A recent Bay Area Council study found that an average of 1.1 million fewer commutes are being made to primary places of work since the sudden, necessary shift to telecommuting at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. But is that a long-term change, or a near-term aberration forced by necessity? With vaccinations becoming more widespread and employees beginning to return to their offices, one concern is that our highways and bridges will soon become flooded with single-occupancy vehicles. Can commuters be encouraged to choose transit instead of the car? To do so, transit officials must look at what the preliminary data tells us about reshaped travel patterns, work patterns and location choices. Come hear about new scenarios for sustainable and equitable transit transformation, what businesses are saying about their post-pandemic office plans and the actions the Bay Area should take now to position itself as the region reopens.
Co-presented by the Bay Area Council.
+ Ted Egan / San Francisco Office of Economic Analysis
+ Gwen Litvak / Bay Area Council
+ Joe Castiglione / San Francisco County Transportation Authority