Super Commuters in Detroit

[shawring]

I have been reading alot in the news, about super commuters commuting over 4 hours a days in cities like San Francisco and New York, With the rise of Jobs [[especially the Quicken Companies) in Downtown Detroit, I have met several people in my office that commute from the Flint, Port Huron and Toledo area, and even as far as Bay City, MI to work in Detroit.

[Gistok]

I doubt that Quicken employees would be among super commuters. They already work their employees 10+ hours a day. Adding 2 to 4 hours to that would be insanity.

Although I used to work in Ann Arbor while living in St. Clair Shores [[a 70 minute commute each way), and know some people who work at the GM Tech Center while living in Imlay City or Marysville... I can't see very many people in the Detroit area being super commuters. Unlike NY or SF, the housing prices in the area are not insanely expensive... thus requiring a long distant commute.

I can't see more than a few people living farther than Toledo, Jackson, Lansing, Flint or Port Huron working in the [[inner) metro Detroit area.

[Hermod]

know some people who work at the GM Tech Center while living in Imlay City or Marysville.

Imlay City got a huge boost some years back from the GM Tech Center, USATACOM, Chrysler-Stirling, etc when the judge was considering a judicial fiat consolidating all tri-county school systems to promote desegregation of the Detroit schools. A large number of the employees sold their Macomb County homes and bought further out just beyond the proposed consolidation line.

I used to go to a lot of meetings at TACOM in the 1970s where that was the hot topic of the day during meeting breaks.

[iheartthed]

Super commuting is not that common in Metro NY. You're far more likely to find people in Metro Detroit who drive more than 50 miles per day than you do in Manhattan. One summer in college I worked for Chrysler in Detroit. A few people at that site commuted daily from Genesee County. That was way before super commuting was cool.

[mwilbert]

I have been reading alot in the news, about super commuters commuting over 4 hours a days in cities like San Francisco and New York, With the rise of Jobs [[especially the Quicken Companies) in Downtown Detroit, I have met several people in my office that commute from the Flint, Port Huron and Toledo area, and even as far as Bay City, MI to work in Detroit.

I'm sure you've met such people, but the forces that cause that to be common in NYC and SF, which involve lots of jobs in the city core combined with expensive core housing markets, really don't exist in Detroit. People anywhere may have ties a locality and get a job with a long commute, but that's a different thing than large numbers of people being forced to live at a distance because of cost and/or desired housing type.

[mwilbert]

You're far more likely to find people in Metro Detroit who drive more than 50 miles per day than you do in Manhattan.

Drive, no, because driving into Manhattan is nuts. Take the Metro North or the LIRR, yes.

[JBMcB]

Super commuting is not that common in Metro NY. You're far more likely to find people in Metro Detroit who drive more than 50 miles per day than you do in Manhattan. One summer in college I worked for Chrysler in Detroit. A few people at that site commuted daily from Genesee County. That was way before super commuting was cool.

I think it depends on if you count distance or duration. When I used to fly in to NYC for occasional work meetings, I'd take the first flight out of Metro, get into LaGuardia at 8, and be in midtown by 9. The office would be nearly empty until 10, as most employees lived way up in Long Island or Connecticut and had a multiple hour train commute. It wasn't more than 20 or 30 miles, but it took forever. Most people there said it was pretty common. They'd work until 7PM then hop on the last train out of town that left at 8.

[hybridy]

My friend subletted a bedroom in his condo on the river [[east) to a Quicken employee who owned a home in Rochester Hills. His hours were so hellish that the commute up 75 became so much a burden he paid for a bedroom near downtown.

The automakers Ford, GM have the super commuters. As consolidations occurred, many people now commute to the tech centers from march farther out.

[iheartthed]

[/COLOR]

Drive, no, because driving into Manhattan is nuts. Take the Metro North or the LIRR, yes.

Either way, it's not very likely. Fifty miles from Manhattan in any direction gets you to the very edge of the serviceable commuter bus and rail area. People in the NY area are much more likely to look for affordability in a lower class neighborhood than they are to suffer through an hours long daily commute, hence gentrification. The exception to this would be middle-aged people with families who live in tony suburbs. But all of NY's toniest suburbs are less than 50 miles from Manhattan.

One of my friends [[and former coworker) is from Allentown, PA. He used to commute from there to Manhattan by bus every day so that he could save money by living with his parents. Everyone in the office thought he was insane for doing that. He's one of the cheapest people I have ever met in my life, and even he gave that up and moved to a place in New Jersey just across the river.

[iheartthed]

I think it depends on if you count distance or duration. When I used to fly in to NYC for occasional work meetings, I'd take the first flight out of Metro, get into LaGuardia at 8, and be in midtown by 9. The office would be nearly empty until 10, as most employees lived way up in Long Island or Connecticut and had a multiple hour train commute. It wasn't more than 20 or 30 miles, but it took forever. Most people there said it was pretty common. They'd work until 7PM then hop on the last train out of town that left at 8.

Yes, I agree with that. People in NY Metro will tolerate a longer commute time, but not a 50 mile commute. Even commuting to Manhattan from areas within NYC can take over an hour.

[LongGone06]

Even back in the 1970's, there were many people living in Port Huron who worked in and around Detroit. In the mornings, I-94 West had a surprising amount of traffic, relatively speaking, heading toward the city. I suppose the modest cost of living in Port Huron made the commute worth the time and expense.

[DetroitSoldier]

I work downtown with several people who live in the Grand Blanc area. In most cases they have spouses that work in Saginaw/Bay City so the area South of Flint splits the travel distance.

[renf]

There have been many plans for the restoration of commuter rail in this area, most recently a plan that will link Toledo to Detroit and Ann Arbor. Passenger train equipment may already be available for restoration of the Detroit -Ann Arbor train on the Michigan Central line. We are at a time when concern about the environment is increasing. Will advocate for commuter rail stress the reduction in emission that would be achieved by an efficient commuter rail network such as those established recently in Toronto, Dallas, Phoenix and Los Angeles?