The nightmarish crawling traffic that plagues so many L.A. workers’ daily commute is good for at least one industry: flexible office space.

Global workplace company Regus Group PLC has found that the congestion in the region creates the perfect environment for growth. Since Jan. 1, the company has opened 12 business centers in Los Angeles, more than doubling its presence in the area. More are on the way.

Sande Golgart, regional vice president at Regus, said that unlike most cities that have one or two central business districts, the sprawling L.A. traffic creates numerous pockets of demand for office space.

“It’s such an incredibly vibrant market,” he said. “A lot of people don’t even think of downtown Los Angeles as having the highest demand for office space. They might think of Century City or Glendale or Santa Monica first.”

Regus leases unfinished commercial space, equips it with furniture and services such as wireless Internet and video conferencing, then sublets to business and individual tenants who need temporary, intermittent or co-working space. Rents run from $200 to $2,000 a month, depending on the size and type of space, and to what extent the space is shared with others.

“The need for what we do is probably greater in Los Angeles and in Southern California than anywhere else in the world,” Golgart said.

– Bethany Firnhaber