overall quality of life. A survey by Forbes released January 30 found that the least-happy cities are those with the longest commute times, factored in with other criteria including tax rates, unemployment, and violence. Not surprisingly, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Detroit were all on the list.

The U.S. Census Bureau also took the nation’s 10 largest cities and calculated the average time (in days) spent in traffic for each. The results were as follows:

• New York: 6.7 (days)
• Los Angeles: 4.9
• Chicago: 5.7
• Houston: 4.4
• Philadelphia: 5.3
• Phoenix: 4.3
• San Diego: 3.9
• Dallas: 4.4
• San Antonio: 4.1
• Detroit: 4.3

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