Shocking study finds that one in four Brits spend a month a year commuting

Three businessmen on their way to work. Image credit: Bernd Zube/Flickr

Not everyone enjoys their jobs, and the commute can be just as stressful and tedious as the work itself.

Rising fuel costs and ever-increasing public transport fares, coupled with rush hour traffic, late buses and trains and frequent strike action on the rail network all contribute to frustrating journeys to and from the workplace.

A recent survey by the 3-in-1 transportation app Ubeeqo produced shocking figures, finding that one in four British people spend one month of every year commuting.

A quarter of Brits have to complete a marathon-like commute, equating to approximately 712 hours of travel.

Train commuters are the hardest hit, enduring the longest travel time with the average worker spending more than two working weeks – 11 days – in transit, compared to 8.8 days for car drivers.

75% of Londoners use public transport daily, compared to 64% of the rest of the population. Image credit: Daniel Lobo/Flickr

While one in five say they’d rather choose towalk to work than take any other transport method.

Henrik Jensen, UK Managing Director of Ubeeqo, said of the findings: “This data shows we are spending a huge amount of our lives on the way to or from work.

“However, there are now many options available to people to help them cut down their travel time and spend more on doing what they love.

“Car users looking for broader options are embracing services like car clubs as an affordable way to have the flexibility of owning a car, without the added coast and which has also been seen to reduce congestion in our cities.”

Expense was the main reason that drivers and walkers ditch public transport, with time consuming routes and inefficiency backing it up in second and third.

Ubeeqo is a European start-up specialising in fleet and mobility solutions for both the business and the end-consumers market.

In addition to being one of Deloitte’s top 30 high-growth technology companies, Europcar is a majority stakeholder and uses the company as part of its strategy to extend its mobility offering in response to its customers’ challenges with simple, turnkey solutions.