- In the 1920s, workers commuted via buses, subways, ferries, streetcars, and automobiles.
- Improved public transportation for commuting led to the development of suburbs in major US cities.
- Modern commuters still use New York City's subway system, which is over 120 years old.
Without technology like computers and the internet, remote work wasn't a possibility 100 years ago.
In the 1920s, workers in major US cities commuted via buses, subways, ferries, streetcars, and automobiles.
Getting to work has changed dramatically in cities like Los Angeles, which in the 1920s was home to the world's largest electric interurban trolley system. Today, the streetcars have been replaced by highways clogged by private vehicles.
New York City, however, still uses the same subway system built over 120 years ago.
Commuting has continued to evolve since the COVID-19 pandemic. While some companies are requiring employees to return to the office after years of working from home, a 2024 analysis by Stanford, WFH Research, and Gusto found that workers now live nearly three times further from their offices than they did before the pandemic because of the rise of remote work.
Here's what commuting looked like in three major US cities 100 years ago.
A century ago, the streets of New York City were full of buses, cars, and pedestrians walking to work.
By 1900, the population of New York City reached 3.5 million people as large numbers of immigrants arrived in the US, TR News magazine reported. Many newly arrived residents lived in tenement districts within walking distance of the factories or sweatshops where they worked.
The subway was a popular way to commute to work in New York City.
While New York City's elevated railroad began operating in 1868, the subway system was built between 1900 and 1936, with the first underground railway opening in 1904.
The underground trains helped relieve congestion above ground and expand the distance from which people could commute to work.
The subway cost five cents per ride — lower than today's fare of $2.90.
In the 1920s, parts of the subway system were still under construction.
Some subway tunnels were built using a method called "cut and cover" in which workers cut trenches into the street and built temporary wood structures over the hole to allow for the continued flow of traffic, according to the New York Transit Museum. The construction of deeper tunnels required the use of dynamite.
New York City's municipal ferry system also serviced all five boroughs and New Jersey.
The ferry routes became obsolete as more bridges were built, allowing cars to cross New York City's waterways. Out of the dozen or so ferry routes that operated in the 1920s, the Staten Island Ferry remains the only free ferry service provided by the city, according to the New York City Department of Records and Information Services.
In the 1920s, Chicago's elevated railway, known as the "L," had recently been constructed.
Chicago's first elevated railroad opened in 1892, and the Union Elevated Railroad connecting all four lines was completed in 1897, according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago.
The city's first subway didn't open until 1943.
Even with commuters riding the "L" trains, Chicago's Loop was also congested with buses and automobiles.
The population of Chicago was around 2.7 million in 1920, according to US Census data.
Crowds gathered at bus stops to wait for their rides.
In the 1920s, women often wore flapper dresses and cloche hats, while men wore suits and fedoras.
Before most Los Angeles residents drove everywhere, electric street cars were a popular mode of public transportation.
Operated by the Pacific Electric Railway, the red streetcars provided interurban service to the greater Los Angeles area, leading to the development of suburbs in the nearby Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties.
By the 1920s, Los Angeles had the world's largest electric interurban trolley system.
At its peak ridership of 3.1 million passengers in 1924, the Pacific Electric Railway operated 2,100 trains a day across 1,100 miles of track in the greater Los Angeles area, Pasadena Weekly reported, citing data from the Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California.
The streetcars were eventually replaced with buses.
Pacific Electric Railway's streetcar service shut down fully in 1961.
