Massachusetts commutes have gotten longer this decade: Analysis

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James Kirkikis

The average one-way commute in Massachusetts now takes 29 minutes, an increase from 27 minutes and 18 seconds at the start of the decade, according to an analysis of Census data from AAA Northeast.

That might not seem like a heaping big change over eight years, but as the Globe’s Katie Camero points out, that translates into more than six additional hours on the way to work per year for commuters—six hours of lost time for hobbies, families, other gigs, etc.

What, um, drove the increase in commute times? The state’s healthy economy, according to AAA Northeast. Simply put, more people working means more people driving, training, or busing it from home to the workplace

High housing prices in and near core commercial areas such as downtown Boston and Cambridge’s Kendall Square also surely have something to do with the traveling times, particularly in vehicular traffic. Residents are having to push farther and farther out to find affordable enough housing, which means longer and more labyrinth commutes.