Atlanta — Feb 13, 2020
The Atlanta Regional Commission today released the results of the latest Regional Commuter Survey, which assesses commuting patterns in metro Atlanta.
Among the key findings: a significant increase in the number of people teleworking. About 41% of respondents said they telework at least occasionally, nearly double the percentage from the first survey that took place in 2007. If employees have their way, telework will continue to grow – 80% of non-teleworkers who had telework-appropriate jobs saying they would like to telework if their employer offered a formal program.
Other trends identified in the survey included:
“More and more employers and workers in the Atlanta region are choosing to explore teleworking and other travel modes to get to and from work,” said Roz Tucker, Managing Director of ARC’s Mobility Services Group and Georgia Commute Options. “These results validate the efforts of the Georgia Commute Options program and reinforce the positive impact that alternative commute options can have in our communities.”
The survey also helps shed light on some of the motivating factors that help to drive commuter choices. For all respondents, dependability, total trip time and flexibility in when they travel were the three top factors that influenced their mode choice. For those who are using an alternative mode, the top motivating factors were saving money and avoiding congestion.
Commuters are embracing technology services to help with commuting; 80% have used applications on mobile devices to access real-time travel or trip information. More than four in ten had used apps for ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft. Social media as a source of travel information for commuters has increased significantly to 28%, up from just 1% in the 2014 survey.
The Regional Commuter Survey targeted a random sample of employed residents in the 19-county region and 5,100 survey responses were completed.
The survey is used to assess the commuting patterns by employed residents in the region. The 2019 RCS has a +/- 1.6 percent margin of error at the 95% confidence interval and is the fourth regional commute survey in the region. Previous surveys were conducted in 2007, 2010, and 2014.
The full technical report and a summary report for the public are available for review at atlantaregional.org/regional-commuter-survey.
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About the Atlanta Regional Commission
The Atlanta Regional Commission is the official planning agency for the 10-county Atlanta Region, including Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale counties as well as the City of Atlanta and 73 other cities. ARC serves as a catalyst for regional progress by focusing leadership, attention and planning resources on key regional issues.
About Georgia Commute Options
Georgia Commute Options, a program managed by the Atlanta Regional Commission and funded through the Georgia Department of Transportation, works with employers, commuters and schools to encourage drivers who ride alone to make the switch to a commute alternative such as riding transit, teleworking, carpooling, vanpooling, walking and/or biking, with the ultimate goal of reducing congestion and the emissions that contribute to smog pollution. For more information, visit www.GaCommuteOptions.com and follow Georgia Commute Options on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The Georgia Commute App to log commutes is available for download via the App Store or on Google Play.
Contact Name: Paul Donsky
Contact Phone: (404) 202-4662
Contact Email: pdonsky@atlantaregional.org
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