Commuting around the world

Lori Forrester commutes to Alexandria, Virginia from her home in rural Berryville. Toronto Star photo.

is a series running now in the Toronto Star. See "Commuting series."

From "Think you have it bad? Try a 240-km commute" which is about someone commuting from Berryville, VA to Alexandria:

The American commute by the numbers:

$78 billion: Cost, per year, of wasted fuel and lost work due to traffic congestion.

60 hours: Amount of time Washington-area drivers spend stuck in traffic each year.

38 hours: National average of time stuck in traffic each year.

14 hours: The national average 25 years ago.

4.2 billion hours: Total time Americans spent stuck in traffic in 2005.

3.5 million: "Extreme Commuters'' who travel at least 90 minutes one way to work.

11.2: Percentage of Americans who carpool to work.

4.5: Percentage of Americans who use public transit to get to work.

88: Percentage of Americans who drive to work alone.

8: Percentage of heart attacks linked to traffic congestion.

765: Cars per 1,000 Americans, the world's highest rate.

240: Distance Lori Forrester travelled from Berryville to Alexandria and back home each day.

$150: Cost, per week, to fuel her 2007 Jeep Commander.

693, 7, 267, 495, 395: The highways from home to office in Alexandria.

3: Waking hours, on average, she spends with her family during the workweek.

Sources: Texas Transportation Institute, U.S. Census, New England Journal of Medicine, United Nations, Lori Forrester