Traffic Congestion And The 'Starbucks Effect'

Research conducted by the Department of Transportation suggests that daily trips to local gourmet coffee shops like Starbucks may adversely affect road congestion. "If you see people replacing an in-home activity like brewing your own coffee with an activity that requires a new [car] trip, that's not exactly the trend we're looking for," said Nancy McGuckin, a travel behavior analyst who used U.S. Department of Transportation data to develop her findings. The analysis also concludes that the number of short trips for errands has significantly increased, especially in the morning period and in the male cohort. "You have your radio and air conditioning, and having your coffee cup there is one more thing that makes you more inclined to drive," says Ronald Kirby, transportation planning director for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. "If that becomes a big deal, it just makes it a little hard to get people onto transit. But how big a factor it is, I just wonder."

Thanks to Peter Buryk