Driving to Work Is the Worst. So Why Can’t We Quit It?

A new job, a new job or a closed highway upends the status quo can upend travel habits.

The behavioral science of commuting holds powerful lessons for policymakers, civic leaders, and environmentalists.

Status quo bias leads people to favor their current way of doing things and discount other possibilities.

Lockdowns during COVID showed how a disruption can affect millions of travelers at once.

When commutes resumed after months of working from home, previous commuting habits were ripe for a rethink.

In Brussels , local officials raced to install 40 kilometers of new bike lanes while the city was in lockdown, laying groundwork for a subsequent surge in cycling.