Los Angeles schools are back — and so are longer commutes for parents

Los Angeles drivers: No, it's not just you. Traffic really does increase when school is back in session.

At least that's what traffic analytics firm INRIX says. According to INRIX transportation analyst Bob Pishue, most areas adjacent to Los Angeles Unified School District campuses can expect as much as a 35% increase in travel time.

"[It's a] pretty significant increase due to kids being back to school," Pishue said.

Faleshia Lo drops off her twin 8-year-old daughters at their school in Laurel Canyon each day before heading to work.

"It's gonna add another 25 to 30 minutes to our commute to work. So that's gonna be tough."

Not all schools experience the increase, however. INRIX found that around 20% of the schools studied experienced no increase, which could be due to commute patterns changing or drivers avoiding school areas.

On average, Pishue says, morning commutes increased across more than 700 LAUSD schools by about 14%. But the larger effects actually kick in during the afternoon.

"The morning commute is typically about dropping kids off at school or going to work," Pishue said. "You know, fewer errands being run during those early hours – however, during the afternoon commute – that's where we see a little more what we call trip chaining."

"Trip chaining" is when a commuter combines more than one errand into a single trip - like picking their child up from school, stopping by the bank, then the grocery store before finally going home. In the morning, parents are more likely to drop their child off and head straight to work.

Families like Lo's are just going to make the most of the extra car time together, they said.

"I think im gonna feed them breakfast in the car since we have so much time," Lo laughed.