“How Do I Get to Work?” The Daily Commute to the Office
Whether an office-using employee will come to that office post-pandemic or work remotely is only one conversation. There’s also the question of how to get to that office if it’s not within walking distance of home.
Although every employee’s commute may be different for the foreseeable future, “the transportation mode that has come under the most recent scrutiny is public transit,” says JLL in a new report. “Many concerns have been raised by the millions of Americans who rely on trains and buses to get to work, on issues ranging from cleaning and sanitation to interpersonal interaction and rider density.”
As a result, in JLL’s recent workplace survey, fully 34% of respondents who previously took public transportation to work said they’ll seek alternate forms of transportation after the pandemic. “Extrapolated on a national basis, that could represent several million people who are considering such alternatives,” according to JLL.
With that in mind, JLL analyzed commute patterns across the U.S. and Canada in order to determine which cities and regions may be most impacted in this new environment.
The largest mass transit population in America is, unsurprisingly, the New York City metro area, with some three million employees taking the train or bus to the office on a regular basis. No other North American metro area comes close; in fact, number two after New York/New Jersey is Toronto, with slightly more than 739,000 transit-riding commuters.
Yet, the cities where transit usage is heaviest represent an outsized share of office-using employment. JLL says 33% of the entire office inventory in the North America is concentrated in a dozen transit-oriented markets.
Furthermore, the transit population cited above represents only the total numbers of unique riders in those metro areas. Even as the New York City region substantially leads in daily usage with more than 9.7 million rides across five regional transit lines, several other markets exceed one million per day.
Accordingly, says JLL, “even in cities with lower percentages of transit ridership, any shift in commute patterns toward cars could further exacerbate previously existing challenges with congestion and traffic.” Led by Boston, eight major metro areas saw drivers lose more than 100 hours per year sitting in traffic pre-pandemic.
For occupiers and owners alike, the report offers possible solutions to consider. On the occupier side, a dual-location strategy is one option, while for commercial property owners, accommodating new modes of transportation may be in order.
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny
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