Commuting and corporate social responsibility

A quick thought. The average one-way commute to work in the UK in 2006 was 27 minutes (The National Traffic Survey 2006 pub. DfT 2007) and in the USA it was 26 minutes (ABC news survey 2005). Elsewhere in the world, journey times look similar. But these are the averages, and commuters report wide variance in actual times travelled day by day. Moreover, the phenomenon of the long-distance commuter – one to two hours each way, each day – is becoming ever more common.

Sitting in an air-conditioned bus or train, reading a good book, listening to music, watching a movie or TV show on a laptop, or playing a game... Well that doesn’t sound too bad, so long as the vehicle keeps moving and the price is acceptable. Even reading reports or handling email on a smart phone is ok, if it saves time in the workplace. Walking and cycling are ideal, although not realistic in many situations. But crawling in a car in near-stationary traffic is bad for the person doing it, bad for the environment and bad for the employer too, when their employees turn up tired and stressed.

Trouble is, when the infrastructure is in place and employees can afford to travel further... they do.

But we all know the benefits of a shorter commute:
• People spend their time more usefully: at work, at home, asleep but not in a vehicle.
• Employees can spend their money on something other than transport.
• Employing organisations become better grounded in their local communities.
• Employees’ wages are spent in the community so local businesses, services and their workers all benefit.
• Etc.

So how come more organisations don’t make it policy to improve their Corporate Social Responsibility by acting to shorten the commuting distance and time of their employees? In other words, why not make it a policy to prefer employees and applicants who live closer to the workplace? There may be some diversity and equal opportunities issues to resolve, but wouldn’t the work be worth it?