Commuting in a post-baby boomer world

An upsurge in retirements, coupled with workplace trends such as telecommuting, is bound to affect travel on US highways. These trends point to a complex and difficult time for forecasting. The answers needed by the transportation community to guide policy and planning might not be known until future data are available from the American Community Survey, which is released annually, and until completion of the 2015/2016 National Household Travel Survey. The history of commuting has corresponded with the working years of the baby boomer generation. The United States is in a crucial phase of that generation's impact on society as the baby boomers leave center stage. Greg Slater, director of planning and preliminary engineering at the Maryland State Highway Administration, reiterates the importance of commuting information to address these issues.