Commuting

The term commute has become shorthand for traveling some distance between one's home and place of work on a regular basis. The term commuting is derived from commutation ticket, the U.S. term for a season ticket because the daily fare is commuted to a single payment. Commuting clearly implies the routine and repeated nature of a work-related journey. Hence, commuters are defined as those who travel to work (sometimes also to school) by mainly motorized transportation (private car or public transport), and non-commuters are those who work at home or walk or cycle to work.

Policymakers and researchers are very interested in collecting statistics on commuting behavior and studying commuting patterns and trends in and around metropolitan areas. The primary objective is to better understand the ...