Some interesting thoughts on commuting in this report, A Commentary on the Notion of Extreme Commutes. With more and more folks traveling across county lines every day, what impact will these patterns have on NC’s transportation funding? Will providing safe and viable roadways for commuters be a way to bridge the urban/rural divide? As more people choose rural areas to live while working in urban areas – what does NC’s long term transportation plan look like? Are we ready?
One of the fundamental patterns of American commuting today is massive flows between counties. In 1960 a bit more than nine million workers left their residence county to work, today it is over 37 million and the share of work travel is over 27% almost double the 60’s percentage.