The Internet might transform commuting more than the self-driving car

The technology that most profoundly changes US commuting might not be the self-driving car. It could be the Internet. Already, in many places, traffic engineers see notably reduced congestion on Fridays -- a day when many offices let their workers telecommute from home. "I've spoken with people from the Maryland Department of Transportation, and they say there's no question," says Alan Pisarski, author of the Commuting in America report. "On Fridays, you really see a difference in traffic coming down from the suburbs to DC on I-270." This shift is part of a broader trend: the steady fragmentation of what used to be a relatively uniform pattern of commuting. A few decades ago, the standard commute was for a full-time, 9-to-5 shift. People living in the suburbs mostly drove into the city in the morning and back in the evening. But as more and more people work flexible hours, part-time jobs, or from home, the flood of commuters that used to fill highways during rush hour is becoming a stream that runs intermittently all day. Most suburban commuters, meanwhile, don't drive into the city -- they drive to other suburbs.