Brits spend £48K over a lifetime getting to work

British commuters face the longest journey times in Europe, but a new study reveals they also pay on average £48,000 over their lifetime for the pleasure of getting to work.

With the average British working life now spanning 47 years, long commute times add up to more than a year of an employee’s life spent getting to work. Of those surveyed by motorcycle insurance specialist Lexham, 68% drive, 11% take the train and 8% ride a motorcycle or bicycle.

The study also found that snacks on takeaway coffees account for more than a third of the cost of commuting.

The average commute in the UK is seven miles, which tallies up to 171,080 miles over a working life – enough to circle the globe more than six times. With so much travelling, stress is inevitable, but respondents said walking, cycling and riding a motorbike are the least stressful ways of getting to work. On the other end of the spectrum is driving and taking the bus, train and underground. 62% said a stressful commute ruins the rest of their day.

Nearly half of those surveyed admitted to being 10 minutes late to work at least once a week, with the most common cause being bad traffic followed by a lack of sleep.

To pass the time on a long commute, the average Brit will read 67 books, 2,248 newspapers and listen to 3,617 albums. They’ll also send 1,710 work emails, munch on 977 bananas and play 2,077 games on their phones.

Earlier this month, a survey by SPANA revealed the top 50 commuter bugbears, which included being stuck in traffic and dealing with other travellers’ bad hygiene.

“Nobody wants to have their day made any more stressful than it needs to be – and sitting in traffic, other commuters’ personal hygiene and constantly late trains definitely don’t help,” says Andy Goodson, the Sales and Marketing Director at Lexham.