Average commute times in Austin for mornings, evenings still down compared to last year

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Mobility reports the average travel time on roads is still down from last year—both in the morning and in the evening.

Average travel times in the evening are down 20% and average morning times are down 15% over the past week compared to the same time in 2019.

According to graphs from Austin Mobility, during the first couple weeks in November 2019, morning commute times peaked at about 10 minutes. But for the first couple weeks in November of this year, travel times peaked at just over eight minutes.

In the evenings during the same weeks in November 2019, travel times peaked at over 12 minutes. The 2020 comparisons came in at just under 10 minutes.

Today, traffic is only 85% of what it was a year ago. And in late September, Austin traffic was reported to be back at 80% of what it was in mid-February before the pandemic.

Additionally, the Mobility Management Center says its re-optimized hundreds of traffic signals.