A Portland, Oregon, highway.Steve Dykes/Getty Images
- Travel speeds across the US have skyrocketed as traffic has virtually disappeared due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to data from analytics firm Inrix.
- Between late February and early April, commute speeds increased significantly across 25 metropolitan areas studied by Inrix.
- San Francisco and Los Angeles both saw a roughly 60% jump in highway and expressway speeds during evening rush hour.
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Travel speeds on major US roadways have risen sharply as the coronavirus pandemic and related lockdowns have forced would-be commuters to stay home. Roads are so empty, in fact, that areas like San Francisco and Los Angeles have seen a roughly 60% jump in highway speeds during evening rush hour.
That's according to Inrix, a Kirkland, Washington-based analytics firm that recently studied just how fast drivers are going now that the roads are theirs and theirs alone. Inrix analyzed travel speeds on highways and expressways in 25 metropolitan areas, comparing morning and evening rush-hour speeds during the week of April 6 to rush-hour speeds during a control week in late February, before things got really bad in the US.
Across the board, travel speeds during typical morning and evening commute times were measurably higher in April than in February. The change in average speed ranged from 6% up to 60%, depending on the location and time of day.
Bob Pishue, a transportation analyst at Inrix, told Business Insider the areas that typically have the most congestion generally saw the most drastic bumps in average speed.
Seattle, the initial epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the US, was among the first cities to see this rapid shift in travel behavior, Pishue said. Traffic there virtually evaporated overnight after major employers in the area — including Amazon and Microsoft — told employees to begin working from home in early March.
Now, as roughly 95% of Americans are under some form of stay-at-home order, congestion on major roadways has all but disappeared — likewise, travel speeds during peak commute times have skyrocketed.
These are the 25 US metropolitan areas Inrix studied, ranked according to the average speed increase observed during evening rush hour on the week of April 6 through 10.
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San Francisco — 60% faster
Two pedestrians cross an empty street on March 16, 2020 in San Francisco.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Morning rush hour: 58 mph, 51% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 57 mph, 60% faster than usual
Los Angeles — 59% faster
The 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles, California on March 15, 2020.
Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images
Morning rush hour: 60 mph, 46% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 59 mph, 59% faster than usual
Tampa, Florida — 44% faster
Tampa, Florida.
Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Morning rush hour: 56 mph, 11% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 58 mph, 44% faster than usual
Houston — 44% faster
Light traffic going into downtown Houston on March 25, 2020.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Morning rush hour: 64 mph, 26% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 62 mph, 44% faster than usual
New York — 40% faster
A man crosses a nearly empty 5th Avenue midtown Manhattan.
REUTERS/Mike Segar
Morning rush hour: 54 mph, 32% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 55 mph, 40% faster than usual
Miami — 38% faster
A normally busy Miami street during the coronavirus pandemic.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Morning rush hour: 58 mph, 26% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 61 mph, 38% faster than usual
Orlando, Florida — 35% faster
Interstate 4 in Orlando, Florida, is empty during the coronavirus pandemic.
Alex Menendez/Getty Images
Morning rush hour: 56 mph, 12% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 57 mph, 35% faster than usual
San Diego — 34% faster
A stretch of Interstate 8 is empty as a sign encourages hand washing on March 15, 2020 in San Diego, California.
Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Morning rush hour: 64 mph, 20% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 64 mph, 34% faster than usual
Dallas — 34% faster
A normally busy road leading to Dallas on March 24.
LM Otero/AP Photo
Morning rush hour: 62 mph, 19% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 61 mph, 34% faster than usual
Atlanta — 33% faster
Light traffic into downtown Atlanta during the coronavirus pandemic.
AP Photo/John Bazemore
Morning rush hour: 61 mph, 26% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 58 mph, 33% faster than usual
Portland, Oregon — 32% faster
A Portland, Oregon, highway.
Steve Dykes/Getty Images
Morning rush hour: 54 mph, 20% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 55 mph, 32% faster than usual
Detroit — 32% faster
Roads leading into Detroit on March 24.
Paul Sancya/AP Photo
Morning rush hour: 55 mph, 11% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 57 mph, 32% faster than usual
Baltimore — 32% faster
Baltimore.
Robert Laberge/Getty Images
Morning rush hour: 58 mph, 30% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 58 mph, 32% faster than usual
Seattle — 31% faster
Seattle.
Reuters
Morning rush hour: 59 mph, 23% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 59 mph, 31% faster than usual
San Antonio — 31% faster
A highway in San Antonio, Texas.
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Morning rush hour: 64 mph, 13% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 64 mph, 31% faster than usual
Boston — 29% faster
I-93 in Boston around 9 a.m.
Boston Globe via Getty Images
Morning rush hour: 61 mph, 33% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 60 mph, 29% faster than usual
Washington, DC — 27% faster
An almost empty Pennsylvania Avenue is seen at noon in Washington DC on March 13, 2020.
Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images
Morning rush hour: 57 mph, 22% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 56 mph, 27% faster than usual
Denver — 24% faster
Denver.
Brad McGinley Photography/Getty Images
Morning rush hour: 62 mph, 13% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 62 mph, 24% faster than usual
Charlotte, North Carolina — 24% faster
Charlotte, North Carolina.
Pgiam/Getty Images
Morning rush hour: 62 mph, 12% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 62 mph, 24% faster than usual
Philadelphia — 21% faster
An empty Philadelphia street.
Cory Clark/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Morning rush hour: 56 mph, 14% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 56 mph, 21% faster than usual
Chicago — 20% faster
Chicago.
AP/Kiichiro Sato
Morning rush hour: 58 mph, 11% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 59 mph, 20% faster than usual
Sacramento, California — 19% faster
Sacramento, California.
Shutterstock
Morning rush hour: 57 mph, 8% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 58 mph, 19% faster than usual
Phoenix — 15% faster
Downtown Phoenix.
Ross D. Franklin/AP
Morning rush hour: 65 mph, 9% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 65 mph, 15% faster than usual
Minneapolis-St. Paul — 14% faster
Minneapolis.
Scruggelgreen/Shutterstock
Morning rush hour: 61 mph, 6% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 61 mph, 14% faster than usual
St. Louis — 13% faster
Light traffic in St. Louis.
AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
Morning rush hour: 66 mph, 13% faster than usual
Evening rush hour: 67 mph, 13% faster than usual
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