The $125,000 Commute: Not as Uncommon as You’d Think

How much time and money is lost to commuting alone in Marin? The average drive-alone Marinite travels 11.46 miles to work, the distance from Petaluma to Novato. After taking into account a bit of tolling and parking, this average joe spends $3,800 and 24 working days on his commute each year. If he valued his time as much as his employer, that lost time is worth another $6,500. This works out to almost $50,000 in lost wealth and 7 wasted months over a decade. As a county, we spend $565 million every year to commute alone, and every decade we lose an astounding $7.3 billion in wealth and $9.5 billion worth of time. Each 1% of the commuting populace that drives alone rather than paying down a mortgage costs Marin’s economy $106.4 million every decade.

Infill development is one way out of this mess. By bringing workers and jobs closer together, Marinites will be able to save time and money if they want to drive, to the tune of $255 per mile closer to work, and will be more likely to bike or walk to work. These don’t need to be monstrous apartment buildings or affordable housing, but there are enough redundant parking garages and vacant lots to provide a healthy amount of space without damaging the fabric and culture of our towns.

The other way out is through improved transit investments. Although travel by transit is often no faster, and sometimes slower, than driving, that time can be put to more productive use than simply driving through stop-and-go traffic on 101, and transit is almost always cheaper than driving. Switching from driving to taking the wifi-equipped 101 bus to San Francisco, for example, can save a Novato commuter up to $11,000 per year in parking fees, tolls and vehicle wear-and-tear.