Travel to downtown Philadelphia lags pre-pandemic levels

Travel to downtown Philadelphia has yet to match pre-pandemic levels.

What's happening: Downtown trips were down 22% in October, compared to February 2020, according to the new data from mobility research firm INRIX.

The big picture: Nationwide, downtown trips also decreased 22% compared to pre-COVID levels.

• San Francisco (-49%), Detroit (-41%) and Washington, D.C. (-38%) saw significant reductions in downtown trips this October, compared to February 2020.

Of note: The data includes trips downtown for sporting events, shows and restaurants, not just work commutes.

Zoom in: While Philadelphia workers have been returning to the office this year, many still work remotely.

• An estimated 58% of employees in Center City (85,000) continue to work remotely, according to a November report from the Center City District.

The bottom line: We're at least getting some of our time back. The average driver in Philadelphia lost 90 hours to traffic in 2021. INRIX data shows that's down 37% compared to pre-pandemic levels.

• The average American driver spent 36 hours stuck in traffic in 2021 — 10 hours more than last year. But it's far below 2019 levels, when drivers wasted nearly 100 hours in traffic.