Inc.
Traffic isn’t just worse, it’s everywhere, all day, every day. And smart employers may hold the key to giving people back 63 lost hours a year.
Commuters Now Spend 63 Hours a Year Stuck in Traffic. That’s More Than a Week of Work
Author: Minda Zetlin
The average commuter who drives wastes 63 hours a year in traffic jams during 2024. That’s the finding in a new report by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, which measures hours lost to traffic delays, fuel wasted in slow or stopped traffic, and other indicators of commuting misery. That’s up from 61 hours in 2023, and from 20 hours in 1982.
The pandemic and resulting shift to remote and hybrid work eased traffic delays across the country for several years beginning in 2020, the report notes. Since the end of social distancing, traffic has been on the rise. In 2024, it grew to its highest level since the Institute began measuring it in 1982. So if it seems to you that traffic where you live and work is worse than it’s ever been, you’re right, it probably is. But as an entrepreneur or business leader, there may be some things you can do to help.
Bad traffic now lasts all day.
The report also found that traffic is bad across more of the day than it used to be. In past years, commuters could expect traffic jams during the morning and evening rush hour periods on weekdays, and relatively easier traffic the rest of the time. This report shows that bad traffic is spreading to more parts of the day and to weekends too. That’s doubly bad because it means drivers can’t confidently plan trips during low-traffic times. They must plan extra traffic time for every trip, or risk being late.
Why is traffic getting worse overall, and also more consistently bad throughout the day? One explanation is the rise of both trucks and individual cars delivering ecommerce purchases across the country. That’s likely to intensify in the days leading up to Christmas. Add increased travel by those who still do their holiday shopping in bricks-and-mortar stores, and those headed to holiday gatherings. You can see how things are likely to get worse in the next couple of weeks. Allow extra extra time to get where you’re going.
In the longer term are there ways to alleviate the traffic overload, or at least make it easier on yourself and your employees? Yes, the Institute says. Many improvements can only be made by the local transportation authority. One such example is deploying rapid response teams that arrive quickly at an accident location and help move affected cars off the road. But some are within your power as an employer. If traffic is getting worse at your location, consider trying them.
1. Create a more flexible work week.
Remote work, hybrid work, and a four-day work week all can ease commuter traffic woes, for your employees, yourself, and for other drivers in your community. At the very least, consider scheduling in-person meetings toward the middle of the day, rather than at the beginning or the end. This give your employees and colleagues the option to avoid the worst of the day’s traffic. It also lessens the strain on parents who must drop off their kids at school or daycare, and/or pick them up in the afternoon. And because some people aren’t at their best at 8 am, and others aren’t at 4 pm, your meeting participants will be more alert and attentive as well.
2. Plan for employee parking.
Do your employees have to make their own parking arrangements? If so, you may be making the problem worse. A fair amount of traffic at the street level consists of drivers looking for a place to park their cars. Providing parking for them at a nearby facility can ease the traffic around your office location. And it may help your employees get to meetings on time.
3. Encourage public transportation use.
Using public transportation is one of the most powerful things any commuter can do to relieve traffic congestion. It can be better for commuters too, because it allows them to work, read, nap, or even watch videos during time they would otherwise spend driving. Because stop-and-go driving in heavy traffic demands constant attention, they may also find they are less tired when they return home from the office.
As an employer, you can make it easier for your employees to use public transportation. Providing a free or subsidized transit pass can be one way to do this. Or check with your local transit system, some have specific programs for employers.
4. Make it easy for employees to walk, run, or bicycle to work.
This won’t work in every place or for everyone. But many employees would love to get some exercise by biking, walking, or even running to their workplace. You can make this much easier by providing bicycle racks or storage, lockers and changing spaces. You can help even more by giving them a place to wash up, or ideally shower.
These approaches won’t all work for every company, and there may be other things you can do to help employees–and yourself–avoid heavy traffic. If you give it some thought and explore your options, you’ll likely be ahead of the other employers in your area. And that could turn into a competitive advantage. You could be giving your employees back 63 hours a year or more. Just think what they could do with that extra time.
Credits: TCA, LLC.