Community Corner
About 30 Minutes: How Long Somervillians Commute to Work
For some it's shorter, for some it's longer, and according to one resident, taking the bus isn't that much quicker than walking.
If you live in Somerville, you probably spend about 25 to 30 minutes communing to work.
That's according to an interactive map we posted earlier this week that shows average commute times for different neighborhoods in Somerville and elsewhere in Greater Boston.
On Facebook, Anna Feder said she spent about 25 minutes, door-to-door, commuting from East Somerville to around Chinatown in downtown Boston.
Although each neighborhood is different, East Somerville seems to have lower commute times than other parts of the city. If you live off Broadway in East Somerville, your average commute time is about 23.1 minutes, according to the map, which is based on the United States Census Bureau's 2011 American Community Survey.
If you live in Ten Hills, your commute is about 22.4 minutes.
On Facebook, Kate Wallace, who lives between Ball, Porter and Davis squares, said she spends about 45 minutes commuting—on foot. If she takes the 89 bus and walks, she can cut that commute down to 35 minutes.
That part of Somerville was home to some of the longest commutes in the city, averaging 30.8 minutes.
Interestingly, some of those who live closest to the Davis Square Red Line stop—folks who live south of Holland Street between Davis and Teele squares—have the longest commutes in the city, at 33.2 minutes.
Those in West Somerville, who aren't terribly close to subway lines, have shorter commutes, akin to those in East Somerville. Perhaps lots of those residents work at Tufts, the city's largest employer, and walk to work.
You can check out the map here.
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