Super-Commuters: More Forced To Deal With Huge Commutes In Weak Economy

On Feb. 9, 2012, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 waits to take off at Chicago's Midway Airport as another lands. Southwest Airlines has been a huge beneficiary of the rise in the number of super-commuters in Texas. Southwest Airlines flies 25 flights per day between Houston and Dallas, according to Bloomberg News.

Stuck in traffic or on a train for upwards of an hour getting to work today? You should probably just stop whining.

More Americans are choosing long commutes -- sometimes more than 100 miles -- instead of selling their homes and moving their families closer to their jobs. The rise in the number of so-called super-commuters far outpaced the growth of the workforce between 2002 and 2009, according to research by Mitchell Moss, a New York University urban policy professor.

Super-commutes from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to Houston have more than tripled since 2002, and commutes from Austin and San Antonio to Houston, from northern California to Los Angeles, and from Boston to Manhattan have more than doubled, according to Moss. Super-commutes to Manhattan have jumped 60 percent since 2002. Incredibly, about 13 percent of workers in the Dallas and Houston regions live in another area.

The rise of the super-commute highlights that the economy is recovering but still far from healthy. Since there are so many unemployed people willing to make sacrifices to work, a number of people are willing to take the first good job offer that they get, even if it is in a different city. They often shoulder the cost of the trip.

Moreover, since household formation has plunged and potential homebuyers are only willing to buy homes at a steep discount, many homeowners often cannot sell their homes at a price that's equal to or more than what they owe. The share of Americans that have moved has reached a record low, according to Census data cited by The New York Times. House prices still are 33 percent lower than their 2006 peak, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

Another reason for the boost in super commuters? The spread of Internet access also has allowed workers to work remotely from home or during their commutes, NYU's Moss noted.

These super-commuters are more likely to be under 29 years old than the average worker, and for good reason. Rob Franklin, 40, who lives and works in Houston during the week and sees his family in Austin only during weekends, told Bloomberg News that his distant job in finance has taken a toll on his family life.

"My daughter turned 8 years old on Monday and I was here in Houston," Franklin told Bloomberg News. "She was crying."

Comments

[golfer1021]

02:16 PM on 03/06/2012

I was laid off about 6 months ago and can definitely attest to the tough job market. It took some dedicated effort to land a job. I know the jobs are out there, there is just more competition to get them.

I will tell you what worked for me. I broke down and had my resume professionally done. I had been told to do it for some time, but was basically too cheap to pay for it! But in the end it was worth it. The writers know what key words to include to get your resume the attention it deserves. I did my research - there are a lot of services out there that range in price from $40 to $150. I found one that cost $49 - so I didn't pay an arm and a leg. And I believe it was well worth it. I recommend it to anyone on the job hunt.

The service I used was ResumeSolutionsPro.com ( I have heard good things about resumeworld.com as well) Best of Luck to you all!

[MSROADKILL612]

07:49 AM on 02/27/2012

I have an idea & i cant see where I am wrong but it never gets a bite

Slightly Heavier Than Air - to coin a phrase

a wing shaped sort of blimp - some of the lift comes from helium/hydrogen bladders in the wings but its still controllable on landing/takeoff

if hydrogen - some of it can be used as fuel on descent

can vary the gas depending on weight on board - the manifest

similarly - a cheap HSR hub could be a hi altitude airport - Phoenix? - less fuel to get gas guzzling jets airborne - use trains to gain part of the altitude for the weight - put airports on plateaus - hsr on the cheap - us planes for the hard bits like the rockies etc.

[MSROADKILL612]

03:41 PM on 02/25/2012

seems to me, even w/ conventional trains - there are many commercially doable routes where folks leave town A cbd at ~6pm & arrive at town B cbd rested, fed, showered & shaved (showers at destination maybe) ~9am

just like it was in the 1930S

was like that sydney / melbourne - too fancy & expensive but i loved it

the sex segregated US style curtained bunk carriages should do - cheap, but way better than driving or airports

[MSROADKILL612]

03:25 PM on 02/25/2012

dont quote me - but i think the busiest routes are HK taipei & Melbourne sydney in that order

[noaxe397]

02:38 AM on 02/25/2012

When my company reduced the size of our local office in Phoenix I has a choice:  be unemployed or work in the Salt Lake City office..................since my job required I bring large amounts of equipment with me, flying was out of the question.................The company gave me a company car and paid the gas but it was up at 2AM Monday for the 11 hour drive and then depart 1PM Friday for the return home at midnight......................My alarm clock was often the rumble strip in the road.

[MSROADKILL612]

03:12 PM on 02/25/2012

My alarm clock was often the rumble strip in the road. - eeks

_ I shouldt talk as am not a local & my geography may well be iffy - but an up the guts nth sth HSR - maybe even from mexico city to chicago linking big airports & cities - dead flat big valley - cheap ( forget electric) - ~150mph, elevated up the median strip of freeways at times - branch east or west via bus/train/plane /rent car over the mountains

~23 flights a day - one airline alone - houston dallas sounds a doable route for HSR

if a merc saloon can do that on an autohahn what could it do on even existing track?

[BJ Woodley]

08:31 PM on 02/24/2012

My commute in the DC area is less than 60 miles RT, but it takes 2.5 hours RT, and I take metro most of the way. should I feel lucky or not, I wonder? I'm lucky to have a job, I guess!

[MSROADKILL612]

03:56 PM on 02/25/2012

Hmm - good post - ta 4 sharing

30 miles pt to pt - 1.25hrs alternately put - methinks it depends a lot on getting to & from the metro at each end - have u considered a bike at each end - a locker etc - if odd hours - a bike on the train may be fine

doable bikes are sub $100

u can often make it a downhill run both ways by alternating to & from stations

[Paul Rainwater]

07:06 PM on 02/24/2012

I can work remotely from any where in the world with internet, I don't own a car and walk 90% of the time where I currently live. Thirty years ago, when I was first working I would sit for hours on the freeways in Dallas going and returning from a job I hated, wasting gas and time, what a horrible existence that was. It's too bad we can't figure out a better system, but once gas prices get higher and stay high, things will have to change. With approximately 5% of the world's population, the United States is responsible for approximately 25% of annual global oil consumption and according to 2008 estimates has a per-person daily consumption rate more than double that of the European Union, whose population is significantly greater. Automobiles are the single largest consumer of oil, consuming 40%

[foubabou]

06:55 AM on 02/25/2012

I kinda like that not own a car idea. Best I can do is a small diesel that gets over 47 mpg. But I do keep my driving down to a couple of thousand miles a year.

[MSROADKILL612]

04:01 PM on 02/25/2012

cool

had a biz in cbd of a big city - astonished me big networth folks were happy to spend life waiting on cabs or in gridlock in limos when the poor did it easy on trains & buses

[DSevere]

04:43 PM on 02/24/2012

When I read stuff like this I feel like the luckiest person in the world. We have a live/work space so my commute consists of putting on my bathrobe and walking to the office area in the front of our industrial space.

If you can at all manage a virtual office set up or other arrangement that allows you to work at home, I heartily recommend this approach, it's amazing how much your stress level decreases, not to mention gas expenses, wear and tear on vehicles, lunch expenses, etc.

Also, you're able to spend all day with your animals, dogs definitely improve office life...

[MSROADKILL612]

04:02 PM on 02/25/2012

why bother w/ the bathrobe?

[DSevere]

06:40 PM on 02/25/2012

Gets cold in the mornings... ;)

[satyrday]

02:11 PM on 02/24/2012

With the communication resources we have today, there's no reason why many people can't be 'virtually' closer to their jobs. Part of our 'all of the above' energy policy should be to promote this.

[ILoveGreatDanes]

11:10 AM on 02/24/2012

I have a friend who flies 358 miles from Anchorage, AK to Fairbanks, AK, every other week, as a traveling nurse even in extreme temperatures of -30 and blizzards. It's a lot easier flying in Alaska, especially in remote areas.

[FWJames123]

11:29 AM on 02/24/2012

I'd have to disagree with you. Sure hopping over to Fairbanks is a breeze but make that bethel or Juneau or Cordova and you are likely to have to factor in weather. I can't count the number of days I spent in School gyms or a chiefs house because a plane couldn't get in or out on schedule. I was stuck in Haines for a week due to fog and ended up taking a boat out. The lower 48 is a breeze in comparison.

[ILoveGreatDanes]

11:33 AM on 02/24/2012

Sorry, I wasn't clear. By flying being easier I meant flying is an easier mode of transportation within Alaska than driving, both because of weather, the remoteness of many areas, and because of the massive size of the state. Flying in other areas of the country is of course easier than in Alaska.

[Mr MOTO]

10:43 AM on 02/24/2012

I live in Iowa for a company in California and my HR office of record is in New York but my hub is in North Carolina and if I need any work done on my computer I go to Minneapolis.

[Mr MOTO]

10:31 AM on 02/24/2012

I recruit Enterprise Software Sales. All positions are remote by region and require 75% travel. I had one candidate but 100,000 miles in a year and another that was in 2 cities per day for 6 days per week.

[den1953]

10:04 AM on 02/24/2012

This makes a very strong argument for high speed trains or a different means of transportation that can carry more people with less energy!

[Erica]

10:55 AM on 02/24/2012

Smart!

[Dez Crawford]

11:38 AM on 02/24/2012

If only we didn't have so many people in this country who watch Faux News and think commuter trains are an evil, communist plot instead of a means to save time, money and resources.

[Scoutinny]

10:01 AM on 02/24/2012

Live in NYC and walk 40 minutes to and from work M-F. I'd rather not have it any other way, either - the subways are over-crowded with disgustingly-behaved people, and driving in Manhattan is only for cabbies, trucks, and idiots. My "commute" contributes 0% towards pollution, and is relatively healthy.

[Erica]

10:56 AM on 02/24/2012

I used to do that in college -- now I'm 35 miles from work and stuck in the car. But when I did walk, snowpants were my best friend this time of year!

[MSROADKILL612]

04:09 PM on 02/25/2012

never heard the term snowpants - sorry - but the possibilities amuse me - ice princess etc.

[Citizen13]

09:55 AM on 02/24/2012

Try driving over an hour to work only to work for miserable bigots who have you by the nads knowing jobs are scarce.

[baxtron]

10:12 AM on 02/24/2012

the key is to only put out 80% effort. it's not enough to notice, but still leaves time to daydream.

[Citizen13]

10:42 AM on 02/24/2012

I always put in 100% I can't do it any other way. Luckily 100% and being over qualified leaves others without a pot to piss in.

[FWJames123]

10:47 AM on 02/24/2012

A perfect strategy to keep you in low end jobs for life.

[Grigori Rasputin]

10:25 AM on 02/24/2012

Hopefully your not typing this on an office computer :) Sorry for the circumstances, that always bites!

[Citizen13]

10:41 AM on 02/24/2012

The truth will set me free.