Commute times falling, says study

The number of workers spending more than an hour travelling to the office has fallen for the first time in a decade, suggesting that "smarter" schemes such as flexi-time were having an effect, new research showed today.

A study by the TUC showed a 1% fall between 2006 and 2007 on the number of employees with commuter times of at least an hour.

The union organisation said the reduction was "heartening", but added that one in five people still took at least an hour to get to work.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "In the UK we work some of the longest hours in Europe, and on top of this we still have to commute an average of 54 minutes per day. This adds up to a very stressful working week for millions of workers across the UK.

"The decline in long commutes, which predates the current difficulties with the economy, shows that smarter working has finally begun to bite. The fall in commute times is heartening, because it reverses a 10-year trend towards more long-hours work journeys, which culminated in a record number of people spending more than an hour commuting each day.

"However, the statistics also show that one in five employees still spend more than an hour per day on their journey. It's vital that concerns about the economy do not deter employers from introducing flexible working, which could ease the strain for hard-pressed workers while delivering real benefits for business.

"The Government must do its bit by keeping their promise to extend the right to request flexible working to the parents of children aged up to 16. I hope all employers who receive flexibility requests consider them seriously and do all they can to make flexible working a reality."

The number of people commuting more than an hour to get to work in London fell from 47% to 40% over the year, the biggest reduction of any part of the UK.