Detroit man James Robertson walks 33km to work every day

WHAT this man does to get to work will mean you can never complain about your commute ever again. Because his is far worse.

James Robertson walks 33km to work each day, often in the snow.

A UNITED States man is so determined to get to work each day he walks 33km to get there.

James Robertson, 56, makes the long journey — often in the snow — to his factory job fives times a week, mainly by foot, after his 1988 Honda Accord broke down in 2005.

The Detroit man catches a bus for the final three kilometres to his workplace in Rochester Hills.

Despite what he endures every day the softly-spoken man never complains, reports the New York Post.

Mr Robertson stays awake by drinking large amounts of Coke and Mountain Dew and starts his shift by stopping at the office to chat about sports.

“I sleep a lot on the weekend, yes I do,” Mr Robertson said. “I can’t imagine not working.”

He earns $10.55 an hour, well above Michigan’s minimum wage of $8.15 an hour. But that’s still not enough to buy, maintain and insure a car in the Motor City.

If the walk to work was hard, his commute home is particularly daunting.

At the end of his 2-10pm shift, Mr Robertson begins the marathon trip in the dark. He can rarely catch a ride because none of his co-workers lives anywhere near him.

Instead, he walks 7km from the factory to a bus stop at a mall in Troy.

“I keep a rhythm in my head,” he said of his trek to the mall.

James Robertson, 56, prays before eating in the break room of the factory he walks 33km to each day.

Once there he catches the last bus of the day, just before 1am, and rides it to Detroit, as far as it goes. He then walks the rest of the way — another 8km — to the home he shares with his girlfriend.

Robertson said faith helps him get through the hardships.

“I’m not saying I’m a member of some church. But just before I get home, every night, I say, ‘Lord, keep me safe,’” he said.

He then thinks of one more thing that keeps him going. Determination.

Robertson said he was unaware of the Job Access and Reverse Commute program, funded in part with government dollars, that provides door-to-door transportation to low-income workers, albeit at a cost.

“I set our attendance standard by this man,” said his boss, Todd Wilson, plant manager at Schain Mold & Engineering. “I say, if this man can get here, walking all those miles through snow and rain, well I’ll tell you, I have people in [nearby] Pontiac 10 minutes away and they say they can’t get here — bull!”

James Robertson sleeps on the bus he rides part of the way home in the middle of the night.

He treats his dedicated worker to dinner every day, courtesy of his wife’s southern cuisine.

“We are very much trying to get James a vehicle,” said Mr Wilson, the plant manager. “If I can get away, I’ll pick him up. But James won’t get in just anybody’s car. He likes his independence.”

Since Mr Robertson’s story was published in a local newspaper he has been amazed by the generosity of complete strangers.

One crowd-funding effort had raised $35,000 alone. It was started by a university student, Evan Leedy, who originally hoped to raise $5000.

Others have also raised money and a car dealer has donated a 2014 Chevrolet Cruz or Sonic because they were “impressed with his determination”.

Originally published as Detroit man James Robertson walks 33km to work every day