New York City will conduct a sweeping new study on the impact hybrid work has on transportation and the economy following “long-term shifts” in travel patterns first triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The federally-funded study will be conducted by the city Department of Planning and will analyze a series of data points provided by cell phones used in office buildings and other locations to better understand people’s movements.
“Using cell phone mobility datasets, this project seeks to establish a better understanding of present and future work-related and non-work-related trip behavior,” reads a description of the plan outlined in a 2023-24 budget report drafted by the regional New York Metropolitan Transportation Council.
“The use of cell phone data allows for the opportunity to understand trip behavior, economic activity, footfall, and significant mobility patterns with more precise location and time information in comparison to previously accessible data.”
The draft report explains the need for a “comprehensive analysis” of the shift to remote work in order to “guide future decisions about the region’s transportation network and economic growth strategy.”
The funding for the project is set at $501,789.
The agency just awarded a $99,000 contract to Placer Labs Inc. to provide some of the data.
Placer analyzes foot traffic at 800 office buildings across the country.
The city Department of Transportation will also conduct a related analysis of the “long-term implication of teleworking” on vehicle miles traveled by motorists during the work day.
During the pandemic, a survey by the DOT found that nearly half of the employed population worked from home.
The new DOT study will build on that survey and target persons living in “lower density areas of NYC,” such as suburban neighborhoods with one-and-two-family homes.
Trends indicated that the hybrid work schedule — working some days in the office and some at home — is here to stay.
Midweek subway ridership is still just 70% of pre-virus levels, according to the MTA.
Manhattan-based workers are spending at least $12.4 billion less per year than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report released in February.
The shift has put a significant dent in city tax revenues.
The prognosis is particularly sobering for owners of commercial office space.
An industry report released last week said the impact of hybrid work could slash the value of office buildings by 44 percent with fewer employees populating them.
Placer, the city contractor, said in a recent blog post that the hybrid work structure is here to stay.
They claim office visits in Manhattan were down 37.5% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to pre-pandemic 2019.
“Month-over-month data also shows that the average number of office visits per workday has not changed very much over the past several months,” Placer’s Lila Margalit said in the blog post.
“As we’ve noted, the persistence of this pattern appears to reflect a new hybrid normal, which sees employees coming in less frequently and concentrating visits in the middle of the week. This holding pattern seems to indicate a stalled recovery.”
Margalit said “foot traffic data indicates the continued strength of the hybrid model” and the back-to-office push “does not yet appear to have meaningfully moved the needle overall.”
“Looking ahead, hybrid work arrangements that offer both employers and workers the best of both worlds may be here to stay, Margalit said.
A rep for the Department of City Planning said the work-at-home study is in line with its ongoing research of changes occurring in the Big Apple.
“Speaking broadly, we are constantly monitoring work and commuting patterns to strengthen our planning efforts; there are not any immediate policy changes planned,” said DCP spokesman Casey Berkovitz.
One business advocate representing the city’s largest corporate and financial firms insisted the era of working in the office work is not dead.
“New York City attracts ambitious people who appreciate the importance of being present, in person, in order to advance professionally and build relationships. The `new normal’ is flexibility, not remote or hybrid work. Office culture will continue to be important,” said Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for The City of New York.
https://nypost.com/2023/05/28/nyc-planners-weigh-impact-on-hybrid-work-on-transit-economy/
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