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Since the pandemic, a study shows the number of super commuters has increased

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

So are you headed to work right now? We feel your pain. Did you know the average American commute is about half an hour? But a new study from Stanford says that, since the pandemic, the number of people traveling for more than two hours each way is way up.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Alex Heatzig's commute can be three hours one way.

ALEX HEATZIG: So my morning starts at 5:15 in the morning, when I roll out of bed, brush my teeth, do a little bit of skincare, and then I'm rolling out the door at around 5:45 in the morning.

MARTÍNEZ: The triathlete and marathon runner rides his bike from San Francisco to Cupertino, where he works as a project manager for a tech company.

HEATZIG: Honestly, it's the best way to start my day. I start off feeling so energized and so productive, having accomplished this big thing in the morning.

MARTÍNEZ: He does the 50-mile ride with a group of colleagues a couple of times a week.

HEATZIG: It's really a gorgeous commute - kind of the rolling hills of the Bay Area. And by the time I get to work, it's about 8:45.

MARTIN: But it's not just endurance athletes who are making these long treks to work. Nicholas Bloom is a professor at Stanford University and co-author of the new supercommuter study. He says the increase in long commutes comes directly from the pandemic shift to hybrid work.

NICHOLAS BLOOM: It's really driven by trade-offs around work from home, and mostly nobody's forcing us to do it. We've just decided, hey, look, we'd like some more space. And if we're only commuting twice a week, we're prepared to put up with this horrible commute.

MARTÍNEZ: Brian Ponte moved from New York City, where he still works, to East Haven, Conn., with his wife during the pandemic. He too wakes up at around 5 a.m. two days a week so he can get to the office by 9 a.m. He drives and takes the train.

BRIAN PONTE: I do tend to start working from the train itself. I'm checking emails. I'm making calls. As soon as I am no longer behind the wheel of a car, I'm pretty much on at work.

MARTIN: He was born in Queens and raised in Yonkers, and Ponte says he's always been drawn to quaint New England towns.

PONTE: I'm a still a Yankees fan, die-hard - that will never change - but I do like the more quiet life that New England is able to provide, and, you know, we get more space. Our rent is significantly cheaper. We have a two-story condo, three walk-in closets, two bedrooms. Our dog has a lot of space to run around.

MARTIN: And, Ponte says, he likes the separation between work and home.

PONTE: When I go into the city, I'm in work mode, and then when I'm in Connecticut, I'm home Brian.

MARTIN: Oof. Well, slackers. A, I mean, what are they saying? I mean, getting up at 5? I mean, what are they doing?

MARTÍNEZ: I know.

MARTIN: I mean, you know...

MARTÍNEZ: My commute today was from my living room to my sewing closet...

(LAUGHTER)

MARTÍNEZ: ...So I don't know. Does that mean my work-life-balance line is blurred?

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTIN: I don't know what you're doing in that closet. That's all I'm going to say.

MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).

MARTIN: I don't know. I don't know. That's all I'm going to say.

MARTÍNEZ: Doing this show. That's what I'm doing.

MARTIN: Oh, OK. Just making sure.

MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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