Las Vegas ranks among easiest commutes in US, survey finds

Despite seemingly constant roadwork across Southern Nevada, the Las Vegas Valley ranks as one of the easiest places to commute to work in the U.S.

Las Vegas ranked as offering the second-easiest commute in the nation, with an average travel time of 25.6 minutes and an average speed of 24.7 mph, based on an online survey conducted by the Harris Poll for ride-hailing giant Lyft.

Sin City only came behind Columbus, Ohio, as the easiest commute in the traffic poll, which had a 22-minute average commute time. Rounding out the top five were Memphis, Tennessee, Fresno, California, and El Paso, Texas.

Las Vegas and Columbus were the only cities noted not to have slower travel times during the evening and morning rush hours. Las Vegas actually saw an increase of 6.3 percent during commuting hours, a stark difference from the 8 percent slower travel seen on average nationally, during rush hours, the survey found.

Theresa Gaisser, director of the Regional Transportation Commission’s Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation, said that after “nerding out” on the survey and its methods, she agreed with the findings.

“They were pretty much spot-on,” Gaisser said. “That’s very close to what we’re seeing, My guess is that it’s probably a combination of some freeway travel and some surface street travel … But I do think that is reflective of how people get around our valley.”

Technology’s role

The use of technology has greatly improved commutes around the valley, especially on freeways in Southern Nevada. The RTC, along with its partners, the Nevada Department of Transportation, use dynamic messaging boards on Interstate 15 and U.S. Highway 95, with digital speed limit signs, to adjust speeds tied to current conditions. They also use cameras to keep an eye on crashes, which also aids first responders traveling to such incidents.

“We oversee the traffic operation for both the local agencies and for NDOT, so both the surface streets and freeways,” Gaisser said. “We have a centralized regional traffic management system that allows us to improve the efficiency of our transportation network for the whole valley. I think it’s that layering of technology that really helps us better manage traffic here in Southern Nevada.”

Those technology additions have paid off in managing freeway travel, especially amid several road projects occurring in I-15, U.S. 95 and the 215 Beltway, according to Gaisser.

“Those electronic freeway message signs really allow us the opportunity to provide motorists information on the current conditions,” Gaisser said. “So they’ll see it as they’re traveling along those routes. But we’re also coordinating and sending out text alerts and traffic alerts to the public and sharing those with the media, because we want to make sure people are getting that information before they leave the house, to make an informed commute.”

More to come

NDOT is set to add 12 new active traffic management signs on U.S.95, between the Spaghetti Bowl and Summerlin Parkway, on top of a slew of signs already in use on I-15. Additionally, the RTC is testing a new service with the city of Las Vegas and Clark County that is dubbed as a real-time construction work zone pilot project.

“What the aim is, is to help us track active work zones here in the valley,” Gaisser said. “By partnering with the city of Las Vegas, Clark County and their contractors that are actually documenting in one centralized platform where these live work zones are. S0 at a glance we can see the overall view of what’s happening on our roadways at one time. That’s going to help us with that aim to reduce congestion, but also to provide the public and the media with reliable, timely information, that will hopefully improve the overall traffic conditions and commute time.”

Another, maybe surprising fact, revealed in a U.S. Census Bureau survey, is that 11 percent of drivers in the Las Vegas Valley said they carpool to and from work. That is above the national average 9 percent. Lyft notes that the percentage being slightly higher in Las Vegas is likely due to the amount of high occupancy vehicle lanes in Las Vegas.

“We definitely ranked on that list,” Gaisser said. “That’s a good thing and we’re happy to hear that.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X. Send questions and comments to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com.