New habits are making more commutes miserable

[mahatmakanejeeves]

New habits are making more commutes miserable

Data shows the disproportionate return of cars at the expense of transit has shaken a balance between road and rail networks in the D.C. region

By Ian Duncan, Luz Lazo, Justin George and Michael Laris
September 22, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT



The outer loop of the Beltway during a recent afternoon rush in Silver Spring. August’s traffic patterns are nearly identical to those before the pandemic started. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)

Beverly Taylor can’t figure out why her commute has become more congested. When summer ended and schools resumed this fall, her typical 50-minute drive from Bowie to downtown Washington began taking 75 minutes, worse than before the coronavirus pandemic started.

“I don’t understand, because downtown is so vacant,” said Taylor, 60, a human resources director at a law firm. The snarls have stretched through the weekend, she said, the Beltway seemingly more crowded than before. “I feel like I’ve got a rush hour seven days a week.”

Taylor is among hundreds of thousands of drivers and transit riders facing the pain and befuddlement of Washington’s evolving commute, a world shaped by 3½ years of human, corporate and federal decisions that have transformed traditional patterns. Traffic and travel data shows how contradictory forces — and the disproportionate return of cars at the expense of transit — have shaken a balance between the region’s road and rail networks, often resulting in miserable results.

A call by President Biden to return more federal workers to their government offices this fall is threatening to inject new disruptions into a system in which small shifts have outsize effects.

[ 7 ways the pandemic changed the Washington commute ]

More people are working from home, but fewer employees who commute to an office are taking Metrorail, which is gumming up roads. Drivers with the flexibility to arrive in the office later, or leave earlier, are extending slowdowns beyond traditional rush hours. Meanwhile, the region’s transit and commuter rail systems are operating well below capacity.

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Traffic on North Capitol Street in Washington. Congestion in several corridors throughout the region is similar to before the pandemic. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)

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Inbound morning traffic on 16th street NW in Washington. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)

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By Ian Duncan, Luz Lazo, Justin George and Michael Laris

From the comments:

Chemist007

Biden should be forced to commute with the first lady mentioned in the article. For a full week. Then maybe he would stop forcing federal employees back to DC.

[Quakerfriend]

1. Forcing people back to the office is so

wrong for the environment!!