I always lived close enough to walk to work in case the car broke down as commuting is unpaid overtime.
Calling in sick was more difficult if the bosses were driving around.
Whenever I could, I’ve also preferred to walk or cycle to work, but lots of times that just wasn’t possible.
One of my shorter commutes was when I lived across the road from the mine gate, and I could walk about 200 feet to the hoist house, brass in, and ride the manlift about 800 feet straight down.