By Gitte Laasby, Post-Tribune staff writer
Despite rising fuels costs, about nine out of 10 commuters continued to drive their cars and trucks to work in 2005, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau analysis. Workers in Lake and Porter counties were much more likely to drive alone as opposed to carpooling -- 84.8 percent of workers in Lake County and 86 percent in Porter County drove alone in 2005. That's well above the national average of 77 percent.
For some, it's not so much a matter of preference as it is about the logistics of matching the location of the work place with public transportation. Ken Tatina of Dyer commutes 28 miles every morning to his job as financial reporting manager with Seaton Corp. in downtown Chicago. His commute typically takes an hour and 10 minutes but can take as much as two hours on a really bad day. But trains or buses wouldn't work for him.
"First, public transportation doesn't take me close enough to my office. And then the cost associated with it, and the time," Tatina said.
Parking at the South Shore train lot, the train fare, a pass for another train in Chicago and the blue line or a taxi to take him all the way to his office would run him at least $200 a month, he said.
Few local commuters used public transportation in 2005 -- about 2.9 percent of Lake County workers and 1.6 percent of Porter County workers. The national average was 4.7 percent.
For Erika Schroeder, the South Shore train is the most viable means of transportation to her job as a staff accountant at Time Out Chicago magazine -- even though it involves leaving her house in LaPorte at 6 a.m.
"I sat down and I ran the numbers and I calculated. It's more expensive to drive even though it'd save me almost an hour's time a day," she said.
The mean travel time to work for local commuters was 26 to 27 minutes in 2005. For Schroeder, the commute is an hour and 45 minutes. But when she tried driving to work for a week earlier this year, she quickly realized it wore her out.
"I was exhausted by the end of the week. I don't think I'd be able to take the exhaustion. On the train, I can read, I can sleep. It's not worth the stress," Schroeder said.
Some people relax on the car ride. Among them are Mary Ellen Basham and three people from her work with whom she carpools from Whiting to Marsh USA in Chicago.
"It was actually cheaper all around to drive with four people and pay for the parking. We come and go as we want and then we don't need to rely on the train schedule," Basham said. "It's really a matter of convenience and schedule. If you miss a train, you might not get another one for an hour. The line's down all the time, so it's not that dependable either."
The four share the cost for the parking garage in Chicago ($180 a month) and weekly tolls ($25). Each person drives one week a month and pays at least $50 for gas for that week.
Nationally, 10.7 percent carpooled. In Porter and Lake counties, 6.7 percent and 7.9 percent did.
Single commuter Tatina would have liked to carpool, but with a flexible schedule, that's not a viable option.
"In my line of work, I need that flexibility," Tatina said. "As far as carpooling, it'd be fine if I knew I got out every day at 5 o'clock, but in upper management, you sometimes end up staying later. By driving alone, I kind of come and go as I please."
The American Community Survey data also showed that Porter County residents were twice as likely to work from home as Lake County residents. In Porter County, 3.4 percent worked from home compared to 1.7 percent in Lake County.
But Lake County residents were twice as likely choose an environmentally friendly means to get to work. Two percent of Lake County workers walked compared to 1.1 percent in Porter County.