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Uploaded: Wednesday, March 6, 2013, 10:10 AM
Bay Area has most "mega commuters" in nation
Santa Clara County among highest in nation in out-of-county commuters
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by Eric Van Susteren
Palo Alto Online Staff
Many people would shudder to think of a commute that lasts more than 90 minutes and spans 50 miles, but according to a March 5 census report, the highest concentration of "mega commuters" in the country live in the Bay Area.
While only 0.8 percent of Americans make a mega commute each day, more than four times that percentage take such daily treks in the Bay Area.
Across the U.S., some 600,000 people commute more than 90 minutes and 50 miles.
According to the report, 2.06 percent of the residents of the San Francisco area, which includes Oakland and Fremont, and 1.9 percent of residents in the San Jose area, which includes Palo Alto, make a mega commute to work each morning.
The report states that mega commuters are more likely than other commuters to leave for work before 6 a.m.; be an older, married male who makes a higher salary; and has a spouse that does not work.
Almost 70 percent drove to work alone, a trip that takes an average of 119 minutes and 166 miles.
The report also found that Santa Clara County is a popular spot for out-of-county commuters. Some 209,000 workers commute to Santa Clara County from other counties, which puts it among the highest in the nation.
In 2011, the average commute for a Santa Clara County resident was 24.7 minutes, slightly lower than the national average of 25.5 minutes.
Only 3.4 percent of Santa Clara workers used public transit, markedly lower than the 5 percent nationally. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the 1.8 percent of Santa Clara County residents who commute by bicycle tripled the national number of 0.6 percent.
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Posted by Garrett, a resident of another community, on Mar 6, 2013 at 11:11 am This is the future of Silicon Valley, family time, sleep time, productive time, social time being eaten by commute time.
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Posted by Scott Lamb, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Mar 6, 2013 at 12:31 pm Your math is wrong. You said "more than four times [0.8 percent] take such daily treks in the Bay Area." That'd be 3.2%. Neither the quoted number for the San Francisco area (2.06%) nor the San Jose area (1.9%) exceed that. At least one of these numbers (4, 0.8%, 2.06%, 1.9%) is wrong, or you're considering the Bay Area to be something other than San Francisco area + San Jose area. I think you just miscalculated.
Did you *add* 2.06% and 1.9%?!? You can't do that! By the same reasoning, since 100% - 2.06% = 97.94% of residents of the San Francisco area don't have mega commutes and 100 - 1.9% = 98.1% of residents of the San Jose area don't have mega commutes, 97.94% + 98.1% = 196.04% of residents in the combined area don't have mega commutes. Only 100% - 196.04% = -96.04% have mega commutes, by far the least in the nation. Same operation, absurd conclusion. The operation is flawed. The number you apparently calculated, 2.06% + 1.9% is (San Jose megacommuters) / (San Jose residents) + (San Francisco megacommuters) / (San Francisco residents) = 3.96% ...unlike units...which means nothing.
A correct formula would be (San Francisco megacommuters + San Jose megacommuters) / (San Francisco residents + San Jose residents) = (combined megacommuters) / (combined residents). You can probably find the figures for this on the American Community Survey website. Or you can just know that a weighted average must fall between its most extreme components (1.9% and 2.06%), so "more than twice the national average" would be true; "more than three times the national average" would be false; "more than four times the national average" isn't even close.
The Campaign to Correct Math in Journalism starts right here, right now!
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Posted by kman, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Mar 6, 2013 at 4:10 pm Do what a smart commuter does, take a job that is either close to you or find one where you can take the reverse commute. Of course, only if you can, not everyone can.
Or if you can, move closer to your job or move in an area where you can take advantage of a reverse commute.
The Companies can also help out by hiring locally. But i know that is against Google and a lot of other companies policy.
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Posted by Garrett, a resident of another community, on Mar 6, 2013 at 6:14 pm Hiring local won't help, not everyone wants to work for Google, some people are happy with where they work. Commutes have their own reason for the commute, it is not one size fits all.
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Posted by kristine, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Mar 7, 2013 at 3:43 pm Direct product of nimbies choking the supply of housing. Usually claiming traffic as an excuse. Despite the fact that more far flung housing they end up encouraging cause more traffic per capita.
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