Mine does, for sure.

From the day most schools around here let out for summer break to the day they return in late August or early September, there is a marked decrease in traffic and it's pretty nice.

I'd say I get 15-20 min off my normal 1-hour commute.

Oh yes. So much better.

Much.
Traffic has been amazing in the morning, but not much different in the afternoon.

The commute from one side of the house to the other does not seem to be affected by the school schedule.

Yes.

Oh hell yes.

But...the road crews also realize this and now there's 3 areas of road work that I have to drive through.

quote:

Originally posted by 95flhr:
The commute from one side of the house to the other does not seem to be affected by the school schedule.

I’m with you on that .

Given that I teach college, yes, my commute does get infinitely better when school is out.

(But it is only ~10 minutes each way when school is in. The biggest commute problem is road repair, which takes three months to do a two day job, with four workers standing around watching one worker take a break. )

We have to be super alert driving through the neighborhood now that school is out for the summer.

Kids playing in the street, running out from behind parked cars, with absolutely no regard for traffic.

Yes, yes it does. Saves me 20 minutes one way out of the normal 1+ hour commute.

OMG yes. I live in a county just north of Jackson where most all the "flight" has taken wing to. However most all the private schools, where these families send their kids, are downtown so it is general chaos 9 months of the year.

This is like summer vacation for me too - I can leave at a decent hour and not sit parked on feeder roads and interstate. Coming from 15 years of working from home office, it's hard enough getting in the car each day already!

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Mine does, for sure.

It sure did. Especially in the afternoon.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
From the day most schools around here let out for summer break to the day they return in late August or early September, there is a marked decrease in traffic and it's pretty nice.

It's not just the decrease in traffic volume. At least not around here. It's also the %!#@$!! school buses

Those damn things make an utter hash out of rush hour traffic. And once they've snarled things up, the snarls remain long after they've finished their job.

A number of years ago somebody did a study on the effect of a minor disruption in traffic flow during heavy traffic periods, and found the slightest disruption can have effects lasting for hours after the disruption clears. So imagine hundreds of traffic disruptions during the start of the heaviest traffic flow periods and extrapolate.

To add insult-to-injury: They stop too often and some routes are ridiculously short. I watched a school bus one day pick up children from an elementary school and make its first stop around the corner a mere 300 feet or so away. I am not kidding.

A number of years ago there was a news story about how somebody'd trashed an entire fleet of school buses overnight. Wasn't me, I swear, but I cheered. I detest school buses.

The only time my commute changes in duration is during holidays. Crossing a bridge twice a day is not fun. In fact it's a major stress point for me.

quote:

Originally posted by 95flhr:
The commute from one side of the house to the other does not seem to be affected by the school schedule.

same thing here

When I lived in Annandale VA and commuted to DC, there was definitely a traffic difference. But, I rode bus/subway so didn't really matter to me.

My whole life gets better. The college kids are gone. That’s about 1/6 of the population of Jerkwater. Everything is less crowded. Streets, stores, restaurants. It’s so nice.

NO

I notice a definite lightening of the morning commute traffic during the summer. The afternoon commute not so much, it's always a PITA.

Yes, traffic does diminish, especially in the morning.

Yes, definitely. My work is directly across from a high school. If I leave a bit later due to a meeting, I have to go around the entire block just to get past the stopped traffic from parents picking up the kids. Otherwise it will add 15 to 20 minutes if I get stuck behind them.