Labour Force statistics: Commute times increase by 18 hours in the East Midlands - 7 hours more than UK average

The amount of time that commuters spend travelling to and from work has increased substantially over the past five years, according to a TUC analysis of official figures published today (Friday).

The figures – published to mark the end of Commute Smart Week organised by Work Wise UK – show that East Midladns workers are spending on average an extra 18 hours commuting, compared to 11 hours across the UK.

The TUC believes that UK workers are spending far too much of their lives commuting – an average of nearly 211 hours per year, or the equivalent of more than a month’s full-time work.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Lee Barron said: “At a time when workers are already working longer hours for less pay, these figures come as a blow to confirm that workers are now giving up more of their own time commuting.

The East Midlands has really been hit hard in recent years during the down turn. A region that has suffered a severe squeeze in wages relative to other regions and now it is revealed that residents in the East Midlands are amongst the worst affected in terms of increased commuting times.

Workers in our region have been spectacularly squeezed. Employers need to look at greater use of home-working and flexi time to enable workers to save money, cut commuting and ultimately be more productive.

TUC General Secretary, Frances O’Grady said: “Employers need to address the problem that many of their workers are spending an increasing number of, often very, miserable hours commuting.

“More home-working and flexi-time could easily be introduced to allow people to cut their commutes and save money at the same time. This would be popular with workers and would also help take the pressure off our congested and overloaded transport system.”

The TUC analysis also breaks down commute times by different modes of transport. It shows that nationally travelling by car is still the most common way of commuting, with workers spending nearly 7 hours more per year travelling to work and back than they were in 2008. For bus, coach, rail, tram and underground passengers the rise in commuting time is higher – now an extra 14 hours per year.

The Department for Transport reports that motor vehicle traffic increased by 1.6 per cent during the past year, resulting in more than 250 thousand extra vehicle journeys. But in this time only 53 miles of new roads were built.

Similarly, the number of journeys made on the rail network increased by 2.5 per cent last year, but yet the capacity of the rail network only increased by a marginal amount – an extra nine miles of track.

Work Wise UK’s Chief Executive Phil Flaxton said: “With commuting times on the increase, identifying ways to reverse this trend should be a top priority for any employer, which means offering staff a choice in where and when they work.

“Is the daily commute this winter going to be interrupted by poor weather, increased demand on services and disrupted travel? Or are employers going to grasp the opportunity by changing the way employees work, think about the risks to their organisation and introduce more flexibility to cut out these disruptive influences on business performance, work life balance and productivity?”

Contacts:
Media enquiries:
Lee Barron, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary:   T: 0121 236 4454    M: 07919102472   E: lbarron@tuc.org.uk
Rob Johnston, Midlands TUC Policy & Campaigns Officer,  T: 0121 236 4454  M: 07879 497291  E: rjohnston@tuc.org.uk
Phil Flaxton (Work Wise UK)    M: 07831 112639       E: phil@workwiseuk.org