Silver Linings: COVID-19 Thinning Traffic Across the Country

Road traffic across the United States is dropping drastically, thanks to social-distancing efforts taking place to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus. For yours truly, traffic in New York City has gone from frequently hectic to downright pleasurable and relaxed. While there’s a statewide initiative in place to keep residents in their homes, the days leading up to the shelter-in-place order saw a decline in roadway activity I’d only previously witnessed during Hurricane Sandy.

According to INRIX, a Washington-based firm providing traffic analytics, road use in the United States dropped by about 30 percent last week — with regions affected by state-mandated shutdowns seeing even larger declines. The study compares the national traffic volume from the 14th to the 20th of March to volumes recorded between the 22nd and the 28th of February — noting that March 13th was the first day traffic started trending downward in most regions. Moving forward, INRIX says it wants to continue offering up a weekly synopsis of national traffic volume until the health crisis ends.

Regions fared differently depending on when COVID-19 struck and how aggressive local governments responded. For Seattle, that culminated in a 29-percent decrease in motorists on March 20th. Meanwhile, San Francisco witnessed a 51-percent decline as New York City maxed out at 43 percent (which, again, has been lovely).

Major metropolitan areas were hardest hit by the virus since its migration out of China. However, statewide declines in traffic are still noteworthy, with many seeing roads clear by more than the national average of 30 percent. For the most part, people seem to be making the same sort of trips they used to — just at a much lower frequency (as many are opting to stay home). The only exception was said to be commercial traffic.

From INRIX:

Digging a little deeper, so far, the decline in national passenger traffic volume is directly tied to a decline in total trips, with distance-per-trip increasingly slightly from 9.2 miles to 9.4 miles. With the reduction in congestion as reported by INRIX Research, we are seeing slightly shorter trip times, with 18.5 minutes per trip dropping to 17.8 minutes.

A silver lining, if there is one, is that commercial traffic is holding up. Long haul truck traffic is holding steady — a hopeful sign as we clearly need the nation’s logistics backbone to continue to function. Local fleets, such as service vehicles and local deliveries, are experiencing a drop nationwide, slightly under 10 [percent] through the week. These commercial traffic trends bear watching.

[Images: Stephan Guarch/Shutterstock; INRIX]