Commuting to work can eat into your wages. However, it costs you far more than the price of a train ticket.
Taking the train to work comes with a hefty cost, particularly so if you’re travelling in to a London-based office. Commuting from Cambridge will set you back £6,084 each year, while Bedford to St Pancras will cost you £5,536 annually.
However, when you factor in the amount of time lost to travel, the cost of commuting is far higher.
For example, those travelling from Cambridge will spend 82 minutes on the train each day. During the average five day work week, that equates to 6.8 hours, which becomes 218.6 hours, or 9.1 days lost over the year. Depending on how highly you value your time, that could be adding thousands to your travel costs each year.
A study by credit card company Marbles found that those travelling from Brighton are among the worst affected, losing up to 392 hours, or 16 days, each year to the 1 hour 15 minute commute to and from the capital. Those coming from Canterbury lose the most time, spending 99 minutes each way on average.
Can taking the car reduce time wasted commuting to work?
Many opt to leave the car at home, believing that travelling by train offers a far cheaper and quicker option every time. However, that isn’t always the case.
The study found that those coming from Canterbury could save a minute each day by travelling to work by car. While it might not sound like much, that equates to almost three hours each year. Those travelling from High Wycombe, Maidenhead and Hertford will see similar results.
Although, the rewards are far higher for those commuting from Dartford, with the average car journey taking 59 minutes, compared to 75 minutes on the train. Likewise, driving from Windsor will save 16 minutes a day, 1.3 hours a week, 5.3 hours a month or 170 hours a year.
To find out whether you’re better off ditching train travel and taking the car, check out the infographic below:
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