Less commuting and idling on highways and city streets means less greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere.
Commutes once measured in miles, hours and aggravation have changed to steps, minutes and tranquility for those who continue to work from home post-pandemic. This is good news for many workers and families, as well as the environment.
From a work-life balance perspective, many have cheered their improved productivity, reduced commuting cost, and up to two-to-three hours of extra daylight with family, friends or Netflix upon logging-off from work. Not missed are the crowded buses, subway cars, trains or congested highways in and out of Boston. According to a Pioneer Institute survey, 63% of workers indicate that they would like to continue to work from home at least two to three days a week after a COVID-19 vaccine is found, or business returns to “normal.” This is an acceleration of a trend already underway as Google, over the past two years, has seen a 210% increase in search terms like “remote jobs.”
Less commuting and idling on highways and city streets means less greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere. According to a special report from the University of California at Davis’s Road Ecology Center, Massachusetts saw an 83% reduction in vehicle miles traveled between the first week of March and mid-April which translates into similar levels of reductions in fuel use-related emissions.
