What would you consider an acceptable distance to travel?

Clark80

I travel 12 miles each way and take 45 mins by bus, 25 mins by car.

Longest I ever travelled was 15 miles each way and this took 1 and half hours each way (some areas are worse for traffic) this was soul destroying and I moved on after 8 months of working there.

getmore4less

After many years I feel that a regular commute by car 30-50mins is the upper bound I would consider on a regular basis with most days taking 30-40mins.
The odd day could take longer eg snow in the winter.

By public transport I could take longer if it was comfortable.

Longer commutes by car for short term 3-4 weeks max would be OK on top.


For shorter distances I would consider cycling(20mins) or walking(40mins) most of the time.

DCFC79

Longest i travelled was about 1 hour 20 minutes when i left at around 7 in the mornings, for me though it depends on how much i enjoyed the job and did i get petrol money for it, in the case of my longest journey i got petrol money for it which made it even better

hieveryone

Where I work at the moment is 35 miles away and takes about 1hr25mins every day, give or take 10mins. If I get kept on in my job after this year I would move closer, it's getting too much.

Also, it's not so bad in the summer, but it's a killer in the winters.

elsien

Depends on your personal circumstances as well.
I declined a job with 45 minutes travelling time, as I have a dog who is left mostly alone while I'm at work, and I decided it wasn't fair on her to be left an extra 1 1/2 hours a day.

buglawton

I heard somewhere that if total driving time exceeds 2 hrs/day you have a case for being offered a proper redundancy deal, and employment tribunals generally concur with this. Also you get to keep state benefits if needed.

So the next question is, do you want to be considered? You may find colleagues in the same boat, I suggest compare notes with them.

blckbrd

Travelling can be exhuasting. Took me a month to adjust to 1hr 10/20mins mostly on the busy tube but now it's fine. My head's still not too enamoured but at least my body doesn't shut down at half eight every night!

MrsManda

I really think it depends on how you travel. I travel ~1hr 15 each way but 1hr is sat on a train so I get work done on the way in and use the journey home to switch off.
My husband used to drive 40 minutes to work, though this could often stretch to 1 hour and he used to come home shattered and stressed. Now he travels for an hour and half and gets up half an hour earlier yet is much less tired and stressed because the majority of the journey is via train, plus a brisk walk so he's exercising and sleeping better for it.

kingfisherblue

My daughter is a home care assistant and she works three short shifts a day. She doesn't drive, so has to rely on buses. One of her shifts would take ten to fifteen minutes in the car, but is two bus rides away, so she spends fifty minutes travelling there. The shift is an hour and a half long, and because of the times of the buses, she spends an hour and a half getting home. It's not ideal, but the pay isn't bad and she gets a non-taxable travel allowance for this shift (but not for her other shifts - one is a twenty minute bus ride and the other is a twenty minute walk).

kernowayr

For the past 9 months I have driven to work as it's just not practical to go any other way so MUST now have a car (previously I went by bus 2 miles but job relocated to over 40 miles away and there is absolutely no bus available which goes near enough and/or regularly enough). I am not paid a penny piece towards my travel costs at present but am wondering how long would be reasonable to wait before asking for a raise to cover/contribute towards these given that we're talking over 320 miles a week (4days only - I get Wed. off on a regular basis) and petrol has gone up approx. 10% over what it was 9 months' ago already.

Time wise, the journey takes a minimum of 1 Hour 20 mins. on a good day and 1 Hr 45mins. to 2 hours each way on a bad day.

That said, I would rather continue with the arrangement than resign and risk having to survive on £64 a week JSA for up to 6 months then get no help thereafter (I am married, with some savings, own home and expenses of c. £1,000 per month, including the car, petrol, food, utilities etc.) which is why I continue (& can afford to) to do this really.

My salary is c. £23K before deductions btw - I'd be struggling to get this rate within 10 miles of my home address in the current market and any journey across town would take just as long to do (some locations) as I am taking to drive now any way.