NEW YORK, Aug. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The
coronavirus has upended nearly every aspect of life in the United States, and Americans' driving
behaviors and commutes are no exception. A new survey from
ValuePenguin.com by LendingTree found that a large number of
drivers no longer have daily commutes as they are working from home
or have lost employment due to COVID-19, but this trend is starting
to reverse as more Americans head back to work and
school.
- 3 in 10 Americans with a motor vehicle said they no longer
have a commute due to COVID-19, either because they're working
from home (19%) or they were laid off or furloughed (10%). Yet 26%
are back to their daily commute as of August, including essential
workers and those whose employers reopened their offices.
- Some people are driving more than others: A significant
number of parents with kids under 18 (47%) continue to hit the road
daily. And 43% of people in New England, are driving every day too.
Americans of retirement age are much less likely to drive every
day. Only 22% of baby boomers and 22.5% of the silent generation
were using their cars daily in August.
- Has there been a significant decrease in
traffic? Of those surveyed, 38% of Americans said traffic
remains reduced in their area amid the pandemic, though an
additional 36% said that while traffic had previously dropped it is
now back to pre-pandemic levels.
- The number of drivers who get gas weekly dropped by 26% in
August versus prior to the pandemic. In January and
February, 43% of drivers said they filled up at least once a week,
but just 32% said they currently do so that frequently. At the same
time, the number of drivers who fill up their tank less often than
once per month doubled from 4% to 8%.
- More than a quarter of drivers made cost-cutting changes to
their auto insurance amid the pandemic. About 14% switched to
another provider that was offering better deals, 12% reduced the
amount of coverage since they are driving less and 3% took one of
their household's vehicles off the policy because their family is
using fewer cars.
- More than one in six consumers stopped using rideshare
services like Lyft and Uber altogether due to the
pandemic. 13% said they're still using those services, but much
less frequently.
According to Matt Timmons, a
research analyst at ValuePenguin.com, "Some savvy consumers are
using their decreased driving to their advantage and are paying
less for gas and auto insurance." He adds, "While they may need to
roll back those changes as driving returns to normal, most
consumers don't expect normalcy to return anytime soon — meaning it
may be worth drivers' while to assess their auto insurance and
other car use related expenses and consider making changes."
ValuePenguin.com commissioned Qualtrics to conduct an online
survey of 1,105 Americans, with the sample base proportioned to
represent the overall population. The survey was fielded August
13–17, 2020. To view the full report, visit:
https://www.valuepenguin.com/commutes-plummet-after-coronavirus
About ValuePenguin.com: ValuePenguin.com, part of
LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE), is a personal finance website that
conducts in-depth research and provides objective analysis to help
guide consumers to the best financial decisions. ValuePenguin
focuses on value, assessing whether the return of a particular
decision is worth the cost or risk of that option, and how this
stacks up with the other possible choices they may have. For more
information, please visit www.valuepenguin.com, like our Facebook
page or follow us on Twitter @ValuePenguin.
Media Contact:
Divya
Sangam (Ms.)
646 693 8445
Divya@valuepenguin.com
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SOURCE ValuePenguin.com