Ilyce Glink's Blog

Welcome to Ilyce Glink's blog! Here you'll find Ilyce's latest insights on personal finance advice, real estate advice and consumer issues. Come back often for timely and interesting posts on a wide variety of topics.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Commuters Persist in Driving Alone

For a while it seemed that commuters were changing their driving habits in response to high gas prices. Apparently, the change was less dramatic than some media made it out to be.

A recent survey found:

-One in four (26%) working Americans say they have made adjustments to their commuting habits in the last year to deal with the increased cost of getting to work.

-Despite this, however, eight in 10 (84%) say their primary mode of transportation for getting to work is still their car, which they drive alone.

-Just 5 percent of workers carpool, and reliance on public transportation is still very low. Only 2 percent of workers take the train or subway as their primary transportation to get to work, while another 3 percent ride the bus.

-And whether they're the majority driving the highways or the minority taking public transportation, the typical American worker commutes an average of 13.9 miles one way--with one in five (19%) traveling more than 25 miles to get to work.

Ipsos Public Affairs surveyed more than 1,000 hourly and salaried workers on behalf of SnagAJob.com.

Labels: Cars, commute, driving, Gas, gas prices

posted by Melanie G. Rogers at 3:08 PM 1 comments

1 Comments:

People want a solution to the high price of gas, but they do not want to be inconvenienced.

There is one solution that cuts back on gas consumption and actually makes it easier to get to work.

Remote Office Centers allow people to work remotely from safe, secure professional facilities located near where they live.

Remote Office Centers are fairly new, but can be found in many cities by searching the internet for "Remote Office Centers" in quotes.

Remote Office Centers lease individual offices, internet and phone systems to workers from different companies in shared centers located around the suburbs.

Convenience, gas savings, time savings, and less traffic on the roadways for people who really do need to be onsite to do their job.

The solution is really not much more than a small paradign shift. Most workers can work remotely. They just need the right facilities and backing from managment.

posted by aullman | August 28, 2008 11:29 PM | more stuff

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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

What's the Best Way to Work While Facing High Gas Prices?

I think gas has increased by at least 70 cents a gallon since I started working this past September. It's certainly not been easy.

I recently thought I could take the commuter train but then real life got in the way. I compared the costs of the train against what I was spending in gas and realized I'd have to buy gas anyway, for the times when I was not at work and I did not anticipate saving that much. In addition, my schedule is such that buying a monthly pass didn't make much sense, if I could only use it half of the time, potentially.

Sure, you save money when you take public transportation, but you find yourself having to follow a more rigid schedule, which may not work for every job. And if you want to do something after work you have to either figure out how to get there via public transportation or do extra planning to drive.

Telecommuting, on the other hand, has been helpful. I work several days a week from home and it's worked out very well. In fact, I find myself starting work even sooner on those days. I drive on average two hours a day to and from work and those two hours add up on my telecommuting days.

That said, here are some data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas about how companies have responded to higher gas prices:

- 23 percent of respondents' companies offer condensed workweeks, for example, four 10-hour days
- 18 percent of companies subsidize employees' use of public transportation
- 14 percent have expanded telecommuting options
- one in five companies organize employee carpools

Thirty-four percent of companies said that they've had job seekers turn down job offers because of commuting costs. You would think the job applicant would have thought about that before interviewing. (Note: the survey results come from interviews of 100 HR executives.)

Separately, apparently job seekers have lost their enthusiasm for long commutes. In February 37 percent of survey respondents said they wouldn't travel more than 10 miles for a job. Thirty percent said they'd be willing to go 20 miles. Only 15 percent would travel more than 20 miles. This information comes from a SnagAJob.com survey.

My current commute is roughly 15 miles, probably one of the longest I've had. But it's worth it.

If you find yourself trying to make some commuting decisions look at all your options and see what your company offers. If they don't offer telecommuting or carpooling or condensed weeks, it may be worthwhile to ask to get them started.

Labels: auto, Cars, commute, employer, Gas

posted by Melanie G. Rogers at 2:46 PM 0 comments

0 Comments: