Tuesday after Labor Day is always THE WORST traffic day.

As someone who has commuted from Odenton to DC every day for the past 20y (including all of the pandemic) it is just gradually getting worse since restrictions have been loosening. The last few weeks have been great since school is out and people are on vacation. But fall always sucks and this year I think it will be worse since more people are going back into the office for the first time in the fall.

I really miss pandemic travel. My normal 60m commute was under 30m for nearly a year. It was glorious.

Anonymous wrote:It will be worse. I have been driving from Columbia to DC the entire pandemic (healthcare) and it has just steadily gotten worse and worse. I am now back to pre-pandemic commuting times. I have been making this commute for 16y and summers are better (except Friday afternoons!) but I really miss everyone working from home.

I agree - when you work in DC, summers are the best if you have to commute from outside of D.C. I dread the Fall with so many people returning to work in person and so many parents who want to drive their kids instead of using the school bus, on top of all of the “too scared for public transportation” people. This week is a dream though with all of the beach bums still on their July 4th vacations.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Worse
Several fed agencies will come back after Labor day.

Hmm did not know this.

Well OP doesn’t have to worry about NIH folks on 270. Most of us are staying home permanently.

I take a similar route to the op and pp, both or neither of whom, may be a stripper. I leave Potomac at 8:20 every morning (earliest I can leave due to childcare), exit 495 onto GW Parkway, and am downtown by the White House by around 8:50. After I park and walk, I'm in the office around 9. Going home I take Clara Barton Parkway, which I've found to be quicker than GW Parkway in the afternoons, but it takes me 45 minutes to an hour.