If you don’t work at home, chances are you’re driving longer and longer to get to work according to the
Transportation Research Board

By the Editorial Staff of MoneyfromHome.net

If you don’t work at home, chances are that your commute is taking longer and longer, according to a new study published by the Transportation Research Board in their decade report, “Commuting in America III”.

The report, which is based on the most recent census data and other factors, reflects that, compared with previous decades, more Americans are leaving for work between 5 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., for commuting times between 60 and 90 minutes each way. In fact, the number of commutes lasting more than 60 minutes grew by almost 50 percent between 1990 and 2000!

As metropolitan areas continue to increase, increasing number of Americans are also leaving their home county to work in a nearby county.

“The shares of commuters leaving home before 6 a.m. tells us a great deal about the weaknesses in our transportation system’s services” commented Alan E. Pisarski, a transportation consultant and author of the report , "Commuting in America III". “It is just one symptom of people being forced to adjust behavior to avoid heavy congestion in the peak periods.”

For parents, this ‘adjustment in behavior’ can be devastatingly costly. It can mean waking up one day and realizing you’ve missed your kid’s whole childhood. Some parents with long commutes leave their homes far too early to even see their children awake, and a long commute in the morning translates into an equally long commute after work. That same parent will be lucky to arrive home before bedtime in many American households.

Dads pay the greatest price because they’re the most likely to have the longest commute in the family. Moms that commute may have a long commute too, but are more likely to leave the home around 7:30 a.m. than those early morning hours when dad leaves.

According to Terri Murphy, the General Manager of moneyfromhome.net, the best antidote to leaving your family every day to suffer through a grueling commute to work is to work at home, as more and more Americans are discovering. Moneyfromhome.net publishes lists of nationally recognized, 100% home-based, scam-free work at home job listings.

According to the TRB report, 4 million Americans now work at home and have no commute. These statistics are considerably smaller than statistics published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics which reflect much higher numbers, up to almost 22 million Americans that work at home full or part time.

“The growth in people working at home can be characterized as the quiet revolution” commented Pisarski. “The COMMUTING IN AMERICA series has documented that (working at home) is the only “mode” of transportation, along with driving alone, that has grown throughout the entire period of the baby boom working years. It has now surpassed walking as a way to get to work and is third behind carpooling in most metropolitan areas.”

Workers over the age of 55 constitute only 14% of all workers but 26% of those work at home. The study notes that working at home will be a key factor among the aging population of baby boomers who have been greatly impacting transportation in the U.S. since the 70’s.

There are many causes for the increases in commuting times, ranging from the locations of workers and employers in relation to suburbs and the huge impact of sudden recent influxes of adult immigrants to our country. Although Hispanic immigrants represent the largest group of car poolers, their sudden growth of adult workers has impacted many aspects of our society, including transportation.

The number of Americans that work at home also has a great impact on transportation in the U.S. and the ‘work at home’ aspect is one of the top ten patterns that will be watched during the next ten year research cycle.

Moneyfromhome.net is an advocate for the work at home lifestyle and publishes scam-free work at home job listings at their site, http://www.moneyfromhome.net.