Gourmet Coffee Stops Decrease Gas Mileage

Gourmet Coffee Stops Decrease Gas Mileage - Home Brewed Premium Coffee Reduces Traffic Congestion While Revving Commuter Engines

PARLIN, N.J., April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- A researcher has stirred up the coffee commuter mug with the suggestion that morning rush hour traffic is worsened by stops for daily morning gourmet coffee at Starbucks and other premium coffee houses. Nancy McGuckin, a travel behavior analyst, studied a report called "National Household Travel Survey" by the U.S. Department of Transportation as the basis of her conclusions.

McGuckin dubbed her discovery "The Starbucks Effect" because during the period she studied, Starbucks added over 4000 new locations (1995 - 2001). Although not limited only to trips to coffee houses, the research suggests that running additional errands in the morning on the way to work has contributed to traffic congestion and increased gridlock. This is because people divert from the shortest and fastest route, to one that leads them past the coffee house or dry cleaners.

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