Swiss residents prefer shorter commute over cheaper housing

While rent prices remain high and housing can be hard to find in Switzerland, a Comparis survey has found that Swiss residents would rather have a shorter commute than pay less for rent.

Switzerland’s commuting preferences revealed

A new representative survey by comparison website Comparis has shed some light on how far people in Switzerland are willing to commute to work. While housing is in short supply and rent prices continue to rise, the survey found that most would rather pay more rent than commute further for cheaper housing.

Just 23 percent of respondents choose to save money on rent and accept a longer commute to work. “Switzerland is a country of short distances - and wants to remain so”, says Comparis real estate expert Harry Büsser. “Many would rather pay a high rent than waste time, energy and nerves commuting every day.”

Switzerland prefers a 30-minute commute

When asked about how long they would be willing to commute to work, the majority (38 percent) said between 15 and 30 minutes. 28 percent would travel 31 to 45 minutes, 19 percent said 46 to 60 minutes and only 5 percent said they would commute longer than one hour.

“Half an hour is a psychological threshold [...] Anything beyond that is perceived as a constant strain”, continues Büsser. A long commute can take its toll as it “acts like a daily additional tax on wellbeing.” 

Car most popular mode of transport to commute

For those who commute, the car was found to be the most used mode of transport, making up 50 percent of all journeys. In comparison, 33 percent of people commute by public transport, 7 percent by bike and 8 percent can walk to work.

The survey highlights some of the realities of commuting, according to Büsser: “Living and working are drifting apart – and for many, the car conveniently bridges this gap – even if it means daily traffic jams.” When looking to address the housing shortage in Switzerland, the government should avoid “thinking that commuting will solve [it]”.