The housing crisis and a lack of investment in roads has led to longer commute times for workers, a new study has revealed.
According to the Trade Union Council, the number of commuters spending more than two hours travelling to and from work has jumped 72% in the last decade to three million.
The analysis showed that the number of commuters travelling for three or more hours a day has increased 75% to 880,000 in the last ten years.
Women have been the worst hit, with a 90% rise in those travelling for two hours or more each day and a 131% increase in those travelling three hours or more since 2004.
The biggest increases were in the South East (103%) and the South West (102%), while the East Midlands (87%) and Wales (76%) have also seen large rises.
With commutes of three hours per day and above, the biggest rises were in Yorkshire and the Humber (98%), the South East (91%) and the West Midlands (87%).
The TUC said soaring rents and high house prices have left many workers unable to live in areas near to their jobs.
A lack of investment in roads and railways also meant that it was now taking longer for many people to get in to work.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “It’s bad enough most of us spend an hour a day getting to and from work – but spare a thought for those extreme commuters who travel for more than 10, or even 15, hours a week.
“Employers need to address the problem that many of their staff are spending an ever-increasing number of hours getting to and from work.
“More home and flexi-working could easily be introduced to allow people to cut their commutes and save money. This would not only be popular with workers, but fewer, better-spaced journeys would help to beat overcrowding on the roads and railways.”
Work Wise UK’s chief executive Phil Flaxton said: “With some 25 million commuters regularly going to a fixed place of work Commute Smart Week reminds us that we have an opportunity to change our attitudes and thinking in relation to long commutes.
“Are we really prepared to move into winter with the same anticipated long and often disrupted commutes? Or, are we going to change the way we work by commuting less with the aid of internet and mobile technologies.
“Employers should grasp this opportunity by changing the way employees work and commute and introduce more flexibility to cut out these restrictive influences on business performance as well as the wellbeing of their employees.”
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