Drivers actually enjoy their commute: poll
Posted November 26, 2014 7:20 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – When you think of traffic in Metro Vancouver traffic do the words relaxing and restful come to mind?
A national survey finds, rather than being all stressed out and ‘ragey’, more than three-quarters of Canadians report being in a better mood after the daily commute — they love the introspective, quiet alone-time.
Okay, experts, let’s ask a commuter who deals with the North Shore bridges on a daily basis.
“Parts of it involve some bridge merging and there’s a little — how should I say it — not so nice behaviour that goes on,” chuckles Jay.
Is the one-fingered wave considered a relaxing gesture?
“I make the best of my time on the commute but I don’t know if I particularly enjoy it. I could be doing other things,” adds Charles.
It’s not just drivers, the survey also looked at people who use public transit, bike or walk to work.
“Walking is way good!” says Pushpa, who loves being active on his commute. “It doesn’t cost you, it saves the environment, there’s no pollution at all.”
The poll, conducted for a Toronto ad agency by the Gandalf Group, runs contrary to the popular vision of commuters as harried and fed up, if not enraged.
Three quarters of respondents would prefer to be alone during their commute. Drivers in the survey were slightly more likely to strongly agree (56%) that their commute is an opportunity to have some quiet time by themselves, compared with 49 per cent of public transit users.
The survey also suggests transit riders face a more difficult commute, but use their time to rest and relax. Because the B-Line is like a spa…
Only 11 per cent of respondents, nationally, say they dread the daily commute.
