“Rush” hour isn’t what it used to be.
As more commuters settle into flexible working arrangements, fewer workers are making early morning or early evening trips compared to pre-pandemic traffic patterns
The traditional American 9-to-5 has shifted to 10-to-4, according to the 2023 Global Traffic Scorecard released in June by INRIX Inc., a traffic-data analysis firm.
“There is less of a morning commute, less of an evening commute and much more afternoon activity,” said Bob Pishue, a transportation analyst and author of the report. “This is more of the new normal.”
Now, there is a “midday rush hour,” the INRIX report found, with almost as many trips to and from the office being made at noon as there are at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Also, commuters have all but given up on public transportation. Ridership sank during the pandemic, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis data shows, and never fully recovered.
The result is a surge in traffic congestion throughout the peak midday and evening hours, according to Pishue.
“Pre-Covid, the morning rush hour would be a peak and then the evening peak would be much larger,” he said, describing two apexes with a valley in between. “Now, there is no valley.”
