The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed in 2021, directed the Department of Transportation to conduct a travel demand data and forecasting study by November 2023 — and to repeat it at least once every five years thereafter. The study was supposed to produce best practices and guidance for states and Metropolitan Planning Organizations to use when forecasting travel demand for future transportation investments. As of the GAO’s March 2026 review, the study has not been completed.

Metropolitan Planning Organizations and transit agencies have not been passive in the face of post-pandemic travel disruption. The GAO’s 2026 survey of all 410 MPOs found that at least 80 percent reported taking one or more actions in each of three domains — transit, vehicle use, and housing — since 2019. The range of those actions, and their uneven results, sketch a useful map of where American cities stand. On the transit side, roughly 80 percent of MPOs reported that providers in their communities adjusted service in some form.

The relationship between where people work and where they live has been recalibrated. The GAO’s 2026 telework report synthesizes evidence from empirical studies and metropolitan planning organizations to map the real estate consequences — and they run in opposite directions depending on where you look. In central business districts, the picture is one of contraction. Office vacancy rates climbed as hybrid schedules hollowed out weekday occupancy. A prior GAO report documented that between August 2022 and January 2024, prices fell across all commercial property types — office, multi-family, retail, lodging — with the single exception of industrial properties.

A March 2026 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office puts hard numbers on what transit agencies and metropolitan planners have been navigating since 2020: telework rates tripled during the pandemic and have not come back down to earth. According to American Community Survey data analyzed by GAO, the share of workers who primarily worked from home stood at 5.7 percent in 2019. By 2021 it had reached 17.9 percent. By 2024 it had declined to 13.

Sometimes the most surprising stories hide inside familiar routines, like sitting behind a long line of brake lights wondering why everything feels slower than last year. The newly released INRIX 2025 Global Traffic Scorecard brings numbers to that shared irritation, and honestly, reading through it feels a bit like staring into the mirror of global mobility dysfunction. Out of nearly a thousand cities across 36 countries, congestion rose in most places—62% saw traffic worsen—making 2025 another year where mobility progress slipped backward.

Good public transportation is a cornerstone for a thriving tourism industry. When a city or region boasts efficient, reliable, and extensive public transportation, it enhances the overall experience for tourists, making the destination more attractive and accessible. This leads to several benefits that significantly impact the tourism industry. Firstly, efficient public transportation systems provide tourists with convenient and affordable ways to explore their destinations. Whether it’s subways, buses, trams, or ferries, a well-integrated transport network allows visitors to move easily between major attractions, hotels, restaurants, and other points of interest.