ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 28, 1996 TAG: 9601260001
SECTION: ECONOMY PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
What time do you leave for work?
Nearly one in three Americans heads off for the daily grind between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. The trip seems to be getting a little longer, and people are starting a little earlier.
Longer rides are becoming more common, judging by a collection of commuting data compiled by the Census Bureau.
Commutes have become longer because people have moved farther from work, said Census statistician Gloria Swieczkowski. People moved in search of less costly housing and were encouraged by the steady price of gasoline, she said.
And even as commuting time got longer, an increasing number of people were driving alone rather than using public transit.
Normally, public transportation takes longer than driving, Swieczkowski said, so the combination of more drivers and more time indicates greater distances.
However, she said some of the additional time involved dropping children at day care. And people increasingly work more flexible hours, which also makes driving more common because it is harder to find a car pool partner.
The 1990 national head count was the first to ask people what time they left for work. But reports from the Bureau's 1985 and 1992 American Housing Survey also asked the question, and show a slight change over time. A set of Census tables compiling journey-to-work data from the 1990 count.
The tables show the most common time to leave for work, with 15.9 percent of departures, was the half-hour between 7 a.m. and 7:29. Close behind with 15.8 percent was the next half-hour.
The housing surveys also showed the 7-8 a.m. period as the most common time to go to work, but there was a shift to earlier departures.
In the 1985 survey, 15.4 percent of commuters left between 7 a.m. and 7:29, and 17.1 percent left the next half-hour. By 1991, 15.6 percent were leaving in the first half-hour and 16.7 percent in the second.
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