But some designers and planners are developing creative and sometimes bizarre solutions to make our treks a little more bearable.
In fact, a new vision of flashy underground bike lanes in abandoned metro stations won a London Planning Award this month.
Sadly, it’s unlikely that plan will come to fruition any time soon.
In the meantime, we’ve taken a closer look at some of the world’s coolest commutes already up and running.
Cyclocable (Trondheim, Norway)
Cyclists in Trondheim, Norway, don’t need to rely on pedal power to get them up the city’s steepest hill.
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Roosevelt Island Tramway (New York)
This urban gondola connects Roosevelt Island with the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
When it opened in 1976, it was the only urban aerial tramway in North America.
More than 26 million people have taken the three-minute journey since then, and it’s appeared in several films, including Sylvester Stallone’s thriller “Night Hawks,” “Scarface” and “Spider-Man.”
It’s also featured in the King Kong-themed Kongrontation ride at Universal Studios Florida; passengers board a scaled-down version of the tramway before coming face to face with King Kong.
Tamara Hinson is a UK-based freelance journalist who has written for publications and websites including the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, the Independent, the Observer, the Express, BA High Life, Sainsbury’s magazine and CNN.
