Portland traffic, now ranked ninth in the nation (even worse than Boston, Chicago, and other large U.S. cities) has continued to grow over the last year- increasing by 6 percent according to state stats. Rush hour travel times are unpredictable, with frequent delays, and a single accident or spot of bad weather is capable of clogging up an entire area.
In order to avoid the rush hour commute, many Portland area companies are embracing alternative schedules, such as the compressed work week where employees work more daily hours than usual but fewer days a week, or flex time where employees work a set amount of hours per week but are given flexibility as to when they arrive and depart.
The opening of the MAX orange line has also cut down on congestion, especially downtown and in SE. Using public transport to and from work has the added benefit of avoiding difficult and expensive parking situations. Additionally, car-sharing websites like Drive Less Connect are growing in popularity, allowing users to carpool with other people going the same directions.
As the weather improves, many commuters switch to biking to work. Biking not only allows commuters to fly past slow-moving traffic jams, itC”BBs also great exercise and reduces pollution. According to a study by the Portland Bureau of Transportation, over 7% of Portlanders bike to work, which is the highest percentage in the nation. Unlike our traffic ranking, thatC”BBs a statistic we can feel good about!