Leeds: '˜Mental health toll of commute from city'

Yorkshire commuters face an average daily journey of 53 minutes, the equivalent of 25 working days a year, according to new figures.
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According to Trades Union Congress analysis released today to mark Work Wise UK’s Commute Smart Week, getting to work in the region now takes an extra four minutes a day on average compared with a decade ago. Nationally, commuters are facing an average daily journey of 58 minutes, up five minutes from 2017.

Rail commuters face the longest journeys, taking an average of two hours and 12 minutes every day, while drivers spend 52 minutes on the road to work and back and bus commuters must set aside 39 minutes a day.

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Londoners have the longest journey to work, while people in Wales have the shortest commute, but travel times have gone up in all regions.

One commuter, Jo, 34, who travels between Leeds and York for her job at York Minster, spends two-and-a-half hours on the train each day and has a season ticket costing £2,200 a year.

She said: “It’s taken a toll on my mental health and general well-being. It also means I am often late for work through no fault of my own.

“I’ve been doing this journey between Bramley and York for just over three years and the experience has certainly not improved, in many ways it’s worsened.”

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TUC Regional Secretary for Yorkshire and Humberside Bill Adams said: “Commutes should be getting shorter, but inflexible bosses and our cash-starved transport system mean we’re wasting more and more time getting to work.”