Long commutes have become a major sticking point in the discussion surrounding employees returning to the office full-time or on a hybrid schedule in the wake of the pandemic. So would a better commute entice more employees back to the office?

Employees are most concerned about how long their commute takes as well as how much it costs, according to a Lyft survey of 1,400 commuters. Lyft analyzed millions of rides in its system to discover where people experienced the shortest, cheapest and greenest commutes in 35 cities with populations over 500,000. It also figured in the vibrancy of the city as a factor in making commuting worthwhile.

Considering all four measures, the very best city for commuters is Columbus, Ohio, due to its speedy, cheap commutes to a booming downtown. Columbus offers the shortest commutes in the country at an average of just 22 minutes during rush hour traffic, compared with the national average of 25 minutes. That translates to a savings of 13 hours not spent commuting over the course of one year. Other cities with quick commutes were Las Vegas at 25.6 minutes, Memphis at 22 minutes, Fresno, California, at 22.9 minutes and El Paso, Texas, at 24.4 minutes.

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.