Not one, not two but three different modes of transport are used by some of the commuters who travel long distances daily to work and university.
John Leahy is one commuter who responded to an Irish Times callout to readers to share their experiences of long daily journeys.
Living at home in north Tipperary, Leahy started a master’s degree in planning and sustainable development at University College Cork (UCC) in September.
His morning commute to college is almost 150km and takes him more than two hours. Double that for his daily journey as he retraces his steps in the evening.
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“The commute itself is at the outer reaches of feasibility, but I think the fact that it did feel like a choice of mine – though in reality it was choice between returning to study or working to make ends meet in Dublin – makes it a little more bearable.”
To make a 9am lecture, he leaves home at 6.35am. Firstly, he drives from his home to the train station in Thurles, which takes him about 25 minutes. He then gets the train to Cork railway station, which takes about 85 minutes. Finally, he cycles for about 20 minutes across the city to UCC.
He said he studied his undergraduate degree in Dublin and worked there for two years but found it “impossible to save”, given the financial demand of renting. Instead, he decided to move back to his family home in Templederry and applied to study at UCC.
“Even with the rather expensive monthly ticket for the train, I reason my expenses on transport are about 25 per cent of what I once spent on rent,” he said.
“I’m grateful that I can frame this as a choice of mine, and that I did have that choice available to me.”
James Howard, from Co Longford, travels 115km to get to where he works at Technological University Dublin, taking him more than two hours.
“I’ve been commuting from Ardagh in Longford on and off for 21 years with a nice break during Covid,” he said.
He does this commute three days a week and works from home for the other two days of his working week.
He drives to the train station for the first 10km, he then travels by train for 100km and finishes his journey by bicycle or Luas.
Howard claims that when he started the job in 2004, his journey was 20 minutes shorter.
“The main reason it takes so long is because the train speed is laughably slow,” he said.
“The level of service reliability is just appalling now. From the start of October until the new year, I can expect two out of three evening trains to be 15 minutes late or worse.”
One woman, who wished not to be named, travels from her home in Co Clare to Dublin city, where she works five days a week, commuting about 250km each way.
As a single mother to three children she said her work-life balance “is not sustainable”.
“It’s a job I love and its something I’m good at. I didn’t know I was facing this commute when I took the job.”
Her daily commute to and from work takes 5½ hours. Firstly, she drives for half an hour to Limerick, where she gets the train to Heuston station, leaving her house each morning at 5.30am.
“With the shorter days, its hard, the kids are only catching me for an hour in the evening.”
Seán Hewitt, who lives in Chapelizod in Dublin travels to Trinity College, where he works five days a week.
He explained that his area used to be serviced by a number of bus routes but now he can only get one bus after BusConnects redesigned the networks.
Until last month, his journey to Westland Row used to take 30 minutes, it has now more than doubled to an hour and 15 minutes.
He gets a bus to Heuston Station, changes at the quays to another bus or gets the Luas to O’Connell Street and then walks 20 minutes to his office.
Hewitt explained that walking the same distance takes only 15 minutes more.
“The National Transport Authority has enforced a system whereby two to three buses are needed to cover a distance of six kilometres,” he said.
“It may not be Ireland’s longest commute, but at a speed of about six kilometres per hour, it might well be one of the slowest.”
A woman in her early 20s, who wished not to be named, said she commutes for about three hours each day from her home in Co Meath to her job in Dublin city.
“By the time Friday morning comes around, I find it to be somewhat of a test of endurance. I’m more tired than I need to be for a job that occupies only 7½ hours of my day,” she said.
“Commuting is boring, isolating and annoying. First-world problems, but a problem nonetheless. When you measure life in empty platforms and wasted minutes, it’s hard to always look on the bright side of the train tracks,” she said.
