New study says Atlanta commute times are decreasing

ATLANTA - A shorter commute sounds like good news. But for many metro Atlanta drivers, it may be too good to believe.

Tell commuters that the latest survey from the Atlanta Regional Commission shows the average commute is five minutes shorter, and skepticism quickly follows.

What they're saying:

"Hmmm, hard to believe," said commuter Hyeon Jin.

"I think it's way slower. People are getting confused. Lots of road work going on," said Zoya Day.

Casey Sloan, a data analyst with the Atlanta Regional Commission, said the reaction is common.

"They don't necessarily feel it," Sloan said.

By the numbers:

The commission analyzed 6,000 responses across 20 counties and maintains that commute times have improved slightly. Sloan said one key reason is that rush hour is no longer as concentrated.

"The peak period has been spread out," Sloan said. "People's surprise to seeing that is you get the flip side of that — they are experiencing traffic every time they go out and drive anywhere."

Flexible work schedules, including more people working from home, are believed to be reshaping traffic patterns. Mondays and Fridays have become the biggest telework days.

Telework has risen sharply since before the pandemic. In 2019, 33% of workers reported teleworking. That number has climbed to 60%, according to the survey.

The survey also found that fewer people are carpooling, and public transportation use has declined.

In 2019, 4.3% of survey participants named a train as their go-to for commuting. Now, only 2.7% cite the train.  

Even though there are more bus options across metro Atlanta than trains, in 2019, 3.4% of respondents said a bus was their primary mode of commuting. Now, that figure is down all the way to 0.4%. 

Dig deeper:

For Jordynn Goode, cost is not the issue. It costs her about $5 to take 4 buses from Douglasville to Kennesaw. The problem is time — the trip takes about four hours. She just deals with it because she has to share a car with her mother.

"An Uber there is like $50 to $60," Goode said." Nobody has that lying around to throw on an Uber."

According to the survey, long travel times remain a major barrier to increasing public transportation use. 47% of those surveyed noted it as an issue.

"The transit network that we have is a relic of what has been available and what voters have selected over the various referendums that we've had for 50-plus years as a region. It creates challenges supporting those connections across jurisdictions," said Johann Weber, the commission's Georgia Commute Options coordinator.

What's next:

Weber, who works with the Atlanta business community on transportation options, reports that companies have reduced investments in Vanpool and carpool programs since the pandemic.  

The ARC is working to reignite those initiatives.