Originally Posted by agent pombero

The recession has impacted where people live and work. Some people who once lived 15-20 minutes away from work, like Aaron in the article, were laid off during the recession and eventually found work farther away. I don't know how many people are in exactly Aaron's situation but my guess is that most people with these "megacommutes" were the "happy in the 'burb" types who suddently find themselves surrounded with increased numbers of people just like them...thus increasing their commute time. It isn't just distance that determines commute time but the number of other people on the road too. Once gasoline hits $5/gallon I bet for many people these megacommutes will diminish.