There really is nothing that brings metropolitan dwellers closer together than the daily commute. I spent this morning wedged between a woman furiously texting and a man who spent the whole ride staring at his shoes.
~ community vibes ~
I try not to think about how much money and time this chews up every day, and will chew up every day, for my entire life.
But curiosity got the better of me after Ford – the car company – created a ‘commuter calculator’ that says the average Australian’s commute takes 58 minutes per day and costs them $72,765 over their lifetime.
$72,765. That is an entire person’s salary.
The calculator also estimates that the amount of time spent travelling during the length of an Australian's average working life will equate to 417 days.
That's 1.1 YEARS.
In conclusion: If you catch public transport (most of us), you will spend an entire year rubbing up against strangers in overcrowded buses and trains, sitting on warm seats and breathing in other people's farts. Just to get to and from work.
Helpfully, it also calculates how big your dream house in Bali could be if you walk to work for the next forty years and re-invested that cash.
Thanks Ford.
:|
How about give us some other more relatable, less FOMO-inducing options for us to spend our hapless fart-breathing dollars?
Like, spend $100,000 in commutes and... pay off your mortgage.
OR spend $2000 in commutes and... buy 2000 $1 scratchies.
Look. We're all guilty of it. Post continues...
Ford’s Communications Manager Jasmine Mobarek told news.com.au the calculator intended to give the everyday commuter an easy and comparative estimate.
“We wanted to give Aussie commuters an easy way to equate their lifetime commute to every day actions, and show what they could buy with all the money they’re spending,” she said.
“It can be quite eye-opening when you look at the bigger picture.”
Yes. I never knew I could have re-invested my $86,856 in a 40-metre squared house in Bali.
Lucky me!