The number of Americans whose commutes take over three hours per day peaked in 2019, but dropped dramatically as remote work became more widespread.
The number of Americans who travel more than 90 minutes each way to work, known as super commuters, has fallen to the lowest level in over 10 years, writes Chris Salviati for Apartment List. In 2021, just 3.1 million Americans were super commuters, down from a peak of 4.6 million in 2019.
“The number of remote workers more than tripled from 2019 to 2021. In 2019, just 5.7 percent of Americans worked primarily from home, but by 2021, that share jumped to 17.9 percent.” This led to shorter commutes overall, but “super commuters have seen the sharpest dropoff.”
According to the article, “Workers who rely on public transit to get to work are more than three times as likely to be super commuters as those who commute by car; 6.8 percent of all transit riders were super commuters in 2021, compared to 2.1 percent of drivers.”
Salviati also notes that “there is very likely a sizeable population of ‘part-time super commuters’ who we are not able to cleanly identify in this report” who don’t commute every day. The availability of hybrid arrangements may make super commuting more attractive, with workers only having to make the trip two or three times a week rather than daily.
Read the full story: The Number of "Super Commuters" Has Fallen to the Lowest Level in Over a Decade
US workers spend nearly an hour a day commuting
High housing costs and return-to-office policies are forcing more American workers to live farther from work, pushing the average daily commute time to nearly an hour.
US Traffic Patterns are Shifting, but Car-centric Development Persists
Los Angeles, Honolulu, and San Francisco ranked among the nation’s most congested cities, while New York reduced traffic and increased transit speed and ridership thanks to its congestion pricing program.
US Commuters Lost 8 Workdays to Traffic in 2024
As more employers call workers back to the office, commute times are growing — and costing drivers in time and money.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
Non-stop party: Chicago voters weigh permanent festival grounds
A stable place for bleachers, stages and drainage may streamline the setup and teardown of large events.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority