REPORT: How have Texas’ traffic congestion levels changed since the pandemic?

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas’ major metro areas are reporting a higher volume of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) now versus in 2019, on par with national trends reflecting increasing congestion levels in the past five years.

Transportation data hub StreetLight shared those findings in a new report released Thursday. Between spring 2019 and spring 2024, Texas metros saw the following increases in VMT:

• McAllen-Edinburg-Mission: 68% increase
• El Paso: 42% increase
• San Antonio-New Braunfels: 26% increase
• Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: 25% increase
• Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown: 24% increase
• Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land: 20% increase

StreetLight’s analysis found 87 out of the top 100 metros reported VMT increases in the past five years, with 27 of those reflecting VMT increases greater than 20%.

The report looked at the relationship between VMT and congestion, with the latest dataset revealing correlations between rises in VMT and congestion levels in the 25 biggest metros in the country.

When looking at congestion percentage changes within the five-year reporting period, only two of the nation’s 100 biggest metros saw negligible reductions in congestion. Here in Texas, the Houston and McAllen metro areas had the lowest congestion percentage changes over time, with a 1.4% and 1.2% increase, respectively.

Elsewhere in Texas were more pronounced changes:

• El Paso: 2% congestion change
• Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown: 1.9% congestion change
• Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington: 1.5% congestion change
• San Antonio-New Braunfels: 1.5% congestion change

While those congestion percentage increases were still somewhat small, StreetLight’s analysis said “they translate to real hours lost, especially in places where congestion is already high.”

Prior to the onset of the pandemic, historic data found VMT levels were on a “largely unbroken trajectory upwards,” with an increased level of emissions as a result. With the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, shifts in travel behaviors and social distancing measures led to “an abrupt and dramatic decline in VMT,” StreetLight data confirmed.

However, as pandemic-era regulations minimized and people began returning to previous travel volume behavior, StreetLight data found VMT has been steadily increasing since mid 2020 and that some more active work-from-home policies in certain metro regions hasn’t been enough to offset heightening traffic and congestion volumes.

StreetLight’s analysis said city leaders in these top metros will need to take proactive measures toward minimizing VMT output.

“Metrowide data follows a similar pattern as the national data. Overwhelmingly, VMT accelerated in the last year, as compared to 2022-2023,” the report found. “This is a flashing red light to localities. Without significant changes, the upward trend in VMT shows no sign of peaking.”

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