Scots enjoy shortest commutes in the UK

Scots typically have one of the shortest commutes in the UK at 57 minutes, with people in Edinburgh and the Lothians travelling the longest time to get to work in Scotland, a report has found.
Edinburgh and the Lothians still have the longest commute times in Scotland.Edinburgh and the Lothians still have the longest commute times in Scotland.
Edinburgh and the Lothians still have the longest commute times in Scotland.

On average, Scots spend nearly nine days a year travelling to and from work at an annual cost of almost £700, according to Bank of Scotland.

With an average journey time of 54 minutes each day, Scottish commuters are set to spend around 418 days travelling to their job during their working life at a total cost of £32,385. In London, the commute time is as high as 84 minutes, while those in south-east England spend 75 minutes travelling to work.

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Part of Bank of Scotland’s How Scotland Lives study, the nationwide analysis conducted in partnership with YouGov also found that, despite the time and expense, more than half of workers like their commute and one in 12 goes as far as to say they love their journey into work.

However, commuting clearly divides opinion, with one in five workers disliking their commute and one in six saying it has become less reliable over the past five years.

A further quarter say their method of transport has become more crowded than half a decade ago.

Ricky Diggins, director at Bank of Scotland, said: “Commuters in Scotland are spending almost £700 a year on their journey to and from work – the equivalent of a city break to sunny Europe.

“While many may dream of rolling out of bed and straight into the office, the daily commute is the perfect opportunity to invest in yourself, whether that’s keeping up with the latest news, unwinding to a podcast or relaxing to some music.”

With an average daily commute of 66 minutes, people living in Edinburgh and the Lothians experience the longest journey to and from work in Scotland, considerably longer than commuters in Dundee at 46 minutes and Aberdeen at 48 minutes.

Those living in central Scotland and Glasgow also face higher-than-average commuting times at 59 and 56 minutes respectively. Workers in the Highlands and Islands have the best deal with the shortest, and one of the cheapest, commutes in Scotland, paying £47 each month and undertaking a daily journey of 42 minutes.

Workers there are some of Scotland’s happiest commuters, with three quarters saying they either like or love their journey to and from work.

The report found the car is the most used mode of transport for commuting.