Association of Female Executives of Trinidad and Tobago

To get to his job at a hotel in Chaguaramas, Trinidad, where he spends a full day tending to hotel rooms, Ronald Small who lives in Siparia, South Trinidad, gets out of bed at 3 a.m. every morning.

His 3-hour commute will involve a combo of maxi-taxis, private cars and bus rides and will take him from South to North and finally to the western end of the island where he begins his work day at 8:00 a.m. Returning home at 4 p.m. in the evening is a nightmare. “One day on one leg of the journey there was a 2-hour traffic jam to get into the capital city, on the highway to San Fernando the car blew a tyre and if that wasn’t bad enough I got to the bus station in San Fernando to take the bus home I was told that the system was experiencing delays, all I could do was break down and cry,” says Small.

Ronald Small is an example of what people in developed countries refer to as “extreme commuters”; men and women who for a variety of personal and professional circumstances: the lure of a new job, the high cost (or alternatively low cost) of housing, their children’s school or the promise of a bigger salary, spend most of their time journeying a long distance for something better. “ I am not sure how much I can take of this,” said the twenty-two year old, who was on the breadline for a year before landing the job. “I know this is an opportunity, I love what I do, I enjoy working in a hotel, but I don’t see my family, I feel disconnected from my church.”

Small’s situation reflects the true paradoxical nature of extreme commuters. Those who accept the burden of travelling long distance with the understanding that in return they are getting something more rewarding, often assume that the hours of commute are worth it. That is, until it becomes the daily grind. More money, more wealth, a better job, more material goods usually means a loss of connections –for women it means seldom seeing their children- hobbies, health. Commuting is stressful and leaves those who do it wondering if it is worth the sacrifice. My own experience with this proves the point. One year after acquiring new office space at a Port of Spain hotel, I decided to move 45 minutes away from the city to live at home with my twin sister while I placed focus on acquiring my home. This required disciplined saving for a year. But it also meant that I had to leave home no late than 4:45 a.m. to avoid a traffic jam more tangled than how my natural tresses became after a shampoo. One year later, I acquired my home in the a suburb of Chaguanas, central Trinidad, but I also acquired eight more pounds of waistline girt -my daily exercise routine was shot- a short temper and a decrease in social activity -when I got home I just wanted to stay there not jump in my car to see friends.

Of course in an age of broadband and wireless telecommunications I see many signs of the affluent adjusting to life on the road in indomitable style. Usually in chaffeur driven, window rolled up, air conditioned cars these commuters can be seen in the back seat, cellular at their ear, computer on the lap getting the business of the day done. Their cars are usually a prestige symbol of their success and why not, since they usually spend more time in it than they do their living rooms.

Still the costs, whether rich or poor, are high. Think of the gas, the congestion, the pollution, the noise, the waiting games we play while caught in traffic. And there are the personal losses. In a study done by Harvard University it was discovered that for every 10 minutes of commuting, one’s social connections get cut by 10%. Contemplate the significance when it is not a question of minutes but hours. Imagine that.

By Judette Coward
Judette Coward is a communications, PR and brand development expert. She is the principal consultant at her firm. Email her at judettecoward@hotmail.com