Covid-19 Had Profound Effects on Transportation Networks. Return to Office is Causing New Congestion Problems – City Lab
By David Zipper
Love it or hate it, a surge in remote work has become an enduring legacy of Covid-19. According to a recent study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, every US industry other than agriculture saw a marked shift toward teleworking between 2019, the last year before the pandemic, and 2022.
The effects on transportation networks have been profound: Transit ridership has dropped and rush-hour gridlock has softened, while mid-day traffic has grown. Population patterns shifted as “Zoom towns” outside of major cities swelled with digital nomads who abandoned big-city business districts where highways and transit lines historically converge. Over time, demographers expect millions of teleworkers to permanently relocate
to homes further from central cities, a shift that stands to unleash its own cascade of impacts.
