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A Walk Through Time Looking at 40 years of Commuting Characteristics

A Walk Through Time Looking at 40 years of Commuting Characteristics. Presented at the Applications Planning Conference April 2003 Nancy McGuckin, Travel Behavior Analyst Nanda Srinivasan, Cambridge Systematics Inc. In the last forty years there’s been:.

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A Walk Through Time Looking at 40 years of Commuting Characteristics

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  1. A Walk Through TimeLooking at 40 years of Commuting Characteristics Presented at the Applications Planning Conference April 2003 Nancy McGuckin, Travel Behavior Analyst Nanda Srinivasan, Cambridge Systematics Inc.

  2. In the last forty years there’s been: • Changes in family structure and workforce composition • Growth in area, population, and workers in the suburban counties of major MSAs • An influx of affordable and long-lasting vehicles into the fleet • Increases in private vehicle use and significant increases in commute times

  3. In 1960 61% of the households had: a father working outside the home, a homemaker mother, and three children In 2000 67% of households are not nuclear family: 28 % are married with no children at home 26% are living alone 13% are other related or unrelated Changing Family Patterns

  4. In 1960, there were 64.7 million workers, or 36% of the population. 38 percent of women work, but few women with young children work Majority of families have one worker In 2000 there were128.3 million workers, or 46% of the population. 61 percent of women work, including two-thirds of women with children under 6. Shift to dual-earner families Changing Workforce

  5. Added People by DecadeMillions of People

  6. Added Workers per DecadeMillions of people

  7. Added Population and Workers in Major Metro AreasSuburbs and Central 1960 - 2000

  8. Vehicle Availability

  9. Households are getting smaller with more vehicles…

  10. A LOT more Vehicles …

  11. Leads to more cars on the road…Millions of Workers commuting by POV

  12. But the likelihood of owning a car varies by race and place…

  13. One-fifth of zero-vehicle households… …are in New York CMSA

  14. Means of Travel

  15. Commuting in America (U.S. Total) 1960 and 2000

  16. Means of Commuting in 2000 • 75.7 percent of workers nationwide reported driving alone to work (compared to 73.2% in 1990). The proportion is higher in major MSAs (77.7%). • 12.2 percent of workers reported carpooling, followed by transit (4.7 percent), work at home (3.3 percent), and walk (2.9 percent). • Carpooling declined from 13.4 percent (1990) to 12.2 percent (2000) of all workers.

  17. Carpool to Work Change in Percent, 1990-2000 Universe: Workers: All Workers 16 years and older Data Sources: 2000 Census “Demographic Profiles” 1990 Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP)

  18. Percentage Point Increase in Drive Alone Share by Growth Rate–1980 to 2000

  19. Percentage Point Decline in Transit Share by Growth Rate –1980 to 2000

  20. Transit Commutes in Major MSAs • The share of commutes by transit dropped slightly (5.3 percent in 1990 and 4.7 percent in 2000) • BUT, in numbers workers using transit remained about the same (6 million workers) • New York CMSA accounts for 38 percent (2.25 million) of all workers using transit in the whole country (w/ a 25% mode share) • From 1990-2000, Las Vegas, Portland, and Seattle gained most in percent of transit commuters

  21. Transit to Work Change in Number of Workers, 1990-2000 Note: Modes included in transit for 1990 are Bus or trolley bus; Streetcar or trolley car; Subway or elevated; and Railroad. Universe: Workers: All Workers 16 years and older Data Sources: 2000 Census “Demographic Profiles” 1990 Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP)

  22. People take transit for many purposes… ….Census Captures Commuting

  23.  ”Usual” Mode is  On Travel Day Took: Drove Alone Drove w/ Others  Took Transit Walked Biked No Report/ Other  Drove Alone 90.0% 9.3% 0.2% 0.3% 0.1% 0.2% Carpool 22.2% 74.8% 1.0% 1.4% 0.4% 0.3% Transit 7.8% 9.7% 69.4% 10.1% 0.5% 2.5% Walk 8.1% 9.2% 2.6% 79.5% 0.2% 0.4% Bike 6.7% 8.4% 1.7% 6.1% 77.1% 0.0% Are there any “Usual” days? (comparison of ‘usual’ mode with mode on the travel day, 2001 NHTS)

  24. Travel Time

  25. A Real Shift to Longer Commutes… • In 2000, the average travel time to work was 25 minutes 30 seconds as compared to 22 minutes 23 seconds in 1990. • 15 percent of workers in the nation now commute more than 45 minutes to work (1990, 12 percent). • 40 percent of commuters in major Metro Areas travel over 30 minutes.

  26. Population Change (%) and Change in Average Travel Time (min) to Work 1990-2000 Legend Less than 2 min. Change in Avg. Travel Time 2 – 3 min. More than 3 min. % Population Change More than 20% 5% - 20% Less than 5% Universe: Workers: All Workers 16 years and older Data Sources: 2000 Census “Demographic Profiles” 1990 Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP)

  27. Worker Change (%) and Change in Average Travel time (min) to Work 1990-2000 Legend Less than 2 min. Change in Avg. Travel Time 2 – 3 min. More than 3 min. % Worker Change More than 20% Universe: Workers: All Workers 16 years and older Less than 5% Data Sources: 2000 Census “Demographic Profiles” 1990 Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP) 5% - 20%

  28. The longest commute time is… • MSAs with the longest travel time: • New York MSA (34.0 minutes); • Washington, DC (31.7 minutes); • Atlanta (31.2 minutes), and • Chicago (31.0 minutes) • In 1990, the top 3 MSAs were – • New York City (30.0 minutes); • Washington, DC (28.2 minutes), and • Chicago (27.9 minutes) • Workers in Atlanta reported the largest increases since 1990, with an increase of 5.2 minutes

  29. People in Metro Areas Travel Longer to Work

  30. More commuters are traveling 45 minutes or more in large metro areas…

  31. Change in Distribution of Travel TimeHigh Growth and Low Growth Areas1980 - 2000

  32. Changes in family structure, workforce and vehicle availability primarily effected mode choice in the 1980s • People may have shifted to POV and drive alone to save travel time

  33. In the 1990s travel times have really shown significant increases…how will people respond? • Expect a shift in departure times as workplaces become more flexible and people try to minimize their travel time.

  34. What does the future hold? • The long-form Census data are a valuable resource for understanding trends in commuting in the nation, states, and local communities. There is research currently programmed to examine the effects of moving to ACS. • The amount of time in travel to work may indicate the effects of a better economy, sprawl, congestion, etc. Further research is necessary at small geography to untangle some of these issues. • Journey-to-Work Trends Report will be released in early summer. Its been a blast!

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