EXTREME COMMUTING

_______ (2005) Extreme commuting, BUSINESSWEEK, 2/21, p. 80

About 30 years ago, I was on a sabbatical from teaching. I was doing technical writing for a federal agencies and academic writing for a university. Both were in the downtown area. My round trip was 2 hours. One hour to the big city and one hour back to a rural cottage overlooking the Missouri.

Later in my career, although I lived in the woods, I was only 6 blocks from a 4 lane called the AVENUE OF THE SAINTS. Driving time was under 15 minutes to my school.
Commutes make a world of difference in one's life.

I am not alone. Millions do what I did. However, some commuter friendly companies and transit systems deliver on helping the commute to work. One company pays additional commute money as a subsidy. Another provides a shuttle service to the office. A third provides shuttle to a transit bus. A fourth allows for work at home. A fifth has free shuttle if you live in or in the surrounding area of a major city.

Others drive with someone else so that they share expenses and trade in terms of who drives to reduce stress. Most go it alone.

At any rate, the article concludes with for every 10 minutes of driving time there is a cut of 10% of social connections.