Rush hour

A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute. The term is very broad but often refers to specifically private automobile transportation traffic, even when there is a large volume of cars on a road but not a large number of people, or if the volume is normal but there is some disruption of speed.

Definition
The name is sometimes a misnomer, as the peak period often lasts more than one hour and the "rush" refers to volume of traffic, not rate of flow. Typically, rush hour is 6–10 am (06:00–10:00) and 4–6 pm (16:00–18:00). Some places may experience another, less frantic, lunchtime rush hour from noon to 2 pm (14:00).

The frequency of public transport is usually higher in the rush hour, and longer trains, or larger vehicles are often employed. However, the increase in capacity is often less than the number of passengers, due to the limits on available vehicles, staff and, in the case of rail transport, track capacity including platform length. The resulting crowding may force many passengers to stand, and others may be unable to board. This can make public transport less attractive, leading to higher car use, partly shifting the congestion to roads.

Transport demand management, such as road pricing or a congestion charge, is designed to induce people to alter their travel habits so as to minimize congestion. Similarly, public transport fares may be higher; this is usually presented as an off peak discount for single fares, though season tickets or multi-ride tickets, commonly used in rush hours by commuters, are sold at a discount.

Staggered hours have been promoted as a means of spreading demand across a longer time span, for example in Rush Hour (1941 film) and by the International Labour Office.

Australia and New Zealand


In Australia, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and in New Zealand, Auckland and Christchurch are usually the most congested cities in the morning between 6 am and 9 am, and 4:30 pm and 7 pm. In Melbourne the Monash Freeway, which connects Melbourne's suburban sprawl, to the city is usually heavily congested each morning and evening. In Perth, Thomas Road between Nicholson Road and Tonkin Highway is almost always congested due to a large amount of roadworks on this stretch.

In Sydney congestion is managed by many means including:

Public transport increase the amount of vehicles on the network
 * Buses increase from 4 per hour to 12 per hour on the Metrobus network, other routes increase limited and express services
 * The largest rail network in Sydney is heavy rail and run double deckers electric multiple unit trains that were introduced in 1972 with the CityRail L, R & S sets, these have allowed many more passengers to board the trains compared to the 1950s single level 'Red Rattlers', and 'Silver Ghosts'.
 * Time of day ticket prices allow train commuters to board trains before 6am or after 7pm at a cheaper rate on single or day return tickets
 * T Ways where built in Sydney during 2008–2010, these are dedicated roads for buses, and connect major employment centres with the suburban sprawl
 * ClearWays project allows for broken down trains on the CityRail network to not effect the running of trains on separate lines due to building bypasses, and loop backs alongside the existing track.

Traffic congestion is managed through the Traffic Management Centre via a network of Closed Circuit TV's, with operators able to change the timing, and follow of traffic signals to reduce wait times
 * Most major motorways have the ability for Contra-flow to allow continuing flow of traffic in case of a major accident
 * Transit Lanes are installed on most major arterial roads, these lanes require a minimum amount of people in the car to be used, an example is T2 require the driver, and 1 passenger to drive in the lane
 * Dedicated bus lanes, where buses, taxi, and private rental cars are only allowed to drive, this reduces congestion with set down, and pick up of passengers, and normal commuters
 * Older motor ways have been upgraded from 2 lanes in each direction, to 3 lanes in each direction
 * Motor way toll booths have been replaced with electronic toll systems (Hills M2 was the last to do so on 21 January 2012); time of day tolling is in use on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and Sydney Harbour Tunnel to provide cash incentives for commuters to remain out of the city in peak times.

United Kingdom
In London, Peak Day Travelcards allow travel at all hours. Off-peak Day Travelcards are 20-50% cheaper but are valid for travel only after 9:30 am and on weekends. This is an attempt to encourage commuters' travel on the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, buses, and trams outside of the crowded weekday morning peak. There is a similar system on Transport (Bus and Tyne and Wear Metro) in the Newcastle upon Tyne area. In London, congestion charges are intended to discourage driving between 7 am and 6 pm.

In Manchester, the Metrolink light rail system offers single, return and 'Metromax' daysaver tickets at a reduced price when they are purchased after 9:30 am. This incentive is designed to lure passengers into avoiding the daily crowded conditions at Metrolink stations during rush hour.

For Young Persons Railcard holders, the offer of one-third off ticket prices is valid only after 10:00 (unless a minimum fare is paid) or weekends. This restriction is lifted in July and August, the main summer holiday season.

For other Railcards, other restrictions apply; for example, the Family Railcard and Network Railcard cannot be used for peak journeys within London and south-east England.

United States


Efforts to manage transportation demand during rush hour periods vary by state and by metropolitan area. In some states, freeways have designated lanes that become HOV (High-Occupancy Vehicle aka car-pooling) only during rush hours, while open to all vehicles at other times. In others, such as the Massachusetts portion of I-93, travel is permitted in the breakdown lane during this time. Several states, including Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin use ramp meters to regulate traffic entering freeways during rush hour. Transportation officials in Colorado and Minnesota have added value pricing to some urban freeways around Denver, the Twin Cities, and Seattle, charging motorists a higher toll during peak periods. Transit agencies – such as Metro North serving New York City and WMATA serving Washington, D.C. – often charge riders a higher fare ("peak fares") for travel during the morning and evening rush hour.

Rush hour times can range from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. in cities like New York City. New York commuters have to be on the road by at least 6 a.m. because traffic gets heavy between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. Many train commuters leave early to get the best seats on the trains, because by 7 a.m. the trains are packed with passengers standing or those who can't get on. Los Angeles, California has several rush hours, including a midnight rush for night workers. Bus and train service (such as Metrolink) in Los Angeles are limited and tend to be underused, but their use is increasing. In the Chicago area people use Metra Trains, the 'L', and buses.

In Cleveland, Ohio or Northeast Ohio rush hour is 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. is the peak of Cleveland's rush hour. Because of Cleveland's compact size, most people can be in Downtown Cleveland within 10–45 minutes. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority runs buses every half hour and some routes have non-stop freeway buses that run during rush hour.

There is also an afternoon rush hour. For example, in the New York City area, the afternoon rush hour can begin as early as 3 p.m. and last until 7 p.m. Some people who live in Connecticut but work in New York often do not arrive home until 7 p.m. or later. On the other hand, in a smaller city like Cleveland, the afternoon rush hour takes place in a more literal sense such that heavy traffic congestion typically only occurs between 5 and 6 p.m. Usually the RTA in Cleveland has an afternoon rush hour schedule like the morning.

Boston, Massachusetts, and the larger Greater Boston region, is notorious for traffic congestion due to the region's high population density, outmoded highway system, and the high concentration of corporations with large offices located along major expressways and urban loops (including Route 128, MassPike, I-93, I-495). Despite the region's compact nature, inbound traffic becomes very heavy on all expressways as early as 6 a.m. on a typical weekday morning, making an inbound drive from the suburbs as long as 75 minutes. On the other hand, recent improvements brought about as part of the infamous Big Dig project have improved expressway traffic within Boston's city limits.

Cities such as Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington D.C., to name a few, are known for having some of the worst traffic in the country. Los Angeles also has the highest amount of time spent in congestion, followed by Honolulu and Washington D.C..

The "third rush hour"
The term the third rush hour has been used to refer to a period of the midday in which roads in urban and suburban areas become congested due to a large number of people taking lunch breaks using their vehicles. These motorists often frequent restaurants and fast food locations, where vehicles crowding the entrances cause traffic congestion. Active senior citizens, who travel by automobile to engage in many midday activities, also contribute to the midday rush hour. Areas which have large school-age populations may also experience added congestion due to the large number of school buses and kiss-and-ride traffic that flood the roads after the lunch rush hour, but before the evening rush hour.

At other times (such as evenings and weekends), additional periods of congestion can be the result of various special events, such as sports games, festivals, or religious services. Out-of-the-ordinary congestion can be the result of an accident, construction, long holiday weekends, or inclement weather.