Nowadays, the amount of time that people spend on commuting to work is increasing significantly. While some people think that this trend brings some benefits, I personally opine that this development is severely affecting both individuals and the environment.

On the one hand, long-haul travel could be beneficial for residents who cannot afford accommodation near their workplace or schools in big cities. Undoubtedly, living expenses in metropolitan areas are often prohibitively expensive. It is, therefore, more economical for students and working adults with tight budgets to shuttle far distance. To be more specific, the average price of a rented apartment in Ho Chi Minh city is three million dongs, exclusive of other costs, such as meals, electricity bills when they live here. Meanwhile, bus tickets for a 40-kilometre trip from the suburban areas merely cost six thousand dongs. Obviously, they only pay about 350 thousand dongs for travelling cost per month, which is far more reasonable compared to living in the city centres. Therefore, despite longer commuting time, travellers can reap benefits from long-distance trips.

However, this trend of travelling negatively affect commuters’ efficiency and substantially contributes to the deterioration of the environment. Firstly, people would have to wake up early in the morning to prepare and then travel an enormous distance to their destinations, costing them a great deal of energy. Additionally, more gas emissions which are the primary cause of air pollution, will be definitely released. To be more specific, according to the Environmental Protection Agency in United States, a typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, and the transportation sector generates the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. This means that longer-distance trip between work or school to home is likely to devastatingly impact the air quality and people’s health.

In conclusion, in spite of several advantages of this development, I believe that it is more detrimental to the environment and people’s productivity.