GMU Professor Urges Commuters to Do the Math; Study Shows Many Would Take Cut in Pay in Return for Shorter Drive to Work
Stephen Fuller has studied the habits of consumers and commuters for more than 40 years, and he has come to a conclusion: Emotion, more than reason, determines how much people value their time. They sit in massive traffic jams on their way to and from work each day, he believes, because they don't bother to calculate what their non- working time is worth.</br></br>Now Fuller, a public policy professor at George Mason University and director of the Center for Regional Analysis, has forced a small group of people to make that calculation. His survey of Fredericksburg area residents who work elsewhere -- an estimated 40 percent of the workforce -- was commissioned by an economic development group hoping to lure higher-paying businesses to the region, which relies heavily on retail and other low-skilled jobs.</br></br>The almost 1,500 commuters were asked: How much would you be willing to cut your salary in exchange for a shorter drive to work?</br></br>About 31 percent said they were willing to take an annual pay cut of $5,000 to $6,000 in exchange for a commute that was 30 minutes shorter each way. About 17 percent said they would forgo $10,000 a year for that extra daily hour.</br></br>"People generally think the commute is just part of the cost of living, like going to the dentist or raking leaves: It's just something you have to do," Fuller said. "They don't think about it until they're pressed. We try to get them to put some value on their time."