Super Commuters

[miami]

I did 6 months in a department where people commuted from Rural kent to west london, well over 2 hours door to door, which was surprisingly long for such a short journey. For about a year SWMBO and myself did Leighton Buzzard to London via car (far cheaper than the train even before the savings from not drinking in the evening), with her journey being over 2 hours each way.

I currently do 1 or 2 trips a week from nantwich to london, the 90 minute train Crewe-Euston is fine, it's the other 90 minutes that's a pain, but today should take 2h40 as I managed an 'illegal connection' at Crewe. Hopefully won't be doing this much longer.

In the past I've seen someone show a season ticket from Wilmslow to London.

David Frost, former TV personality, had programmes in both London and New York for many years. In the days of Concorde, when he was its most regular passenger, he actually was doing more flying hours per year than its pilots.

Len Goodman was bopping back and forth to LA on a weekly basis for a while, aged about 70. In First class naturally.

That's not that difficult to knock up more hours than the pilots. I think the maximum is about 1000 hours a year, and it's more likely 600-800 hours. Heck I did 400 hours one year.

 

[adamello]

You have to question whether this is effective use of time and whether they have to be present in person or their business could be undertaken by conference/video call ?

As we are living through the Southern disruptions and the yearly season ticket fare rises - I question whether some of those work activities could be carried out some of the time from home thereby saving time and cost to the individual?

Buts that's another discussion!

I think that was more of the crux of the programme, rather than just seeing who has the longest commute, what they seemed to find is that the longer commute (up to three hours one way), the worse your quality of life.

Hoever if you are commuting for more than three hours, the QoL is often better, the two examples of the chap on the Island, and the lady in France are prime examples.

and if you played the system correctly, not factoring additional costs like overnighting in London, it was cheaper per journey (not accounting for Season Ticket benefits) to fly from france than train it from Ryde.

 

[Kite159]

One of my old bosses used to commute from Plymouth to Tidworth, I think he used to drive up on the Monday stay in a local hotel and head back on the Thursday, working from home on the Friday.

Although I'm sure I've read that someone commutes from Lincoln to Chichester in one of the "tales of commuter hell" from the southern debate

 

[jamesontheroad]

It's not a daily trip, but I currently live in Norwich, and work in Leicester. I spend two - four nights a week there, although later this week I will do a day trip because of personal commitments back home.

Splitting tickets at Ely (eastbound) or Peterborough (westbound) brings the cost down to between £12 and £30 each way, including EMT's £1 online discount on their own Advance fares, and Quidco cashback via the EMT and VT websites.

Been doing this for a couple of years; before this used to work one day a week in Nottingham and another in Leicester, so did a triangular NRW-NOT-LEI-ELY-NRW commute over two days.

Not ideal, but you have to go where the work is.

 

[stut]

My old boss used to commute from Lincolnshire into London every day. Quite a lot of people with him - and a lot from Newark North Gate as well.

The longest I've had to do on a regular basis was Biggleswade to Hook. Not the longest in terms of distance, it just took forever... Won't put up with that sort of nonsense now.

 

[anti-pacer]

I did Earl Shilton (Leics) to Archway (North London) daily for a while back in 2011. I did get reduced hours but paid for my full normal hours.

My commute included a 35 mins bus journey to Nuneaton, then onto a VTWC train to Euston (55 mins), then the Northern Line to Archway (just under 15 mins). Door to door, including connections took 2 hours 15 minutes.

The only part I didn't like was the bus to and from Nuneaton.

 

[PHILIPE]

I remember somebody commuting daily from Bournemouth to Cardiff. He would drive to Salisbury and catch 00626 Salisbury to Cardiff.

 

[[.n]]

I commute daily (M-F) for a longer journey than some mentioned already. As far as I'm aware from what I've been told I'm the only daily commuter on my route (there are a few who do the journey once/twice a week)

 

[BestWestern]

There are some lengthy commutes from the folk of the Malverns & Cotswolds, from Hereford/Worcester etc into London.

 

[Abpj17]

I commute daily (M-F) for a longer journey than some mentioned already. As far as I'm aware from what I've been told I'm the only daily commuter on my route (there are a few who do the journey once/twice a week)

That's very cryptic - stations / towns or at least counties?

The scotland based commuters I know all fly - mostly M - Th type arrangements and ex RBS/HBOS (but not the particularly high net worth ones).

Closer, I know plenty with M - Th or M - F patterns from various towns in the North. I know daily commuters from as far as Norwich and Cotswold villages in London.

The above stay over in London during the week, or in some case the dormitory towns around London (as far out as Luton in one case).

I'm not sure they suffer as much as the closer-to-London-but-stuck-with-GTR commuters!

 

[Clip]

Used to do 2 hours each way many years ago. Wouldnt fancy doing that anymore thats for sure.

 

[westv]

Monday morning on the 06:26 Hull Trains service to London (arrive in office around 09:40) and back Friday on the Executive for me (back home around 20:20).
Done it for just over 4 years now.

 

[Robertj21a]

Surely, a lot of those being quoted aren't really very unusual for nowadays. I've known a good many people commute for 2-3 hours each way, most days of the week. If you want a good job but don't want (or can't afford) to move house then it's a logical solution.

 

[TheEdge]

Had a colleague who did Cromer to central London every day, and remember there was a daily Scarborough to London commuter

There are quite a few of them, when Norwich to London is already 2 hours with another hour or so added on in each direction its always struck me as quite a long commute.

 

[BestWestern]

Surely, a lot of those being quoted aren't really very unusual for nowadays. I've known a good many people commute for 2-3 hours each way, most days of the week. If you want a good job but don't want (or can't afford) to move house then it's a logical solution.

I agree.

 

[westv]

Surely, a lot of those being quoted aren't really very unusual for nowadays. I've known a good many people commute for 2-3 hours each way, most days of the week. If you want a good job but don't want (or can't afford) to move house then it's a logical solution.

4-6 hours commute a day + a full day at work?

 

[Robertj21a]

4-6 hours commute a day + a full day at work?

Yes. Long days for good rewards. Doesn't suit everybody but it's not so bad, particularly if you can use the time productively.

 

[nottinghamcity]

Beeston to Dudley Port. Done it daily for 7 years now. I don't actually mind it all that much, but it does mean using trains designed and operated as short hop commutes, so they do stop frequently, unlike some of the longer InterCity commutes.

 

[route:oxford]

Thinking of daily commutes, anywhere in the UK, do any of you have a long daily slog to work?

A friend of mine works in Docklands.

He commutes 3 days a week from Linlithgow - and has a quicker commute than many of his colleagues. He buys a form of Carnet ticket from BA that works out at about £65 a flight

 

[507021]

A friend of mine in the US is currently commuting from New York to Oregon, only returning home at weekends. I don't know how he does it, I know that amount of commuting would tire me out (and I'd probably find it quite boring).

 

[route:oxford]

I know of someone who commutes from Bournemouth to Bank and back everyday

Biker?

My old colleague did Bournemouth to Bishopsgate 4x a week. In the winter it would take him half an hour to de-frost himself.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Gillingham (WoE) - East Croydon . Loeminster to Baker Street and North Wembley to Salisbury are the most memorable daily commutes I have come across.

My worst for a year was Wimbledon to Andover , nearly killed me - despite having class 50 power for some of it.

 

[Bald Rick]

4-6 hours commute a day + a full day at work?

I did 2 hours each way a day for 4 years. Although strictly speaking it was only 3 years, with a year of it being 2.5 - 3 hrs each way due to the post Hatfield speed restrictions. Leaving home at 0600, back at 2000 at best.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Wasn't there a BBC program many years ago that looked for long distance commuters; one of the early evening "newsy" programs. I seem to remember they found someone who lived at the far end of one of the South Wales Valley and commuted daily to London via Cardiff.

Many years ago (35+, if my memory is correct), there was some type of award for the "Commuter of the Year". I didn't win it (my journey was just Newport to Cardiff!), but one year it was won by a chap who lived in Penarth and was a jeweller in Paddington, just around the corner from the station.

It's possible that it was a company called "The Paddington Jewellers" who are based in Praed Street, just around the corner from the station (other jewellers in Paddington are available).

His journey was Penarth to Cardiff Central to London Paddington, and as far as I recall he got there in time to open up the shop at around 9.00am. After a full day's work, he reversed the journey, getting home at around 9.30pm (ish).

This was six days a week - he did have Sundays off - but amazingly he wasn't a young chap by any means. Again if I remember correctly, he was in his 60s, and had been doing the trip for years! it didn't seem to worry him, though .... he was quite happy to do it for as long as he could, although I don't know what happened to him.

 

[Dr_Intoxicated]

I used to do Feltham to Reading then on to Didcot Parkway then private coach to Milton Park. Was quite comfortable going against the flow plenty of me time reading and listening to music. Not too expensive either as cheap off peak fares applied all day. ca £16 - £17 a day over the 2 years I did this before renting a nice place in Oxford.

Used to take the 6:16 from Feltham in the morning getting back at 18:05

 

[anti-pacer]

At my last place of work we had the CEO who commuted 4 days a week to Normanton (near Wakefield) from Leicester. We also had a lad who commuted daily from Derby, and another from Didsbury in South Manchester.

My commute whilst I was there? 15 minutes if we missed the traffic.

 

[47271]

Then there's all the Caley Sleeper Highlander regulars, just about every station between Perth and Inverness inclusive has a few who do it pretty much week in week out. Down on a Monday and back on a Thursday with homeworking or trips into offices in Edinburgh or Glasgow either end of the week. There was one chap who travelled weekly from near Tain down to London, I don't know if he still does.

 

[infobleep]

My commute to Harrow use to be about 1 hour 30 minutes on an average day. On a bad day it was two hours and on a good day 1 hour 8 minutes. The 1 hour 8 minutes was the emergency timetable in operation on South West Trains during the snow fall periods. Yes when it snowed and trains were running, my commute was quicker than when it wasn't snowing and trains were running!!! Lol.

I was commuting from Guildford and if I ran between tube trains and mainline trains I could save 20 minutes into my evening journey. You might think 20 minutes is nothing but isn't it the amount the Government said would be saved on journeys to Wales from Paddington once the line was electrified. Also over 5 days, 20 minutes becomes 1 hour 20 minutes. So soon mounts up.

I generally found the trains and journey times were better off peak because I could change at Clapham Junction more often, whereas in the morning peak the last fast train to stop at Clapham Junction was the 6.53.

If I caught that I'd then end up going through central London in the evening as if I waited for fast off peak trains to start again at Clapham Junction, I'd be doing long days.

I know someone who commuted from Colchester to Harrow. Possibly two people did that. That was 2 hours on a good day. All it needed was for the fast trains from Harrow to be disrupted though and it throw everything out for them.

On top of that one person had their wife and children in France and most Fridays would fly back to see them and then return the Sunday night.

Some contractors lived up north and would commute down Monday morning or Sunday night, returning home on the Friday.

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

 

[trash80]

4-6 hours commute a day + a full day at work?

Many people do it, when i worked in Worcester my total commute was about 3.5 hours a day on top of the work day. I prefer a 20 minute commute in my current job

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Where in South Yorkshire was this person? An 11am start softens the blow somewhat.

One of the local stations between Doncaster and Leeds I seem to recall. They were perfectly able to function as part of our team, just doing a commute that most people wouldn't be capable of! Props to them.