We have all heard how bad it is to drive a car and contribute to the CO2 emissions problems. In some areas of the country, commuting in a car is the only choice and the process itself can be a mind bending state of anxiety. Well nothing says it all like a complete visual picture and now there is a new interactive commute map to let you see how good (or bad) your particular area and drive is.

WNYC, is conjunction with the information from the U.S. Census Bureau have created an interactive commute map that allows you to input your zip code and pan around your area for a view of the commuting nightmares that you share with your neighbors. According to the Census Bureau, the average commute in the U.S. is 25.4 minutes. Might sound like a short amount of time, comparatively, but it doesn’t reflect the actual miles driven. It wouldn’t be bad if you were 20 miles from your destination, but if you live in metropolitan and congested areas like Los Angeles, this could be a commute time based on only 5 miles.

The commute map lets you see what your average commute time is on the well created visual map of your area. This gives you an excellent concept of what your contribution is to the pollution problem, but you might also be able to use the map to make behavioral and driving changes. The information is also useful for local and federal governments, as there are major investments in infrastructure changes that are being planned now and for the future for the reduction of carbon footprints. This reduction is going to require some lifestyle changes and the commute map puts this information right in front of our face.

Source: http://www.treehugger.com/cars/average-commute-times-usa-interactive-map.html

3 Responses to “Interactive Commute Map Shows How Bad Commuting is in the U.S.”

1. 1
   PracticallyPerfect Says:
   

   Oh great, it’s bad enough I live 15 miles away from my work and it takes me 45 minutes to get there, but now I have a really high tech map that I can click on to reinforce the fact that I waste about 1 hour per day sitting in gridlock traffic. If I was independently wealthy, I would invest in a helicopter to get me out of the mess.

   July 29th, 2013 at 10:38 am
2. 2
   PoorlyInformed Says:
   

   Sounds like there were a lot of people sitting around with too much free time on their hands, so they decided to use their talents in giving all of us a real visual on how bad things are. Well, maybe we need to see that kind of thing to make changes in our lives. Car pooling hasn’t been enough and besides, most people just like driving their own car, alone. Hope this does make a difference.

   July 28th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
3. 3
   GreatIdeas Says:
   

   I think this will be good use for the government. Maybe they can plan electric vehicle public transportation that people will be happy to take and avoid all of the traffic. It sure would save on our commute expenses, the environment and make life a lot less stressful.

   July 27th, 2013 at 8:06 am

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.