The Cost Of Commuting: Staff Spending Up To 20% Of Their Salary On Getting Back To The Office

The debate over whether or not to return to the office is far from settled - and yet, the push to get employees back to the office is becoming more and more apparent.

Companies such as Goldman Sachs want employees back in five days a week, and Google is planning to start factoring employees’ in-office attendance into their performance reviews. This rise in companies expecting staff to return to the office is likely to continue as, according to Resume Builder, 90% of companies plan to implement return-to-office policies by the end of 2024.

For most Brits, hybrid working has become the norm, as they go in one, two or three days a week. But for those that have been faced with new obligations to head to the office, it’ll likely lead to increased costs, and spending more time away from home.

As more people work from home, coffee shops or co-working spaces, companies have been motivated to invest in or develop new technologies to make working anywhere as seamless as possible. There’s growing interest in tools such as office technology software and business management software as companies look to improve communication, productivity and operational efficiency.

ECI Software Solutions has created the Cost of Commuting report. The study has looked at 20 of the most populated cities across the UK, to analyse the cost of trains, parking, coffees and more to reveal the residents which will be most impacted by increased days in the office.

Find out below which city is deemed the priciest commute to work.

THE MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES TO COMMUTE BY TRAIN

London was revealed to be the most expensive to commute. Based on an average 40-minute journey time, this equates to £114 per week - already taking over 20% of their monthly earnings.

Train prices have continued to rise yearly, with a 5.9% increase in March 2023.

With the average Brit working 2.5 days in the office a week, according to the Centre for Cities, employees could be spending up to 40% of their salary just getting to and from work each month if bosses ever consider changing it back to a 5-day working contract. This could fluctuate, depending on where the staff are based, and if they need to drive to the train station, too.

Edinburgh and Hull round out the top 3. Hull is just over £50 cheaper than Edinburgh, but has significantly fewer remote jobs on offer, whereas Scotland’s capital has over 1,000 jobs available.

Those in Hull may feel the commuting costs more. With an average salary of £28,000, over 15% of earnings could be spent each month on commuting, before taking into account any extra costs such as food and socialising after work.

THE MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES TO COMMUTE BY CAR

Birmingham is the most expensive commute by car, with nearly 17% of employee's salaries being spent on travel. In total, out of their average monthly salary pay of £2,091, hybrid working commuters will have £1,791 left - before taking into account petrol costs.

Not only have Manchester rental prices increased by 19.6% this year, but according to the NCP, the average cost of daily parking in Manchester is priced at almost £27, which could quickly add up to a mighty £269.50 a month if people can’t benefit from a parking permit or other ways to save on parking.

While costs will vary across the capital, London had a similar daily cost for a day of parking.

The research found that Sheffield and Plymouth residents had one of the fewest options for flexible working - which could lead residents to spend more on commuting overall if they’re expected to be in the office more days per week.

Which cities are the cheapest to commute to?

Derby was revealed to be the cheapest for train commuters, costing on average £76 a month with a daily return train ticket priced at £4.60. Offering just over 1,000 hybrid jobs at the time of research, this city may be appealing to those looking for a cheaper city to work in. Similarly, the analysis showed Kingston upon Hull to be the cheapest city for car users.

The UK business landscape continues to evolve with technology and innovation at the forefront, companies should have the potential to create collaborative workforces whether in the office or at home.

Automated systems and intelligent cloud computing software enable employees to securely access data from anywhere and open up the opportunity to grow the business, limiting the need to add servers, on-site space or IT personnel to maintain extra employees in the office.

Methodology

ECI Software Solutions created the Priciest Cities to Commute report looking at these 7 factors:

• Cost of a train ticket based on the average commute journey closest to the specified city.

• Cost of daily parking using NCP.

• Average cost of a coffee

• No. of remote jobs available using LinkedIn

• No. of hybrid jobs available using LinkedIn

• Average no. of days in office

• Average time spent commuting

We calculated the average amount spent on commuting including weekly and monthly and whether by train or car.

Data correct as of 12th September 2023.