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Mass. average commute time increases to fifth longest in US

Inbound traffic on the Massachusetts Turnpike.Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe/File 2018

Has your commute to work been feeling longer than usual? If so, you’re not alone.

US Census data reveal that the average daily ride to work for Massachusetts commuters — by car, train, or bus — is now one minute, 42 seconds longer than it was at the beginning of the decade.

It may not seem like much, but over the course of a year commuters in Massachusetts spend more than six additional hours on their way to work in the morning than they did in 2010, according to the data, which were analyzed by AAA Northeast.

The analysis showed that the average one-way commute registers 29 minutes, up from 27 minutes and 18 seconds in 2010, AAA said Wednesday in a statement.

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Why have Massachusetts residents been plagued with longer morning commutes to work?

A record-low unemployment rate in the state has added 97,000 vehicle commuters and 49,000 transit commuters to the already-crowded streets and trains from 2010 to 2016, AAA said.

Massachusetts has the fifth-longest average morning commute in the country, Census data show. And Boston is the seventh-most-congested city in the United States, according to a recent INRIX study, with residents spending more than 60 hours sitting in traffic every year, AAA said.

Commutes are bound to get even longer as more jobs are added in the state, said Mary Maguire, director of public and legislative affairs for AAA Northeast.

“We need to invest in improved infrastructure to ensure that Massachusetts residents can get to their jobs safely and efficiently,” she said.


Katie Camero can be reached at katie.camero@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @camerokt_.