Study shows Fayette commuters face longer travel time to work
HARRISBURG – Fayette County residents are spending a lot more time getting to work. In the past decade, the average commute time has increased by more than five minutes, or 25 percent, according to a recently released state study.
Area commuters spent an average of 26.5 minutes driving to work in 2000, compared to 21.2 minutes in 1990, according to the Pennsylvania State Data Center’s report. Statewide, every county experienced an increase in commuting time, but most changes weren’t as brutal as Fayette County’s. On average, Pennsylvanians’ commute time increased from 21.6 minutes in 1990 to 25.2 minutes in 2000.
County officials said that in the past, people lived closer to their workplaces.
“You have to look at where are the job opportunities,” said Tammy Shell, executive director of the Fayette County Planning, Zoning and Community Development office. “They are in industrial parks. That’s where the growth is. A lot of people are commuting from the opposite side of the county to get there. We also have a higher rate of residents commuting outside the county for employment opportunities than most counties.”
There are also more people in the county than before, which could mean more cars on the road and therefore more traffic congestion. As of 2000, the county had 148,644 residents, a 2.3 percent increase from 1990.
Traffic counts from one of the county’s major routes support that theory.
From 1993 to 2000, the traffic on Route 51 in Fayette County increased by 2.3 percent, from about 13,146 vehicles per day to about 13,455 vehicles per day, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Whatever the cause of the increase, the extra 5.3 minutes local drivers spend on the run per day add up. Over the course of the year, taking into account vacation time and holidays, the average Fayette County commuter spends about an additional 1,200 minutes, or 20 hours, on the road, compared to 1990.
Statewide, all 67 counties experienced an increase in commute time. In Greene County, commute time is up about 24 percent, from 22.9 minutes to 28.3 minutes. In Washington County, commute time has increased 16 percent, from 22.1 minutes to 25.6 minutes. And in Westmoreland County, commute time is up 17 percent, from 21.6 minutes to 25.4 minutes.
Allegheny County, at 9.6 percent, had the smallest percentage increase in travel time to work from 1990 to 2000. Residents there now spend an average of 25.3 minutes on the road, compared to 23.1 minutes in 1990.
Pike County in northeastern Pennsylvania had the highest percentage and numeric increases in travel time, from 27.5 minutes in 1990 to 46 minutes in 2000, an increase of 18.5 minutes or 67 percent. The county has become a popular bedroom community for people who work in New York City.
The Pennsylvania State Data Center is operated by Penn State University’s Harrisburg campus and is the state government’s official source of population and economic statistics. The center’s report was based on information from the U.S. Census Bureau.