Census: DC-Area Commute Second-Longest, Reston Patch, March 8, 2013

The second report of the year is out on the lousy commutes area drivers face in the Metropolitan Washington area.  This one is by the US Census Bureau and looks at average commute times in the nation's major metropolitan areas.  Nationwide,  the Washington area has the second-longest commute for its workers at a 28-minute average.

The earlier report by the Texas Tech's Institute for Transportation Technology showed a key reason why those commute times are so bad:  Washington has the worst congestion--measured in minutes of delay--on its roads anywhere in the country.  It has held that "honor" for several years.

In this article, Reston Patch reporter Rachael Leonard does an excellent job of parsing the latest US Census study of commute times as it applies to Reston.  We actually have a slightly lower average commute time than others in the area.  We suspect that an important reason for this is that so many Restonians work in Reston--about 39%--consistent with its motto that Reston is "a place to live, work, and play."

Here is how Ms. Leonard's article begins:

If you're sitting in traffic on the Dulles Toll Road or Reston Parkway, this morning, you should know you at least have it better than some other drivers in the region.

While commuters as a whole in the Washington metropolitan area have the second-longest commutes in the nation, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the average for Reston zip codes is about 27.5 minutes -  is a few minutes below the average for the DC area as a whole.

The average travel time to work in DC was 34.5 minutes in 2011, according to numbers released by the bureau Tuesday.

In Reston, most drivers spend about 28 minutes commuting to work, according to data from Slate.com.  .

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