Motorists' commuting time grows inexorably
Over 78% of motoring commuters in Ireland now leave for work up to 30 minutes earlier than they did 12 months ago in order to try and get to work on time.
And almost 86% of respondents to an IrishCar.Com commuter survey said their journey times had jumped by up to half an hour in the same period.
A whopping 93% said they expect their journey times will increase in the future.
Just over 42% of respondents said they would switch to public transport if it was more readily available or more frequent. But when asked if they expected that public transport would improve, a strong majority of 62.5% believe it won’t.
The largest commuting time increase registered by the IrishCar.Com sample was 10-20 minutes per journey, with 37.% returning that time. Some 29% said their journeys are 5-10 minutes longer, and almost a fifth are experiencing 20-30 minute extensions to their trips to work.
Almost 33% are leaving home 10-20 minutes earlier than a year ago, 25% between 20-30 minutes earlier and 20.3% up to 10 minutes earlier.
Over 26% of respondents said they spend 5-8 hours in their car a week, while 24.3% are sitting in their driver’s seat for 3-5 hours a week. A little more than 16% commute on the roads for less than 3 hours a week.
Our survey does put some kind of shape on a problem which is well known to all those people sitting in traffic every morning and evening. UUnfortunately, it also shows a strong pessimism about future commuting patterns, and even though a very strong percentage would switch to public transport if it suited better, almost two-thirds are not expecting they’ll have that choice.
The survey base was purely internet users, but respondents included a wide range of motorists, from politicical figures to middle- and upper executives in business to employees of many businesses, all with the one goal of trying to get to work on time.
by Brian Byrne