Report: 600,000 travel 90 minutes to work

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WASHINGTON, March 5 (UPI) -- Nearly 600,000 American workers are "megacommuters" who travel at least 90 minutes and 50 miles to work every day, the U.S. Census Bureau reports.

That's more than three times the average commute of 25.5 minutes for most workers who travel to their workplace, said the report on 2011 U.S. driving habits released Tuesday.

About 8.1 percent of employees commute 60 minutes or longer, the report said, with 23 percent of that group using public transit. Some 61 percent of workers with long commutes travel alone.

Of all U.S. workers, only 5.3 percent use public transportation, the bureau said.

The highest rate of long commutes, 16.2 percent, is in New York, followed by Maryland (14.8 percent) and New Jersey (14.6 percent), the report said.

The typical megacommuter was described in the report as a male with a high salary, older and with a spouse who does not work. They were also more likely to leave for work before 6 a.m.

Some 4.3 percent of Americans work from home, the report said.