If you’ve recently found yourself stuck in traffic in the D.C. area, wondering where are all these cars are coming from if remote work is still a popular thing, new data might explain some things.
According to a new report from the analytics firm StreetLight Data, traffic is worse now in 2024 than before the pandemic.
The research shows the number of miles traveled by car in the spring of this year is about a half a percent above the same period in 2019.
Not only that, congestion has actually gotten slightly (1.1%) worse as well, and while the increase in congestion is relatively small, it translates to real hours lost over the year, “especially in places where congestion is already high,” according to the report.
A separate report from INRIX found that from 2022 to 2023, congestion in the D.C. metro area rose by 20%.
Still, D.C. is not seeing the increases the rest of the nation has seen. The miles traveled by car has risen on average by about 12% nationwide.
Only a few cities in California, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, have seen declines in car miles traveled.
The good news is that, according to national trends, starting this month, the number of miles everyone drives will begin to dip and bottoms out during the holiday season.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
