ABOUT 93 percent of young people in China’s big cities find commuting inconvenient, and nearly 40 percent get “severely troubled,” according to a recent newspaper survey.

Main causes of commuting inconvenience appear to be traffic jams and long commute times over far distances, said the survey that covered 1,966 young people working in big cities, the China Youth Daily reported.

Several interviewees told the newspaper they traveled one to two hours in each direction every day between their homes and workplaces, which is common for many of their friends and colleagues.

“I can hardly squeeze into the subway carriage during the morning rush hours,” said a 26-year-old female from Beijing, who gets to work using the subway to avoid being caught in traffic jams.

“The commute takes too much time and is unbearable, so I have decided to change jobs this year,” she said, complaining that the crowded subways are “upsetting” and “tiring.”

In China’s big cities, especially metropolises like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, many young people working downtown choose to live in suburbs with lower housing prices and rent, at the cost of much greater commuting distances.

About 85 percent of the people surveyed said they felt “less happy” due to commuting inconvenience, which makes many interviewees suffer from lower working efficiency, negative emotions or sleep deprivation, according to the survey.

(Xinhua)