Remote work helps draw blueprint for region's transportation system
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A view of the San Diego skyline from Pacific Highway. Photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
Remote work is more common than it was pre-pandemic, but it's not a benefit that's equally shared across San Diego's workforce.
Driving the news: 57% of businesses reported offering remote work this year, compared to 27% pre-pandemic, according to a report delivered to the San Diego Association of Governments' transportation committee last week.
- 39% of employees said they telework at least once a week, down from 54% in spring 2021, but up from 25% before the pandemic.
Why it matters: SANDAG is relying on thise study to help build a new, long-term blueprint for the region's transportation system, set to be adopted in 2025.
By the numbers: Remote workers tend to be older and earn higher wages than those who cannot work from home.
- 44% of white workers and 44% of Asian workers telework at least one day a week, while 31% of Hispanic workers and 32% of Black workers do the same.
- 56% of households with annual incomes above $150,000 remote work, more than twice the rate of households with incomes below $49,000.
- 47% of businesses said they had terminated leases or reduced square footage due to increased remote work.
The big picture: SANDAG's finding that the share of employees who work from home at least once a week is consistent with a Morning Consult poll released last Wednesday, which found the share of workers who primarily work from home is on the decline.
Zoom in: Antoinette Meier, SANDAG's senior director of regional planning, said SANDAG's planning decisions always assumed remote work decreased driving, so accounted for greenhouse gas emissions reductions mandated by state law.
- "In fact, people are making more discretionary trips … they would have possibly combined with commute trips."
What they're saying: San Diego Councilmember Vivian Moreno said the fact that higher-income people living in the northern part of the county are more likely to be allowed to work remotely needs to be factored into the agency's transportation decisions.
- "The conclusion I draw is that transportation projects that serve South County, or that serve workers and industries that cannot be done remotely, should be prioritized in our regional plan, because these investments offer a greater return on investment," she said.