Longest commutes? N.Y. City tops List

[Allan]

Longest commutes? N.Y. City tops list

Census Bureau finds Wichita has shortest among big cities

New York City sees tens of thousands of commuters each day, such as this flow along Church Street near where the World Trade Center stood.

The Associated Press

Updated: 10:30 a.m. ET Feb. 26, 2004

When it comes to commuting times, no city tops the Big Apple, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

The average New York City resident spends 38 minutes getting to work, nearly six minutes more than the typical Chicagoan, the bureau said in a new report. Philadelphia, Riverside, Calif., and Baltimore rounded out the top five cities with 250,000 or more people.

The national average is 24-plus minutes, about two minutes more than in 1990.

Among states, New York was first, with a typical commuting time of 31 minutes, followed by Maryland, New Jersey, Illinois and California.

New York experience

The New York metropolitan area has one of the most comprehensive and heavily used mass transit networks in the nation. City residents may take a little longer to get to work by subway than people who drive from their homes to suburban office parks.

[M. Brown]

I dont think that is correct. They left out so many cities. What about Boston. People from Manchester work in Boston.

[Allan]

Those are average commute times. In Detroit, some people commute 75 miles to work downtown; however that is not what the average person does. A few people who commute insane distances don't throw off the average that much.

Actually I'm surprised SF isn't higher on the list. Some of those people working there commute insane distances because housing in the city is so unaffordable. I've heard of people working in SF who commute 120 miles each way to work each day!

[M. Brown]

I believe there was a show on the discovery channel about the traffic in sf

[tocoto]

I read boston is #10, around 27 minutes.

[Scott]

Mine is ten minutes~ 3.1 miles, well below average!

[Allan]

My neighbor makes the 60 mile drive to downtown Detroit every day. That must be awful, since the traffic is so heavy. It usually moves like 85 mph bumper to bumper....until there's snow or an accident or something. Then the whole interstate is just a giant parking lot.

[Cotuit]

My commute in Providence is about 20 minutes, 1.2miles. That's on foot.

When I lived in New York, my commute from Queens to Midtown was anywhere from 35 minutes, to 2 hours plus, depending upon what calamity befell the transit system, or what suspicious powder shutdown bridges, tunnels, or train stations.

Oddly enough, my commute on the express bus along the LIE was the most consistent, unless the Queens-Midtown Tunnel was shutdown due to 'suspicious activity.' Madness on the subway was what would often take the longest time.

[Allan]

I made the trip from my house to Southfield (Inner suburb & major employment center 56 miles away) during rush hour this morning. I made it from my driveway to where I was going in only 58 minutes. Traffic was heavy the entire way, but everyone was driving at least 80 mph, so it didn't take as long as it could have. I can see why Oakland county is pushing for the $8 billion widening of I-75 to 8 lanes...there is a long stretch of road that gets very backed up. I was lucky today, because it wasn't raining, snowing, or foggy. The second it rains or snows, that all changes, and major delays occur.

[havok100]

My commute from Miami Beach to Miami takes me 14 minutes,a total of 4.84 miles. No highways used. B)

[turlough]

Where is ATL and Motown?

[Allan]

Where is ATL and Motown?

I don't know about Atl, but motown is very decentralized. In fact, downtown workers are in the minority. There are only about 80,000 workers downtown. Most people commute to one of several large employment centers in the suburbs, including Troy, Southfield, & Warren. So because only so many people commute downtown, the commute is not that long. Plus, most people don't live 60 miles from downtown like I do.

[turlough]

Oh ok

[tocoto]

If I walk its 45 minutes, if I drive its between 10 minutes and 2 hours. Public transport about 30 minutes. Best driving days are Sundays. Worst driving days are weekdays.