One of the most talked about lifestyle changes during the pandemic is how working from home has affected traffic on our roads and highways. According to a new MNDoT report, the pendulum has swung back.
"Yes, it has been for a while actually," says Anne Meyer, MNDoT's Media Relations Coordinator. "I know a lot of folks are seeing or feeling like there's more traffic but, in fact, our numbers are showing that we have been in that range."
According to a report in Axios, national traffic levels are back to normal levels. The report shows that Twin Cities commuters lose about 23 hours per year due to sitting in traffic. That's compared to two days in cities like Atlanta, Tampa and Washington D.C. and three days in New York City.
While the Axios report says that times are shiffting and spreading out for rush hour, Meyer says the Twin Cities has seen rush hour come back as a normality as it was in 2019.
"It's really having a notice in those AM and PM commutes, especially in the morning. We're seeing more backups, we're seeing connectivity out there."
While many businesses have scraped back to the office plans and continue to offer hybrid options to employees, Meyer says that planning your day to include some traffic is important.
"We're back to normal and that's what drivers should keep in mind. They should start planning that back into their daily drives out there that they might see some slowdowns but there's more people driving just like them and to plan ahead."