School’s out for summer, and no doubt commuters are enjoying a break from the usual rush-hour traffic – as parents, teachers and other workers have ditched their morning drive to work.
Recent research by Confused.com reveals more than two in five (42%) motorists who use their car to get to work are staying home at some point during the school summer holidays.
This will relieve the roads of 10.9 million cars throughout the course of the six-week break. It is without doubt this is bringing much joy to regular commuters who face a 27-minute average commute each day.
They drivers will save 25 minutes on average per week, which will leave them with 150-minutes spare time to enjoy the British summer over the holiday period.
Those who are still setting off on their daily drive to work might look forward to next week commencing 7 August in particular. This is expected to be the quietest period of the six-week break, with nearly two fifths (39%) of commuters – equivalent to 4.2 million cars – leaving work behind to enjoy some time off during this week.
It could be said that commuters are much better off while the schools are on break, with the lower volume of traffic during the busy morning and evening rush hours. Many may also find themselves getting home that little bit earlier than usual, as the average journey time is reduced by 5 minutes, compared to when schools are open.
And it seems school-term traffic can be too much for some commuters, with more than one in seven (15%) saying they take public transport when it’s not the school holidays as traffic is too bad.
Some commuters also find their drive to work gets them off to a bad start, with nearly one third (30%) of those driving into work saying they often arrive feeling stressed out from their commute.
With this in mind, it is unsurprising that nearly two thirds (65%) of commuters look forward to the school holidays because their commute is a lot easier.
It seems many people are making the most of their time off, with one in two (50%) saying they are going on holiday either in or outside the UK. However, more than two thirds (68%) are still expecting to be running their kids around. Although, with the dread of rush-hour traffic, those staying home should consider travelling later in the day to give commuters a break from busy roads, and keep their own travel time to a minimum.