A study from the Pew Research Center shows since the COVID-19 pandemic, about a third of workers in the U.S. with jobs that can be done remotely are doing just that—staying home.
It's a familiar trend in Boulder. The city's latest Modal Shift Report found nearly 23% of residents said they worked from home daily.
Boulder Reporting Lab reporter John Herrick joined KUNC's Michael Lyle., Jr. to discuss those findings. He said a lot of residents are becoming homebodies, meaning they find more comfort working from their homes rather than in office buildings.
Herrick can relate.
"I work from home several days of the week, so that's fair to say," said Herrick. "Some residents do go to cafes and libraries so they are not always staying at home."
The report also found bus ridership was down as more residents elected to walk, ride a bike or find other means of transportation.
Herrick said another factor is that the city did away with EcoPass, a bus discount pass subsidized by the city.
"Of course, the pandemic played a big role, even though ridership was never really that high," said Herrick. "It's really just less convenient to take the bus these days."
Herrick said city officials presented the preliminary findings from the Modal Shift Report to the Transportation Advisory Board. They are still analyzing the report before making any decisions based on the results.
The final report is expected to be released sometime this summer.