Geotab, a global leader in IoT and connected transportation, today revealed new data insights highlighting the impact that COVID-19 has had on commercial vehicle activity in seven major U.S. cities. The data, which is processed from more than 2 million Geotab connected vehicles worldwide, shows an increase in average commercial vehicle speeds and a reduction in time spent at intersections compared to averages from February 22, 2020 to March 15, 2020, indicating reduced congestion in these cities following regional stay-at-home orders.
“Now more than ever, commercial vehicle drivers are tasked with moving essential goods across the country to help ensure that U.S. citizens have access to necessities like groceries, toiletries and more,” said Mike Branch, Vice President of Data and Analytics at Geotab. “Through our analysis, we have seen a noticeable decrease in traffic congestion based on average speeds and time spent at intersections. This means that with less traffic on the roads, commercial vehicles are able to travel through typically congested major cities in a more efficient way, allowing these essential drivers to get where they are going quicker.”
According to the analysis, the U.S. city with the largest increase in average road speeds was found to be New York City, moving from an average speed of 17.5 mph to an average of 21.0 mph – a 20 percent increase. San Francisco and Washington, DC had the second largest increase in average road speeds.
|
City |
Average road speed from Feb 22- March 15, 2020 (mph) |
Average Road speed from |
Increase in average road |
|
Chicago |
20.0 |
22.3 |
12% |
|
New York City |
17.5 |
21.0 |
20% |
|
Los Angeles |
22.4 |
25.2 |
13% |
|
San Francisco |
17.6 |
20.9 |
19% |
|
Seattle |
20.1 |
23.2 |
15% |
|
Washington, DC |
17.8 |
20.8 |
17% |
|
Atlanta |
22.4 |
25.8 |
15% |
*Average road speeds. Speeds include time spent stopped or idling in congestion or at traffic lights and are thus reflective of the average speed to destination.
In addition to average road speed, the analysis also examined the average time stopped at city intersections after March 15, 2020 compared to average times from February 22, 2020 to March 15, 2020. The city with the largest reduction in time spent at intersections was Atlanta at 17 percent, with an average of 35 seconds spent at an intersection compared to 42 seconds before March 15. The city that has shown the smallest reduction in time spent at intersections is Seattle, with a three percent difference since before March 15.
|
City |
Average time spent at |
Average time spent at |
Decrease in time (%) |
|
Chicago |
34 |
31 |
9% |
|
New York City |
41 |
37 |
10% |
|
Los Angeles |
37 |
32 |
14% |
|
San Francisco |
32 |
29 |
9% |
|
Seattle |
33 |
32 |
3% |
|
Washington, DC |
41 |
37 |
10% |
|
Atlanta |
42 |
35 |
17% |
*Time stopped at intersections. Results reflect an average across every traffic-signal-controlled intersection in each city.
“Examining connected car datasets at the city level helps provide some clarity and understanding about what is happening in our communities during unprecedented times such as this,” added Branch. “As citizens across both the U.S. and the world continue to stay home, our support for frontline essential workers continues to be of the utmost importance.”
To learn more about Geotab’s key COVID-19 data insights, visit the Geotab blog.
To access visual assets, click here.
About Geotab
Geotab is advancing security, connecting commercial vehicles to the internet and providing web-based analytics to help customers better manage their fleets. Geotab’s open platform and Marketplace, offering hundreds of third-party solution options, allows both small and large businesses to automate operations by integrating vehicle data with their other data assets. As an IoT hub, the in-vehicle device provides additional functionality through IOX Add-Ons. Processing billions of data points a day, Geotab leverages data analytics and machine learning to help customers improve productivity, optimize fleets through the reduction of fuel consumption, enhance driver safety, and achieve strong compliance to regulatory changes. Geotab’s products are represented and sold worldwide through Authorized Geotab Resellers. To learn more, please visit follow us @GEOTAB and on LinkedIn.
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