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Seattle Commute Survey reveals new habits for workers on Mondays and Fridays and why we still have so much traffic even with everyone ‘working from home’

(Image: King County Metro)

An annual survey of commuting habits in Seattle updated to capture new information about how the city’s residents have changed their commuting habits since the pandemic reveals insights about major changes in the work week, working remotely, and why we still have so much motor vehicle on the streets and highways even with so much work taking place in online meetings and by email.

First run in 2010, this year’s survey from the Mobility Innovation Center at the University of Washington and Commute Seattle provides new insights into the travel choices and patterns of workers and reveals simple takeaways like Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday commutes now differing significantly from Monday and Friday. Midweek, more workers physically commute to their workplaces, while on Mondays and Fridays, teleworking is more common. 39% of people in the Center City telework on Tuesday and Wednesday, while 57% telework on Friday.

There are more complicated — and more frustrating — takeaways. The survey shows that driving alone to work during peak hours in the Center City has declined since 2019. In that year, the rate was 26%, which fell to 25% in 2021 and 21% in 2022. However, transit use has slightly rebounded, with respondents reporting 22% public transit use in 2022, up from 18% in 2021. Nevertheless, transit use remains far below pre-pandemic levels, with 46% using public transit in 2019.

Interestingly, the survey reveals that more people drive alone to offices outside of the Center City. Specifically, employees of large employers outside the Center City are more likely to drive alone to work, with 40% of them driving alone compared to 19% of those inside the Center City. Conversely, people who work at large employers in the Center City are more likely to telework or take public transit. For instance, 51% of respondents at large employers in the Center City telework, compared to 30% outside the Center City.The survey results also showed key links between travel behavior and housing with time/duration, flexibility/convenience, and affordability/cost the most significant factors that influence travel choices. Respondents indicated they would take better advantage of transit, biking, and walking options if they were available and easily accessible.

The new study results are being released as officials are working to catch up with rebounding but still fragile demand for public transit and the changing needs of riders coming out of the pandemic. CHS reported here on the new efforts from Sound Transit to provide what officials hope will be a safer, cleaner, and more efficient experience for riders as boardings have reached levels not seen since 2019.

The new commute study results show there is a lot of room for growth in public transit ridership. The numbers showed a high concentration of people who drive alone or telework live in neighborhoods with excellent biking, walking, and transit infrastructure.

Meanwhile, we still have traffic and clogged roads. While traffic congestion is commonly associated with work trips, the survey found that over 75% of people drive alone for non-work trips such as groceries, healthcare, and school pickup/dropoff. These non-work trips are more frequent than trips to work, contributing to traffic congestion. The findings also suggest that encouraging alternative modes of transport for non-work trips could significantly reduce traffic congestion.

The survey also revealed a connection between housing and travel behavior. People living in single-detached housing were more likely to telework and use modes of transport such as driving alone, ferry, or vanpool to commute. On the other hand, people living in apartments, condos, or townhouses were more likely to walk to work, use employer-provided shuttles, or ride-sharing services such as Uber/Lyft. The study also found that family obligations, such as childcare needs, make people more likely to drive alone to work.

Underlying much of this are economic factors. The survey’s results show income plays a significant role in determining how people commute to work. High-income households, earning $150,000 or more annually, are more likely to have telework or hybrid options, while those earning below $60,000 are more likely to work in person. This indicates that the ability to work remotely is strongly linked to income, with higher earners having more flexibility in their work arrangements.

Interestingly, the pandemic has caused a reversal in the income demographics of transit riders. Prior to the pandemic, those who made more than $90,000 per year were more likely to take transit. However, since the pandemic, those in households making below $90,000 are more likely to use public transportation. This shift may be due to high-income earners having more flexibility to work from home or choose other forms of transportation.

Another income-related trend in commuting behavior is the difference between walkers and rollers. People who walk to work are more likely to have a lower household income, be younger, single, and live in rented apartments or condos. In contrast, high-income households are more likely to bike or use an e-bike to commute. This suggests that income disparities play a role not just in transportation mode choice, but also in the choice to use active transportation modes such as walking and biking.

At the bottom line, then, it is difficult to celebrate Seattle’s progress in commuting habits over the past decade. On one hand, the pandemic has not reversed the positive trend of fewer people driving alone in the city’s core. One out of five people who work in Central Seattle get there by driving, compared to one out of three people ten years ago in 2012, according to the latest survey’s results. But given the role income and equity are playing, it is clear those gains have as much to do with who, exactly, still needs to come to work downtown as it does progress in creating useful and highly used public transit.

For more information and the full report visit ​commuteseattle.com/2022survey.

 

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11 Comments
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Guesty
Guesty
1 year ago

With Uber, Lyft, countless food delivery services and Amazon deliveries there are lots of extra cars on the road.

jonc
jonc
1 year ago
Reply to  Guesty

Delivery services reduce vehicles on the road. For example, a food delivery truck might avert 10 to 20 cars from driving to the grocery store.

Derek
Derek
1 year ago
Reply to  jonc

This is blatantly false.

jonc
jonc
1 year ago
Reply to  Derek

I’m throwing those numbers out there. Do you have a better guess?

Glenn
Glenn
1 year ago

About the only thing consistent about this data is the number of bikers commuting to their work, which remained at 3 percent throughout the period. Those levels have remained static for as long as I have been seeing statistics on work to bike usage, perhaps indicating that infrastructure improvements will not move the needle in the category.

TaxWaste
TaxWaste
1 year ago
Reply to  Glenn

But we’ll keep spending on it no matter the utilization.

Derek
Derek
1 year ago
Reply to  TaxWaste

Until we punish people harder for the damage they do to the environment with their cars (I would TRIPLE car tabs if it were me), then people will still keep selfishly using them. More punishment for top notch privilege in the future I hope.

Eli
Eli
1 year ago
Reply to  Glenn

Ditto. I do nearly 100% of trips in central Vancouver BC by bike, but a lot closer to 0% in Capitol Hill.

Our city is such a multimodal integration joke that they can burn money building 2 parallel/redundant greenway routes a few blocks away from each other — but can’t even connect one of them to our light rail station a few blocks away.

Hillery
Hillery
1 year ago

Don’t worry there will be more light rail by 2050!

Matt
Matt
1 year ago

It’s not surprising that people choose to live in Seattle for the walkable amenities and activities but then need to drive to get to employment. I wonder how putting employers partly on the hook for their employees transportation costs to society might help address some of these broader issues?

Jim98122x
Jim98122x
1 year ago
Reply to  Matt

There’s already a State program that’s been addressing that since 1991. It’s why so many employers pay for Metro passes. It doesn’t specifically require employers to pay for passes, but that’s how many employers choose to satisfy it.
https://www.commuteseattle.com/resource/commute-trip-reduction-ctr-law/