Two Narratives Derived from New Commute Data

Writing for the Brookings Institution, Adie Tomer and Joseph Kane detail the recent commute data from the 2013 American Community Survey. While acknowledging that the "car is still king" for drivers in the United States, their analysis also finds a new trend emerging from the nation's largest metropolitan areas. "Over two-thirds of these places experienced driving declines between 2007 and 2013, while also simultaneously seeing a rise in commuters walking, bicycling or working at home," write Tomer and Kane.

Writing for the Population Reference Bureau, Beth Jarosz and Rachel T. Cortes find a different angle the 2013 ACS data, namely, that commutes are getting longer and more sedentary for Americans: "The average full-time worker in the United States spends almost 26 minutes commuting to work, according to just-released data from the 2013 American Community Survey," citing a series of infographics to back up the claim. Jarosz and Cortes then go on to point out the increase in active commute modes and even cites the exercise and stress benefits of biking to work.