Guest blog: Cities can lead the way in supporting smart commuting - By Lianna Etkind, Public Transport Campaigner, Campaign for Better Transport
/Flexible working has come a long way since it was seen as the ‘mummy shift’. While there’s still a long way to go until every employer makes flexible hiring the norm, and until an end to unreasonable refusals of flexible working, more and more employers are recognising its benefits.
Unfortunately, the transport sector has largely failed to keep up with this enormous shift in working practices. While around 60 per cent of us now work part-time or flexibly, rail fares are still stuck in an archaic structure of nine to five, Monday to Friday, meaning commuters around the country are being penalised. We are faced with a choice between buying a season ticket which will only be used three or four days a week, or buying full price peak-time fares for the days we travel. Those who work part-time, or those who work from home one or two days a week, end up paying well over the odds for commuting. For many part-time workers, these extra costs fall on top of a reduced wage and the high costs of childcare. It’s no surprise that some people give up their city job for a local job, even if it doesn’t offer the same salary or opportunities for progression, and others give up work altogether.
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