The problems with long commutes all revolve around home ownership.

People want big houses on big yards. Most can't afford that close to work, which means they make the economic choice to trade the commute time for that "dream".

That's fine but the problem is that government subsidizes that dream to a ridiculous degree. Urban sprawl has a huge cost in infrastructure, largely borne by the taxpayer.

Low-density urban sprawl largely also makes public transport uneconomic (public transport works best in high density cities and countries).

Lastly, home ownership decreases the flexibility of the labour market. People are less able and less inclined to pick up and move to find work opting instead for lower-paid employment or no employment at all.