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137 A recurring theme in the American experience is our love of mobility, our love of the freedom of the open road. It’s an idea that can be traced from Walt Whitman’s iconic “Song of the Open Road,” first published in 1856, through Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road, first published in 1957. Even today, automobile advertising seems to promise “wind in our hair and a guaranteed uplift in our sexual performance.”1 But it’s hard to feel like an alpha male behind the wheel of a car stuck in traffic, cursing the other drivers causing us to be late for that important meeting. For commuters trying to make it through the Lincoln or Holland on the way to work, driving is not liberating, sexy, or fun. There are, of course, many ways to make use of the trans-Hudson tunnels. New Yorkers may leave town for a weekend getaway on a Friday evening and return home on a Sunday evening. To be sure, there are a few reverse commuters—New Yorkers who commute to work in New Jersey. And there are New Jerseyans who may actually enjoy using the tunnels in the expectation of going into the city to dine and take in a Broadway show. But in this chapter we will focus on the most difficult and congested trips—those made by New Jersey commuters who must use the tunnels, either as drivers or aboard a bus, to get to work and to return home, Monday through Friday, during the morning and evening rush hours. Predictably, this is the group that is least satisfied with their tunnel experiences. These are the people who listen to talk radio, glance at billboards, travel with coffee, and complain about gas prices.2 Our typical New Jersey commuters with unquittable New York jobs sense that they have no choice. Because housing in Manhattan is so expensive, they feel forced to live far out in the sticks away from their jobs. Plus, the farther out they move, the bigger the house they can afford. So they buy the dream house, perhaps in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, on the border with Pennsylvania, a 70-mile commute. Real estate agents say, “Drive until you qualify,” meaning Rush Hour Frustration dealing with traffic congestion chapter 8 I you travel away from the workplace until you reach a place where you can afford to buy.3 At first the decision seems worth it because of the improvement in quality of life. But then they get used to the new place, and the initial charm fades away. Experts call this phenomenon “hedonic adaptation,” the tendency of people to remain at a relatively stable level of happiness despite an improvement in their situation. Our commuters are now locked into a longer commute. And here’s the catch: The longer the commute, the more variability. Some days take longer, others less time. Psychologist Daniel Gilbert explains, “You can’t adapt to commuting, because it’s entirely unpredictable . Driving in traffic is a different kind of hell every day.”4 The long commute is not just a New Jersey phenomenon, it is nationwide . The number of Americans who travel ninety minutes to work is now at 3.5 million, according to the Census Bureau, which defines this as an “extreme commute.”5 Ideally, most people would prefer to live closer to work in order to get home more quickly and to have more time to play with their kids, spend time with their spouses, coach soccer, argue about politics, play cards, watch a school play, drink in a bar, or pray in church. In other words, socialize with other people. However, finding a large, affordable home in a very good public school district typically requires living farther from the office.6 New Jerseyans in particular are leaving home earlier and earlier to get to work on time. This “commuting creep” has a tremendous impact on everyday life—affecting everything from what we have for breakfast to when we expect our newspaper to be delivered. For example, take the case of Elliot Bloom of Denville, New Jersey. He leaves his home at 5:15 a.m. to get a head start on the traffic into Manhattan. As a result, his commute takes forty-five minutes, as opposed to the ninety minutes it would take during rush hour. He spends the early morning running in Central Park as training for his marathon passion...

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