ATLANTA — Atlanta drivers can blame traffic jams on more than just back-to-school season this year.
"We're normalizing again, and many people are back at the office," Natalie Dale with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) said. "Either by choice or their office has asked for them to return more often. So you have that increase in congestion because we know people are back in the office more than they are (remote)."
Employees returning to the workplace will add to the slow down of traffic as some of the metro's biggest school districts hit the road. The first day of school for districts like Fulton and DeKalb County began Monday.
Employees returning in-office will join an extra 10,000 cars from back-to-school traffic alone and share the same streets and highways to get to their destination, according to GDOT.
"So you've got to be really attentive in the morning as you're leaving the house so that you know that you're going to stop and go," Dale explained. "There's going to be pedestrian traffic, and there's going to be those school zones with the speed coming down that you haven't had to deal with in a while."
The latest U.S. Department of Labor data supports the idea that less remote work is occurring nationwide.
It shows that in August-September 2022, 72.5% of businesses said their employees rarely or never teleworked, an increase from the 60.1% that was reported in July-September 2021.
Data tracked by GDOT also shows the number of remote-work-from-home days decreasing.
"What we've seen is, at the beginning of last year, It was about 3.5 work-from-home days allowed on average. Then toward the end of the year, it was about three. So here we are in August, and I would venture to say that we are moving closer to 2.5, maybe hovering around 3," Dale explained.
At GDOT, the average number of workdays from remote days has been tracked since the pandemic started through Georgia Commute Options, an organization funded by GDOT.
Dale recommends that all drivers use GPS to plan their route every morning, even when they know their way around. A GPS will help drivers find the fastest route when in a traffic jam.
To find the best routes for your morning commute, click here.