Do you commute more than 10 miles to work? How are the rising gas prices affecting you?

Question

My current total commute to work and back home again is 40 miles per day. The company I work for will be moving its office in a couple months. I estimate that my total commute to work and back home again will at least be between a total of 44 - 50 miles per day.

The 40 miles everyday is already taking its toll and a decent amount of my paycheck. I've concerned taking a bus which would definiteluy cut my commuting cost but I have children and need to be able to leave work if necessary and do not have the time to wait for the bus.

I just don't know how long I can take the financial strain especially if gas prices continue to increase. I was going to ask my manager if I could work from home one day a week but he had previous made a comment that he wants me in the office everyday, Mon - Fri. So I'm not going to even ask about that.

I'm sure many of you are in this situation. How are the rising gas prices affecting you and your decision to commute to work?

Answer 1

Shell  i am afraid our American friends do not know just how well off they are!  I believe you pay around $2 - $3 a gallon now for your gas.  In the UK we are paying around us$11 a gallon !!!

I live in a rural area and have a 54 mile a day commute, I can ONLY get to work by car there is no public transport option. The rise in gas price over the last 6 months coupled to high overall cost of living and local taxes increases' in same period are crippling me. I work for a Charity full time and there will be no cost of living rise to help out.

Answer 2

my commute is 112 miles roundtrip but I take the commuter train so higher gas prices haven't really effected me yet. I barely use any gas in the car except on the weekend.

Answer 3

I drive 15 miles to work. I know that isn't much but I sure can see the money going away quickly. I live in a small town so you don't make a lot of money which means less trips to town, not being able to see family as much all kinds of things. Min. wage is very low here I don't know how anyone could survive on it.

Answer 4

10 miles more isn't sound alot. It's 1/3 of a gallon of gas for your car denpend whats you driving. If you are happy with your job and stay your job. Can you find job close to your house? Are there any other option you can do?  For me I am very happy with my job and 25 miles one way to work, but I have 3 people carpool and everyone take turn to drive their own car.

I don't complain about gas because need to support family.

Answer 5

YES! I take my son to work  (he doesn't drive) and pick him up 4 days a week. We live in a very rural area and the closest job opportunities are 14 miles away. There is no public transportation in our area. At the moment the only jobs available nearest our home are minimum wage and part time. I drive my son 62 miles one way, then I go home until he calls, another 62 miles. I then drive back to his place of employment (62 miles) and back home again (62 more miles) for a total of 248 miles each day. When he began this job he had a friend that work the same place, same shift and gasoline was about 2.50 a gallon. It then cost him less than $15 a week for transportation and it now cost about $30 a day. The economy is in the toilet and no one can afford to quit a job but it is almost to the point that people can't afford to get to work.1/4 of his pay is for gas and nearly 1/4 more is taken in Income Tax. Something has to be done quickly or that precious 1% of  extremely wealthy Americans will have to start paying more taxes. The  President, Senators, Congressmen , Supreme Court Justices, Ect.. have unlimited travel expenses, entertainment expenses, housing allowances, cost of living raises and much more. These high up Government "workers" have all their living expenses already paid by us so why would they need cost of living raises? Why not give the poor or middle class working man a reduced or free gasoline price for their travel back and forth to work.

Answer 6

Mine is also 40 miles. I am probably going to move.

Answer 7

my commute is 20 miles one way. I live in  rural america my only carpooling option is a freind of mine who likes to stop at the local watering hole after work which was ok when i used to drink but not anymore. Too bad when we get a raise the health insurance increases and goobles up the raise .Ive worked the same job for 25 yrs and im more broke now than i was when i started out..I try to make absolutely no extra driving trips during the week so that a tank of gas lasts all week I've already told my kid christmas is canceled due to the rising cost of fuel

Answer 8

because of high gas prices i can no longer afford the internet.

Answer 9

My commute is in the neighborhood of 65 miles roundtrip.  It's tough, that's for sure!  My husband drives a truck (thankfully, he only has to drive about 20 miles roundtrip) but we get hit pretty hard at the pumps.  I have recently started looking for something closer to home as far as work to try and save some drive time and wear and tear on the car.  The bus, unfortunately, is not an option for me - it doesn't run out by my house and I would have to drive to a stop, and hop buses several times just to get to work each day.  And I also have a child that needs to be picked up in case of emergency...  I hear ya on the troubles it's causing.  All we can do is hope for things to get a little easier on us all...

Can you telecommute or change to 4 - 10 hour days instead of 5 - 8 hour days?  Or is there someone you can rideshare with?

Answer 10

well the train is looking very considerable in the near future.

Answer 11

I drive 50mi to work one way for an internship that pays $13.  

Sucks I know. Thats why i bought a motorcycle to help ease off some of the pains.