'Extreme Commuters' On The Rise In Atlanta

An analysis of Census figures shows that the number of long-distance commuters -- those who spend more than 90 minutes on their average commute -- has increased.

1 minute read

September 13, 2007, 7:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


"New census estimates released Wednesday tell the sorry transportation tale. The year 2006 added 6,864 metro Atlantans who spend 90 minutes or more on their average commute, one way. That's a total of 88,023 'extreme commuters.'"

"The number of those who spend between an hour and an hour-and-a-half one-way rose to 225,964."

"Metro Atlanta's overall average commute time stayed stable, at about a half-hour. But according to an AJC analysis of the census estimates, one of the clearer trends over the years from 2004 to 2006 is increasing numbers of people who seem bound and determined to maintain that long-distance relationship with work."

"True, metro Atlanta's population grew, too. But in each of the past two years, the two groups of long commuters grew both in sheer numbers and in their portion of the overall commuter pie."

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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