In his book, Adam mentions that Goodson requested Gene to move to L.A. When he refused, Goodson told him he was not including airfare as part of the show's budget, since he considered moving to L.A. a reasonable request. So Gene paid out-of-pocket for his travel expenses.
Speaking of host commutes, I've read before (likely on here) that G-T offered Bob Clayton the gig for syndie Concentration in the 70s, but he declined as he didn't want to commute from the East Coast or relocate.