Happier, Healthier, Wealthier: More Reasons to Change Your Commute
Whoever declared "getting there is half the fun" must have been a carpool, vanpool, transit, telework or bike/ped commuter. Plucked from recent headlines, here are three reasons more of us should try alternatives to driving alone ... because our well-being could literally depend on it:
Changing your commute could save your marriage.
Can the hassle of a lengthy commute douse the flames of matrimony? According to a dissertation from a Swedish institution of higher learning, those with longer commutes have more earning potential and career opportunities ... but they are 40% more likely to get divorced. Daily roundtrip commute times for one in ten lovelorn Swedes stands at around 45 minutes. Georgia commuters can top that: in metro Atlanta, the average roundtrip commute clocks in at precisely one hour. Think of all those honey-drenched text messages you could be sending discreetly to your significant other ("u complete me <3") from the comfort of an Xpress bus or the backseat of a vanpool.
Changing your commute could save you big bucks.
Why can't you afford to dine out on a juicy ribeye or strap on a new pair of shoes? Because more of your discretionary dollars are going toward gasoline. Of course you know this, but has it really sunk in? From Huffington Post, this mathematical moment of clarity:
"For every $10 the typical household earns before taxes, almost a full dollar now goes toward gas, a 40 percent bigger bite than normal. Families now spend more filling up than they spend on cars, clothes or recreation. Last year, they spent less on gasoline than each of those things."
The quickest way to shore up your household budget - and free up money to do the things you enjoy - is to keep your car's mileage down.
Changing your commute could save a life.
A new study from the Harvard School of Public health finds that motor vehicle emissions have a public health cost. Researchers looked at premature deaths in 83 urban areas that were the result of exposure to particle pollution, using models to correlate how much of that pollution was the result of vehicle emissions. The modeling found that in Atlanta, 70 premature deaths occurred in 2010 that were the result of particle pollution from tailpipes. The silver lining in this black cloud? The study notes that premature deaths and related social costs from traffic congestion are declining over the long run, as technology advances, control strategies and voluntary actions have all helped curb particle pollution emissions that come from cars and trucks. But there's more work to do. And it starts with the daily commute.
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