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.
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