Drivers lost 130 hrs to traffic last year
Drivers lost an average 130 hours of their lives to sitting in traffic in 2019. I’m shocked that this article equates the experience to “listening to the John Lennon song ‘Imagine’ 2513 times in a row.” John Lennon?! They couldn’t find a Quebec song that runs to roughly 3:55?
Blork 18:02 on 2020-11-20 Permalink
I’m surprised it’s not more than that. If you image someone works 49 weeks a year (three weeks of vacation) and they drive to work five days a week (so ten trips a week) that adds up to about 16 minutes per commute.
And just for the sake of argument, compare that to the 600 hours a year I spent on the Metro and buses when I worked up in “The Triangle.” But at least I could read or listen to some audio for most of that. Although in calculating… about 200 of those hours were dead zones for reading (waiting outside, walking, waiting on the platform…)
MarcG 18:25 on 2020-11-20 Permalink
I think the 130 hours is sitting-in-gridlock time and not commute time. 16 minutes staring at the bumper in front of you feels like forever no matter what song is on the radio.
EmilyG 19:04 on 2020-11-20 Permalink
“Imagine there’s no traffic,
It’s easy if you try…”
Sprocket 11:10 on 2020-11-21 Permalink
When I lived in midtown Toronto (St Clair near Bathurst) and worked in Mississauga it was about two hours each way. That equates to 1000 hours per year. That is why my car was an automatic. Doing that amount of time in stop and go traffic driving stick would have killed me.
Kate 13:36 on 2020-11-21 Permalink
Sprocket, that’s horrible. You didn’t think of moving closer?
Blork 15:55 on 2020-11-21 Permalink
…or changing jobs? I thought only U.S. people had commutes like that. Four hours a day? That is literally insane!
Last week my sweetie and I had to go to Drummondville for something (don’t ask, don’t judge) and that’s about an hour away. When we got there I said “Imagine, some people drive this long just to get to work everyday” and it felt like the most insane thing imaginable. But two hours each way, every day? Yikes!
GC 18:43 on 2020-11-21 Permalink
As someone who grew up in the Greater Toronto Area, as homes got more and more expensive, I don’t think a two hour commute was even all that unusual… Moving closer wasn’t always that feasible, if you had a partner who worked on the other side of the city. (Or liked the schools your kids could go to where you lived…) A house often lasts longer than a job, too.
dwgs 20:28 on 2020-11-21 Permalink
Nope, that’s T.O. Back in the mid 80’s my sister lived in Oshawa, 70 km out of town and my b-i-l spent 2.5 hours in the car on an average day. Every day.