Workers consider cost of commute: ‘It doesn’t make sense for me’

The average US commute now costs an extra $35 a month compared to pre-Covid. Some workers are weighing the costs of getting to work against potential job opportunities. CNN's Gabe Cohen reports. #CNN #News

77 comments

    1. @Chilkat River But your $100 bill was worth more 8 years ago. What that $100 would do for people today is much less than it was 8 years ago, unfortunately.

    2. @Let’s Not Panic crazy but so true!!! I feel everything was cheap then and ever since 2012 or so it has only gotten more expensive.

    3. @Let’s Not Panic I’m very familiar with inflation. I remember car shopping with my dad. A 1965 Chevrolet Corvette cost $4,000…and gas was $0.25 per gallon.

    4. Why the hell are these people living so far from work? They all obviously need to get new jobs closer to home. Then the whole world will use less gas.

      Or, they can learn to take a train.

  1. Workers can work from home in many cases. The coffee shops might not be happy but the planet will be better for it.

    1. Lol maybe you should say that to the waste management people, the grocery store clerks, the truck drivers and everyone else that really matters in society. If you can work from home your job doesn’t really matter and should be treated as such. The world would be better for it!

  2. Guys, I work for the same folks as you, live 81 miles from work. Been remote for years, until current folks (senior management) decided to not honor verbal agreements…
    If I am required to drive to work 3 days a week, guess what, I am retiring immediately…end of story…hope our employer reads this and takes heed…
    Not worth the money nor health wise anymore…

    1. If you can afford to retire, do it! The time you have left on the planet is the most valuable resource that exists. Don’t waste it on your employer one second more than you have to.

  3. This is the problem saying that high gas prices will make people drive less, if you have to get to work there is no way to drive less and all high gas prices do is make you broke.

    1. Why the hell are these people living so far from work? They all obviously need to get new jobs closer to home. Then the whole world will use less gas.

      Or, they can learn to take a train.

    1. @Barbara Warren Ty. Kind of you say to so.
      Reading is one thing. Comprehending and accepting it towards positive correct action, is another. ☮️

      Semper Fi.

    2. @Rekowcski I think the bigger issue is how fast people burn money. I am single and normally cheap but burn 1.300 minimum each month in the past (5k emergency fund will only last 3 or if lucky 4 months)

    3. Why the hell are these people living so far from work? They all obviously need to get new jobs closer to home. Then the whole world will use less gas.

      Or, they can learn to take a train.

  4. I don’t understand the push to returned to an office. Why? We’ve successfully worked from home for over 2 years. So what’s the point? it’s just costing everyone more money.

    1. It’s to justify their investments in huge office buildings and skyscrapers even though times are changing and the need to work from an office is obsolete but they live in the past and if you only look behind you, you won’t see the freight train about to mow you down

    2. @Snake Plisken Not everyone staying at home, everyone who can do their job from home. Only the others (delivery ppl, factory workers, grocery store clerks, etc) need to head out

  5. if employers can, let them work from home & have a office meeting once a fortnight or once a week.

    1. How about just vote the right ppl in so we can operate like normal Americans instead of voting for someone because he’s not trump. But u rather risk your country I mean u were all warned by trump himself what was gonna happen and it did . But you’ll listen to cnn and everything else

  6. When will the media stop using “the office” as a synonym for work. Not everyone works in an office. Apparently everyone who matters does.

    1. @Elmosweed seems to depend on the situation the lower class live under. Many I know of live with others so they can afford much more than if they just lived on their own.

    2. @donaldlyons17 Agreed. I am one of those.
      My house is not big but I built a small mother in law suit out of a two car garage that was attached on my house.
      She lived with us until she passed-
      Without her help on the down payment it would not have happened.
      For a couple of years now one of my brother in-laws who retired has been renting the space from us.

      We do not charge him much- It helps him get a leg up and it helps us not worry so much at the end of each month.

    3. lol Dude, I don’t work in an office and I can comprehend a figure of speech, like “I gonna hit the road” or I’m gonna use the john. I’m quite certain you’ve never actually hit a road with your fist or peed on a man named John and I’m willing to bet you’ve never voiced a complaint when people say that

    4. @Carrie DeBehnke  no kidding. I work construction and my fuel is about 800 a month. More than Double from when I took the job

    5. Why the hell are these people living so far from work? They all obviously need to get new jobs closer to home. Then the whole world will use less gas.

      Or, they can learn to take a train.

    1. @jeremy ridner you should care about the rare metals that will run out soon needed to charge the thing. Look up ‘blood battery’, try Wion YouTube channel for reference. It’s lose/lose unless we go back to horse and buggy.

  7. In our office they wanted us to return to working half in the office, half from home. Because our team is so small, and because our boss is in another location, we argued that it made no sense for us to come in and they agreed with us. It was a small victory but so appreciated

  8. Remembering the gas problem back in the 70’s…….I’ve learned that driving a big car is bad for your wallet, I drive a small car now. I couldn’t afford an electric car so I bought the next best thing….a smaller car. I’ve learned to live within my means, I learned the hard way…….

    1. Smaller cars have a way better interior size to exterior size ratio than any suv I’ve ever been in, while using way less gas and taking up less space. If car makers are mostly making suvs these days, then look into the quality used market.

    2. @Redheaded Stepchild when gas hits $7 a gallon, they won’t be able to hive away those vanity trucks 😛

    3. @E.T. EthicsSmall to medium size cars do work for large families, pets etc. – in Europe and elsewhere in the world. It is a choice!

    4. @Joseph Hildebrand Ask the Dutch, Northern Germans and Danes how they do it. They’re the tallest people in the world and still don’t drive American behemoths.

  9. looks like a work from home situation needs to be the norm during this period. Should affect gas prices too

    1. @Belly Dancer Em No just people not going to work and driving around screwing off more

    2. @Jordan Slingluff I know plenty of people who love working from home, and they do get the work done too. Otherwise they’d be fired

    3. @Belly Dancer Em Yeah sure…… Well when the economy starts to contract in a couple months people wanting to work from home will probably be the first getting laid off.

    4. Why the hell are these people living so far from work? They all obviously need to get new jobs closer to home. Then the whole world will use less gas.

      Or, they can learn to take a train.

  10. You can’t choose to drive a huge V8 Diesel Truck, 500 miles a week, then complain about the gas. I mean, they are just commuting to work, they aren’t even hauling anything.

    1. ikr. I wish they would have questioned them about their choice of vehicles. Looked like a lot of these people were driving gas pig trucks and SUVs.

    2. *sigh* Do you know anything about blue-collar workers who have to drive a truck like that for work – and work keeps changing where it’s located? That’s a thing.

    3. @Let’s Not Panic They are not driving for work, they are just commuting to work.

      You didn’t watch the video, did you?

  11. We just passed Memorial Day weekend in which Americans drove more than ever. How can we complain about high gas prices while at the same time constantly increasing our recreational driving? I haven’t seen a reduction in the four wheelers and side-by-sides in the forests, boats on the water, or motorcycles on the roads. Even recreational flying has increased, and that’s the most inefficient way to travel there is.

    1. More people equals more driving.
      How could we not complain when the government purposefully acts against our will?

      Or are you suggesting that we stop complaining and take up arms?

  12. “Lower income savings”… That actually made me laugh. It’s getting harder to find middle income savings these days.

    1. @Terje Oseberg Because nobody in the lower income bracket wants to work around the corner from their lower income house. What will the neighbors think… Besides their wouldn’t be anyone to “take out the trash” if they don’t commute to the major cities everyday…

    2. @Victor Fontaine, Then buy a motorcycle. The fuel tank has a 2.5 gallon capacity. That’s about $18 for a fill up.

    3. What savings? Each paycheck i get is gone to rent, car payment, internet, phones, credit card, water, and groceries

  13. “We did not think we would be talking about money every single day…” Then you are doing it wrong. Every time you spend money, you should be “talking” about money. That lack of dialog on money is why most people waste so much money in their life. And thus waste their futures.

  14. I live in NJ too. As long as that couple still has plans for summer vacations, I cannot sympathize. I was really hoping to take my little girls to Maine for a week this summer since we couldn’t go anywhere the last 2 summers, but I just cannot come up with the money to cover the gas to get all the way up there and back in addition to the relatively reasonable cost of the cabin and activities. If they can pay for their gas, pay their outrageous property taxes and auto insurance rates, pay for food AND still plan a vacation? They are doing just fine.

  15. It would be nice if employers would allow those who can absolutely perform their tasks from home do so remotely like in the beginning of covid. This is a really bad situation for anyone who has to commute for 15 minutes to 1 hr. It’s a crisis!

  16. True story, even here in Canada I’m not sure a 45 minute commute makes 28 bucks an hr enough, and that’s mental, but rent is 2000 and gas would be a bunch on top, we need a better system, a human system, one that works best for society and not shareholders

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