Survey shows % of Californians walking, biking or used public transit more than doubled since 2000
14 March 2014
Results from the California Household Travel Survey (CHTS) —the largest and most complex review of its kind—show that the%age of California residents walking, biking, or using public transportation on a typical day has more than doubled since 2000.
Nearly 23% of household trips were taken by walking, biking, and public transportation. In 2000, that share was only 11%. This increase includes an increase in walking trips, which nearly doubled from 8.4% to 16.6% of trips.
Comparing the 2010-2012 CHTS with the 2000 CHTS, the most frequent mode of travel continued to be auto driver (49.3% of all reported trips) followed by auto passenger (25.9%). The 2010-2012 survey showed an increased share of walk trips (16.6%), public transportation trips (4.4%), and bicycle trips (1.5%).
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The 2012 study provides a snapshot of the travel behavior of approximately 109,000 persons from more than 42,000 households in 58 California counties; this included parents driving to work or kids biking to school.
Participants received diaries and recorded where and when they travelled and how they got to and from their destinations on one random day. The average number of trips for a household was 9.2, while the average number of trips per person was 3.6.
Last year, legislation was approved creating California’s $129-million Active Transportation Program, which distributes funding for human-powered transportation projects and programs to increase the proportion of trips accomplished by biking and walking.
Caltrans and regional transportation planning agencies will use the CHTS data to forecast future travel demands and greenhouse gas emissions and look for ways to improve transportation to meet the needs of the state’s residents.
The CHTS was a partnership among Caltrans, the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission (CEC), the California Department of Housing and Community Development, the California Department of Public Health, and transportation planning agencies statewide. The survey data will be used by all of the agencies for various purposes. The study was jointly funded by Caltrans, the Strategic Growth Council, CEC, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, and seven transportation planning agencies.
The CHTS has been conducted roughly every 10 years since 1991. The most recent review began in January 2012 and ended in February 2013. The survey data will assist the department in developing and updating transportation models.
'We the People' will progressively go back to walking and horse back riding (now to bicycles) like our ancestors did for centuries?
The braves may use public transportation or share an old private vehicle with other braves.
Posted by: HarveyD | 14 March 2014 at 05:54 AM
HarveyD what is the point to be cynical ? I really think we should pay people to ride their bike instead of driving their cars, when you add up the benefits of riding a bike, not only for the environment but for the health of population as well as improving quality of life in urban areas, yes we should pay people to ride their bike. This idea that spending our life in cars = progress even if teh car is an EV is plain ridiculous
Posted by: Treehugger | 14 March 2014 at 08:42 AM
It's all about human nature and affordability.
Most human would rather ride than walk to work if they can afford it.
The swing from driving to walking, biking and taking public transits in USA if NOT due to increased desire to walk and recent acquired braveness to face the risk of taking public transits.
The same goes for much smaller (cheaper) houses and apartments in the last 7 years or so.
Follow the trend and you will find the same tendency in many places. The average American has been getting poorer in the last 7 years. His/her net income in (2006/2007) dollars has gone down. They are buying a lot less new large expensive vehicles, driving less, using public transits, biking and walking more.
This could be reversed whenever the 3% draws less from the national economy and starts paying their appropriate share in taxes instead of hiding their wealth (about $31T) in tax heavens. The collective debt of about $17T could be paid off and taxes paid by the 97% could be cut in half.
People would be able to afford to drive again in $45+k Tesla Model E?
Posted by: HarveyD | 14 March 2014 at 12:30 PM
Basically, a 19th century lifestyle to reflect our restored 19th century deregulated markets, banking, labor practices, and inequality. Except that inequality is now greater than it was during the worst of the Gilded Age. And at least the rich lived among us in that era, and we'd see them in the streets and throw rocks at the bastards. Now they can afford private communities and islands guarded by private armies.
Problem is, this barbaric model requires us to be paid less and less, yet sales must keep growing. My prediction for the next phase is debtor's prisons and inherited debt serfdom. The latter is actually how most humans have lived under private property systems since the first landlords appeared. We called it sharecropping when we did it here.
Posted by: Richard Slay | 14 March 2014 at 08:39 PM