For years government has been trying to convince employers and employees alike that telecommuting is a way to reduce traffic congestion. What we are finding now is that vast numbers of both employees and employers are finding ways to allow telecommuting.
Working from home reduces traffic congestion and gives travel time reductions back to employees in such a way that it becomes a corporate benefit. It allows employees to have breakfast with their families, wait for their children at bus stops for school, or go to the gym. Offering this flexibility actually results in more productivity in the long run.
There is no question some employers still feel it is essential to have team members in the office where they can be seen and monitored. Nothing can be further from the truth. Since March 15, 2020, millions of employees have had no choice but to telecommute and employers have leveraged technology to ensure work continues uninterrupted.
Traffic volumes have dropped dramatically on roads, streets, highways, expressways, and toll roads throughout the United States. Unfortunately, this has resulted in an extreme amount of speeding. At a time when we would have expected crashes to decrease, the speed at which crashes are occurring has resulted in deadly situations.
A comparison of traffic conditions before the shutdown and during the shutdown has been dramatic in many instances but surprisingly select in the other circumstances. Once the country is fully re-engaged, traffic volumes will decrease 5%-10% during peak hours because of the telecommuting forced experiment that occurred between March 15-May 15, 2020.
In many communities there is only a 5%-10% reduction in summertime traffic with school not in session. It is easy to see what a 5%-10% increase in traffic looks like in September when schools and colleges reopen. A 10% reduction in traffic is dramatic. We will continue to see this positive impact on traffic congestion in the fall and winter of 2020 and beyond.