Lyft names Columbus best commuting city for workers in America

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A new study by Lyft named Columbus the best city for working commuters in the United States. 

Lyft, a rideshare service, compiled data from millions of its rides and other sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, to see where travelers had the shortest, cheapest and most environmentally friendly commutes, as well as the most vibrant downtowns. Lyft analyzed 35 cities with populations over 500,000 for the study. 

Columbus took the No. 1 spot as the best overall place for workers to commute in the country, due to its “speedy” and “cheap” rides, Lyft said. Columbus was followed by El Paso, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; Memphis, Tennessee; and Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

Columbus also came in as one of the the quickest commutes, with the average drive to work taking 22 minutes. Workers have the fastest commute in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at 21.7 minutes, the study found. Additionally, Columbus and Las Vegas were the only cities Lyft data found did not experience slower travel during peak commuting hours. 

Columbus also ranked highly in the cost of commuting, placing as the second-cheapest city, with an average monthly parking cost of $35, an average monthly fuel cost of $28.50 for commuting to work and an average monthly public transit cost of $62. Memphis came in as the cheapest commuting city, with an average parking cost of $20, fuel cost of $36.10 and public transit cost of $25. 

However, Columbus did not rank among the most environmentally friendly commutes. San Francisco was the city with the most commuters who bike to work and New York was the city with the most-used public transit. Southwest cities like El Paso, San Antonio and Las Vegas were noted as the places with the most people who car-pool to work. 

While New York had the most bustling and vibrant downtown, Lyft did note that Columbus and Baltimore’s downtown Lyft ride activity now exceeds 2019 levels, before the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in numerous cities experiencing vacant storefronts and empty streets.