Over three-quarters of UK employees think their commute has a good ecological footprint

78% of UK employees think their commute has a good ecological footprint, despite cars being the kings of the commute. This is according to the latest findings from SD Worx, the leading provider in Payroll and HR services, which looks into how people choose to commute to work.

Compared to the other countries surveyed, UK employees rank the second highest in terms of thinking their commute has no negative impact to the environment. This was only topped by The Netherlands at 79% and is significantly higher than Germany, where just 58% of employees believe their commute has a good to very good ecological footprint.

Car is still the king of the commute

This high score in the UK is somewhat surprising considering more than half of those surveyed in the UK use a car to get to work (65%). France uses the car the most (75%), closely followed by Germany and Belgium at 72%. The Netherlands uses the car the least (64%). Other choices in the UK for commuting, aside from the car, include public transport (metro, tram, bus and train) (30%), (e-)bike (6%) and on foot (18%). The Netherlands comes out top for using a bike to get to work, with just under four in ten Dutch commuters (39%) choosing this mode of transport.

Time well spent?

Under half of UK commuters (44%) spend at least one hour on their round trip commute. Whilst their European commuter counterparts think this time could be better spent, the UK and The Netherlands feel this frustration the least (19%). German commuters feel this the most (34%) followed by Belgium and France (30%).

Commuting does not determine job or location

Despite UK commuters spending a long time commuting, time and distance have little impact on people’s jobs or residence. In fact, even though 31% of UK commuters travel over 20km, 76% said they were unlikely to change work location because of their commute. This was the second lowest in Europe after Germany (72%). With 16%, UK employees score the highest when it’s about considering moving house because of their commute.

“Though our research shows that the car is still the main mode of transport for commuting in the UK, it is encouraging to see that many commuters are moving towards public transport, bikes or walking to get to work,” says Brenda Morris, Managing Director SD Worx UK. “Moreover, technology advancements, digital developments and the globalisation of the labour market have made it possible for many companies to offer work from home or remote offices, allowing their employees to choose flexible working options, which will only lead to an even better commuting footprint.”