Reverse commute
Encyclopedia
A reverse commute is a round trip, regularly taken, from a metropolitan area to a suburb
an one in the morning, and returning in the evening. It is almost universally applied to the trip to work in the suburbs from home in the city. This is on opposition to the regular commute
, where a person lives in the suburbs and travels to work in the city.
The reverse commuter is travelling in the opposite direction to the regular daily population flow, so encounters fewer of the road traffic congestion problems faced by regular commuters. Train and bus routes may be more sparse than for those heading into town, but the vehicles have to get back somehow for their next journey in most cases. However, track capacity on some train routes like the Long Island Rail Road
Ronkonkoma Branch
and the New Jersey Transit
Gladstone Branch
significantly reduces or even eliminates reverse commute options. Hence, transit usage is lower among reverse-commuters than regular commuters.
But the very reasons commuting makes sense (such as higher employment in the city and lower housing prices in the suburbs) operate against the reverse commuter, so people doing so are not common, compared to those going the other way. It is growing, however.
One example would be the reverse commute from San Francisco to Marin County. Companies generally advertise reverse commutes as an appealing benefit to working for the company.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an one in the morning, and returning in the evening. It is almost universally applied to the trip to work in the suburbs from home in the city. This is on opposition to the regular commute
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
, where a person lives in the suburbs and travels to work in the city.
The reverse commuter is travelling in the opposite direction to the regular daily population flow, so encounters fewer of the road traffic congestion problems faced by regular commuters. Train and bus routes may be more sparse than for those heading into town, but the vehicles have to get back somehow for their next journey in most cases. However, track capacity on some train routes like the Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
Ronkonkoma Branch
Ronkonkoma Branch
The Ronkonkoma Branch is a rail service operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. On LIRR maps and printed schedules, "Ronkonkoma Branch" refers to trains running along the railroad's Main Line from Hicksville east to the line's terminus at Greenport.The section of the...
and the New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
Gladstone Branch
Gladstone Branch
The Gladstone Branch is a branch of New Jersey Transit's Morris and Essex Lines. The Gladstone Branch primarily serves commuter trains; freight service is no longer operated...
significantly reduces or even eliminates reverse commute options. Hence, transit usage is lower among reverse-commuters than regular commuters.
But the very reasons commuting makes sense (such as higher employment in the city and lower housing prices in the suburbs) operate against the reverse commuter, so people doing so are not common, compared to those going the other way. It is growing, however.
One example would be the reverse commute from San Francisco to Marin County. Companies generally advertise reverse commutes as an appealing benefit to working for the company.