More cars stay home

October 26, 2012

Trip diary survey finds trips increase – and so do sustainable choices

People in Metro Vancouver are taking more trips in a day, and are more often choosing transit and cycling.

TransLink’s latest trip diary survey – a "snapshot" of a day in the life of Metro Vancouver transportation – finds 14 per cent of all trips were taken on transit. That is the highest transit mode share since comparable surveys started in 1994. The percentage of trips taken by car declined for the first time in recent history.

 

Key Regional Highlights

People in Metro Vancouver are choosing sustainable transportation for more of their trips, but cars still account for the majority

  • Transit use as a proportion of all trips increased to 14 per cent in 2011 from 13 per cent in 2008 -- there was a 17 per cent increase in the total number of trips taken on transit. While transit mode share is 14 per cent, the survey found that 19 per cent of people used transit on any one day and 52 per cent used transit in the past month.
  • Cycling trips accounted for 1.8 per cent of all trips – its highest region-wide mode share yet, and a 26 per cent increase since 2008.
  • Trips taken by walking stayed at 11 per cent.
  • The share of people using cars for their trips is down from 2008, but cars still account for the majority of trips: 57 per cent by drivers and 16 per cent by passengers (from 58 per cent and 17 per cent respectively).

 

Demand for transportation continues to grow - there are more people making trips and individuals are making slightly more trips

  • A total of 6.1 million trips were taken on a typical fall weekday last year – 5.9 per cent more than in 2008, slightly higher than the increase in the region’s population (5.8 per cent) over that time.
  • People are making more trips per day – 2.77 trips, versus 2.70 in 2008.
  • • People in their 40s had the highest average number of daily trips – 3.5 for women, 3.1 for men; likely due to increased family activities at that time of life.

 

The shift to sustainable modes is a positive trend for the region, but there is a long way to go to achieve the goals set out in the region’s long-range transportation strategy.

The 2011 trip diary survey includes information about close to 22,000 households. It provides a snapshot of passenger travel patterns and tracks the weekday trip-making behaviour of a random sample of local residents on a 24-hour basis. It is the most comprehensive source of information on overall travel patterns in the region, and is used as a foundation for many transportation decisions made by TransLink and municipalities across Metro Vancouver. The findings from the survey will inform the coming conversation about updating the regional transportation strategy, and how the people who live in Metro Vancouver want to address the transport needs of our growing communities.

 

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