Someone (Doug) should market a Commuter Survival Kit, with a lightweight rucksack as the vessel.

If I lived more than a few miles from work, I would have in my office a backpack that had Gore-tex hiking shoes containing hiking socks carabinered to it (in the event there is much wreckage from buildings collapsing then you'd want some sturdy shoes).

Backpack contents:

Two water bottles
AM-FM radio + extra batteries
Headlamp + extra batteries
Flashlight + extra batteries
Knife (Doug's RSK MK-1 being my preference)
Rain parka
Hat
Season-appropriate clothes (especially in winter)
Leather gloves
Extra eyeglasses
First Aid kit
AMK Bivvy
cotton bandanas
pepper spray

More than a 10 mile commute and I'd have a larger backpack and add to it:

firestarter + lighter + matches
AMK Heatsheets 2-person Survival Blanket
paracord
Luna Bars (or Cliff MoJo bars)
Katadyn Micropur Water purification tablets


There ought to be a sizable market for a Commuter Survival Kit. Few ever hike in the woods yet those kits are selling.