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The U.S. Census Bureau released the report, “Modes
Less Traveled — Bicycling and Walking to Work in the United States: 2008-2012,” which highlights the trends and socio-economic and geographic differences between motorized and non-motorized commutes.
This report — the Census Bureau’s first focusing only on biking and walking to work — is one of many that examines specific aspects of commuting, including workplace location, working from home, long commutes and specific travel modes.
The figures in this release come from data collected from questions in the Census Bureau’s 2008-2012 American Community Survey (ACS). The questions asked include:
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How did this person usually get to work last week? If this person usually used more than one method of transportation during the trip, mark (X) the box of the one used for most of the distance.
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How many people, including this person, usually rode to work in the car, truck, or van last week?
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What time did this person usually leave home to go to work last week?
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How many minutes did it usually take this person to get from home to work last week?
Organizations use the statistics from the ACS to design programs that ease traffic problems, reduce congestion and promote carpooling. In addition, police and fire departments use ACS statistics to plan for emergency services in areas where many people
work.
The ACS provides local statistics on a variety of topics for even the smallest communities.
Highlights include:
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The West had the highest rate of biking to work at 1.1 percent, and the South had the lowest rate at 0.3 percent.
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Among large cities, Portland, Ore., had the highest bicycle-commuting rate at 6.1 percent.
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The Northeast showed the highest rate of walking to work at 4.7 percent of workers, whereas the South had the lowest rate at 1.8 percent. Several of these places were “college towns,” including Ithaca, N.Y., where
about 42.4 percent walked to work.
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Among large cities, Boston was one of the highest walking-to-work cities at 15.1 percent.
The ACS provides reliable statistics that are indispensable to anyone who has to make informed decisions about the future. These statistics are required by all levels of government to manage or evaluate a wide range of programs,
but are also useful for research, education, journalism, business and advocacy. If you have questions about this survey, please call our Customer Services Center on 1 (800) 923-8282.
Thank you,
American Community Survey Office
U.S. Census Bureau
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