On packed subways and crowded highways, billions of people participate in a short-distance population shift twice a day: the rhythmic ritual of the daily commute to and from work. More than 300 million people use the United States' transport systems every day, and in 2012 a whopping 76 percent of them got to work by driving alone, a U.S. Department of Transportation report out last week noted. That can make for a lot of gridlock.

Associated Press photographers the world over set out to see how workers on five continents endure their morning and evening rush-hour commutes. This collection of 20 photos shows what they found.

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Text from AP news story: AP PHOTOS: RUSH-HOUR KEEPS BILLIONS ON THE MOVE, by Adam Schreck.

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