Back to School Commute: Car Drivers Less Stressed than Transit Users

Back to School Road Rage? With workers returning from summer holidays and students heading back to school, you may notice heavier traffic on the road this September. You'd think nerves would be more frayed, and yet, true to Canadian style, we continue to be happy campers about the commute, according to Stats Canada, which recently reported (say when) that in 2010 Canadian commuters were generally satisfied with their average commute time of 26 minutes.

The study also found that there was a correlation between commuting time and stress. 36% of workers who traveled more than 45 minutes to work found that most days were quite or extremely stressful. Only 23% of workers who traveled less than 15 minutes to work found that most days were stressful.

Therefore it's not surprising that 23% of public transit users were dissatisfied with their commute, compared with 18% of car commuters. Public transit users take longer on average to get to work, which an average 44 minute commute time.

This study included all modes of transportation. 12% of commuters took public transit, while 6% walked or bicycled. Overall, only 15% of study participants were dissatisfied with the length of their commute time. Most of those dissatisfied with their commute live in one of the larger census metropolitan areas (CMAs) which have a population of more than 1 million.

Not surprisingly, commuters in the CMAs of Toronto had the longest average commute time of 33 minutes, while those in Vancouver averaged 30 minutes, and 31 minutes in Montreal. Half of commuters in Toronto and Montreal traveled over 30 minutes to get to work, with one quarter traveling 45 minutes or more.