Commuting to work has changed a lot since the pandemic in 2020 began. Roads/highways went from highly congested to light, as we haven't seen before. Buses started reducing trips, then consequently even bus routes. Trains that would arrive every 3-4 minutes then were reducing trips as well, making the wait time 10 minutes or more.

As many people started working from home, the transit industry impacted enormously. The carpools were no longer part of a daily routine. Some transit companies struggled to keep afloat. Others offered free rides and ramped up security to entice riders to use public transportation that still had to commute to work.

Not everything about the pandemic was negative. Many people found more time in their day; that they usually spent commuting. They found more balance between work and life. Even at their home, they found more productivity, as there could be less distractions.

But as COVID-19 cases fluctuated, it was time to get back to work, for many. The federal government want employees to return to work, as also schools started in-person learning. Agencies such as the Agriculture Department, and the Social Security Administration are making plans to bring employees back to work. This is according to a blog post from Federal News Network.

Some transit companies have returned to their full service schedule; with an influx of employees returning back to work.

Carpools are an excellent way for long-distance riders to get to work and split the costs, and it's starting back up slowly. Stanford University has some great tips related to COVID-19 here.

Also, several remote offices have been offering space to workers who don't want to commute all the way to their jobs, but still want the feel of an office space that is closer to home. These are business centers that offers everything that an employee would need such as Wi-fi, printers, that can be rented out for a day or more.

Nowadays, there is an array of different ways of commuting to work; whether to the office, or renting a remote office closer to home; whether it is bus, train, carpool, vanpool or even Uber if it's a short distance. Despite the recent challenges with COVID-19, we are thankfully technologically advanced to have all these different options to commute to work.