Going to and from work in the Buffalo Niagara region is about 20% faster than for workers across the country.
Our commutes take an average of 21.5 minutes, which is almost six minutes faster than the national average of 27.2 minutes, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Six minutes here and six minutes there can really add up. For someone who commutes to work 230 days a year, that works out to 23 fewer hours spent in the car driving to and from work than the national average. That’s almost a full day’s worth of free time that the average U.S. worker misses out on.
Our short – and comparably less stressful – commutes are one of the big advantages of living in the Buffalo Niagara region, which used to be much bigger and has a network of roadways that were built to accommodate a much larger population than we now have.
Almost 15% of the region’s workers get to and from work in 10 minutes or less, while a third take just 10 minutes to 20 minutes, the report said. Just 24% of local workers have commutes that take more than 30 minutes.
Because of that – and partly because of the more limited public transportation options here compared with many bigger cities – we’re more dependent on driving than the nationwide workforce, and more of us drive alone, as opposed to carpooling.
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David Robinson
Buffalo Next Editor
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