The Brookings Institution reports that according to the most recent 2016 American Community Survey (ACS) data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there was a “significant” decrease in driving in 21 of the 50 most populous cities in the U.S. over the last decade.
Here’s more on what the Brookings analysis of the latest U.S. Census survey data found about how Americans are getting to work.
Less than half of Seattle’s population drives alone
While Oakland, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C. had “solo driving rates” that decreased by 3 percentage points or more, the number of people living in Seattle there who drive alone dipped under 50%, which generated “major headlines,” Brookings reports.
Some cities had an increase in their solo-driver rates, however, such as Miami.
Almost half of the 50 large cities studied — 22— had “significant” upticks in the rate of bikers there.
Here’s what happens when it’s time to go to work
Findings from the 2016 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates show the nature of how hundreds of millions of people commute in the U.S.
Among more than 150 million workers 16 years and up, 9% carpooled to work and 76.3% drove there by themselves.
While 5% worked at home, 2.7% walked, 0.6% used bikes, and 5.1% took public transit (not including taxis).
Commuting almost an hour a day
Taking a look at more than 142 million employees 16 years and up who didn’t work from home, the average amount of time it took to commute to work one-way was 26.6 minutes. It took 15.2% of people 15-19 minutes to get there, 12.5% get there in under 10 minutes, and 9.1% get there in an hour or more.