Mobility Lab presents the key highlights of the 2019 State of the Commute findings, with particular focus on insights about Arlington County, Virginia. The key highlights also include a brief review of the methodology of the 2019 State of the Commute.
- Arlington-specific insights from the report
- Key highlights about the current state of the commute in the region
- Changes from 2016 Survey
| Summary: The 2019 State of the Commute reveals that commutes are taking longer but staying the same distance. This applies to Arlington, although the Inner Core is noted to have the shortest commute time in the greater Washington, DC/Northern Virginia area, thus leading to higher rates of satisfaction. Although driving alone remains the predominant mode of traveling, it is on the decline, and new forms of transportation and increased popularity of teleworking within the last 3 years have resulted in mode switches for some commuters, with 57% of respondents using alternative modes stating they had switched within the past three years, and 39% of those respondents stating they had previously drove alone to work. Those who choose to continue to drive alone tend to be commuters who have been using this method for longer. The drive alone commuters note the lowest rates of satisfaction, while bikers and walkers tend to have the greatest rates of satisfaction. Additionally, the number of cars available per household has increased since the 2016 study. |
Photo credit: Sam Kittner
Arlington-specific insights from the report
| The report does not provide a lot of information on Arlington specifically, but rather groups Arlington with the “Inner Core”, which also consists of Alexandria and DC. For this inner core, respondents live closer to bus/metro stops, gave higher ratings for transportation satisfaction, have more employer offered benefits, and have the shortest commutes as compared to Middle and Outer Ring commuters. |
- Sample size of 1,923 for entire inner core
- 5% of respondents live in Arlington, 7% work in Arlington
- Less than four in ten (37%) commuters who lived in Inner Core (Alexandria, Arlington, DC) drove alone (consistent with 2016 Arlington Report)
- 64% of Middle Ring commuters report driving alone
- 75% Outer Ring commuters report driving alone
- 30% of commuters have HOV available, 23% use it. 14% say express is available, 27% use it
- 2% of respondents cited Arlington County Commuter Services as an advertising sponsor that they recalled from an ad or message
- 40% of young respondents who lived in the inner core reported having a vehicle for each adult household member (increase from 32% in 2016)[1]
- For the inner core, average distance to the nearest bus stop is 0.5 miles and distance to the nearest train station is 1.4 miles
- Those who live in the inner core gave higher ratings for transportation satisfaction than other respondents (48% gave a 4 or 5 satisfaction rating)
- Respondents who lived in the inner core gave higher ratings for transportation satisfaction than did respondents in either the Middle Ring or Outer ring
- Those who live in the inner core gave higher ratings for commute satisfaction as a 4 (33%) or a 5 (30%)
- Benefits or services offered by employers were more common in the inner core areas (76% had access compared to 51% who work in the Middle Ring and 28% who work in the Outer Ring)
- Free parking is much less common (23% have free parking)
- Inner core commuters travel the shortest distance to work – about 7.5 miles one way
- Inner core commuters travel the shortest time to work – about 33 minutes one way
- Inner core respondents had greater access to commute services (76%). 66% receive transit subsidies. Higher access to bike/walk services and to Capital Bikeshare
- Potential for regular future transit use (one or more days per week) was highest among several groups including inner core residents (26%) and workers (24%) as compared to middle ring residents (13%) and workers (10%) and outer ring (8%) residents and workers (4%)[2]
Photo credit: Sam Kittner
Key highlights about the current state of the commute in the region
User Profile
| Most respondents live in the middle ring, work in the inner core/middle ring, and make more than $80,000 per year. About half the respondents are between 35 and 55. Almost equally split between men and women, most respondents reported having at least one household vehicle. |
- More than half of respondents (57%) lived in the Middle Ring. The remaining respondents were about evenly divided between the Inner Core (20%) and Outer Ring (23%). Work locations, by contrast, were divided primarily between the Inner Core (45%) and Middle Ring (43%). Only 12% of respondents worked in an Outer Ring jurisdiction.
- About one-third (34%) of respondents were younger than 35 years of age, 46% were between 35 and 54 years old, and 20% were 55 years of age or older.
- Respondents were about evenly divided between females (52%) and males (48%).
- Nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents reported incomes of $80,000 or more and half (50%) had incomes of $120,000 or more.
- Nearly all (94%) survey respondents reported having at least one household vehicle. Three in ten (31%) had one vehicle, 41% had two vehicles, and 22% had three or more vehicles. Respondents reported an overall average of 1.9 vehicles per household.
Photo credit: Sam Kittner
Commute Patterns
| The average one-way commute is about 43 minutes for the region[3]. Most commuters are driving alone to get to work. However, drive alone rates have declined since 2007, and alternative mode usage has increased. New modes such as ride-hailing, scooters, and bikeshares have expanded the group of traditional alternative modes of travel which already includes transit, cycling, and walking. |
- The average commute time is 43 minutes one way
- Two-thirds of workers drive alone. Most respondents (81%) work full time, and drive alone as their primary mode of transportation[4]
- Transit and commuter rail make up a quarter (1%) of commuters. 75% of these were made by train (16.6% Metrorail and 1.6% commuter rail)
- Ride hailing (e.g. Uber, Lyft, Via) made up less than 1% of commutes
- Biking/scooter/walking maintained 3% mode share (1.7% for walking, 1.6% for bike/scooter)[5] 85% use a personal bike
- 1 out of 4 bikers use a rented bike
- Capital Bikeshare: 16%
- Dockless Bike: 7%
- 38% of commuters who use an alternative mode to get to work walked to the transit station/stop, to a Park and Ride lot, or to another location where they boarded a transit vehicle/met a carpool/vanpool partner
- 14% took transit
- 1% bicycled to the meeting point
- Younger people are less likely to have a household vehicle (10% under 35 did not have a vehicle and 27% had less than one vehicle per adult household member)
- Three quarters of carpool/vanpools were regular carpools (3.4% of the 4.6%)
- Casual carpools made up 1% of 4.6%
- 1 out of 4 bikers use a rented bike
Telework
| Employees, mostly federal, telework. A quarter of respondents (25%) who don’t telework say that they would if they could. Many respondents did not define themselves as teleworkers[6], although they reported that they had worked from home at least once over the past year. They are not included in the percentage of teleworkers, but if they were, teleworking would increase to 57%. |
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- 35% of commuters reported teleworking “at least occasionally”, or between less than one day a month and 3 or more days a week.
- Self-defined teleworkers teleworked an average of 20 days per week. By contrast, “non-teleworkers” worked at home an average of 5.3 days per year
- 48% of telecommuters are federal employees
Photo credit: Sam Kittner
Availability of and attitudes toward transportation options
| This section focused on availability of transit stations, HOV/express lanes, and Park and Ride lots to commuters. The SOC reports that limited availability (e.g. increased distance) of these transportation options shows a decline in transit use, which is mirrored by a corresponding increase in driving alone (see figures 6 and 7). For example, drive alone rates for commuters who lived more than 10 miles from a bus stop or train station were 70% and 69%, respectively. For those who live and work close to transit, alternative mode use was higher. This is especially true for the Inner Core. Regarding express lanes, those who use express lanes stated that they typically drive alone while using the lane, causing the lanes to only offer modest benefits for congestion relief along those corridors. One of the primary objectives of HOV lanes is to encourage commuters to shift from driving alone to shared ride modes to obtain travel time savings – express lanes provide time savings, but do not necessarily encourage shifts to alternative modes, as drive alone commuters are permitted to use express lanes. Those who did not use transit or carpool/vanpool cited lack of availability or a regular schedule as reasons for their attitudes towards alternative modes. |
Availability of Transit Options
- Transit stations
- About four in ten (37%) respondents said they lived less than half of a mile from a bus stop, and 47% said they lived less than one mile. One quarter were unsure how far they lived from a bus stop.
- Average transit access distance was shortest for respondents who lived in the inner core – 5 miles to the nearest bus stop and 1.4 miles to the nearest train station
- Park and ride
- 11% of respondents who lived in the Inner Core knew of a Park and Ride lot on their route
- 30% of respondents who live in the Middle Ring knew of a Park and Ride lot on their route
- 54% of respondents in the Outer Ring knew of a Park and Ride lot on their route
- HOV and Express Lanes
- 4 in 10 (38%) respondents said one or both HOV and express lanes were available along their route to work
- 8% of commuters region-wide had used an Express Lane
- 7 in 10 (72%) of these commuters typically drive alone while riding in express lanes
- 18% have access to an Express Lane on their route to work.
- Commuters are more likely to have HOV lanes available on their route to work if they live in the Middle ring (34%) or Outer Ring (45%) than the inner core (19%)
- For express lanes, 18% of Middle Ring and 25% of Outer Ring residents said they were available, compared with 9% of inner core residents
- Respondents who regularly used an HOV or express lane for commuting estimated that using the lane saved them an average of 19 minutes for each one-way trip
Barriers to Availability
- Barriers to using carpool/vanpool
- The most common reason cited by (32%) of respondents for not using carpool/vanpool was that they didn’t know anyone with whom to carpool or vanpool
- Irregular schedule (17%) was the second most popular reason
- Barriers to using transit
- Across all non-transit riders, 61% said they would not be able to use transit at all for commuting, and two in ten said they would be able to use transit only infrequently because of service availability, service characteristics, and personal preferences or needs
- Among respondents who hadn’t used transit in the past three years, Lack of availability of transit was a primary reason for not using it (30%) and that transit “takes too much time” (noted by 35% of respondents)
- Other reasons for not taking transit included:
- Needs to transfer
- Transit cost
- Safety
- Reliability
- Needing a vehicle before or after work
- Not wanting to ride with strangers
- Trip too long
- Irregular work schedule
- Other reasons for not taking transit included:
Photo credit: Sam Kittner
Commuter Satisfaction[7]
| Fifty percent of commuters are satisfied[8] with their commute, down 14 points from 2013. Some groups show higher satisfaction: those with shorter commute times, and alternative mode users – specifically bikers/scooters/walkers. The youngest (18-24 years) and oldest respondents (65 years and older) were most satisfied with regional transportation. Results regarding active transportation in relation to quality of life show that respondents who use alternative modes gain exercise, health, and stress relief benefits. |
- 36% of respondents were either satisfied or very satisfied, indicating a rating of 4 or 5 for their satisfaction with their commutes
- Satisfaction with regional transportation was highest among the youngest respondents (18-24 years) and oldest respondents (65 years and older. Respondents between 35 and 44 reported the lowest satisfaction
- 29% of drive alone respondents were satisfied, noting a 4 or a 5 for satisfaction with their commute (the lowest of all commuters)
- 4 in 10 respondents who traveled 30 minutes or less gave a satisfaction rating of 4 or 5, while only 3 in 10 who traveled longer than 30 minutes were satisfied
Case for Alternative Modes
- 76% of respondents named at least one benefit that the community can receive from use of alternative modes [9]
- Reducing traffic congestion (69%)
- Reduce pollution or help the environment (47%)
- 89% respondents named at least one benefit that they can personally receive from use of alternative modes[10]
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- Saving money (32%)
- Avoid stress or relax while commuting (29%)
- Use travel time productively (20%)
- 58% of train riders and 58% of bus riders said they performed work-related tasks during their commute (compared with 38% of carpoolers)
- More than half of respondents who carpooled, vanpooled, or rode transit to work performed related tasks during the commute (34% most days and 21% some days)
- Exercise or health benefits (12%)
- Avoid traffic (19%)
- Don’t need to find parking (8%)
Photo credit: Sam Kittner
Awareness and Impact of Commute Advertising
| Awareness of commute information advertising was highest among respondents who worked in the inner core, used alternative modes to commute, were over 55, were non-Hispanic white, and had higher household incomes. The persuasiveness of advertising[11] had the greatest effect on those who were already using alternative modes and who were more satisfied with the regional transportation system. While the SOC reports that about 4/10 respondents who took an action to change their commute said the advertising they saw/heard encouraged the action, this only has a small absolute impact on mode shift. However, the advertisements acquainted drive alone commuters with other commuting opportunities and encouraged them to seek more information on these options. |
- 45% of respondents have seen, heard, or read advertising about commuting in the six months prior to the survey. Six in ten of this group could cite a specific message.
- WMATA’s Back to Good most cited (8%)
- Two in ten (18%) respondents who had seen, heard, or read advertising said they were more likely to consider ridesharing or using public transportation after seeing or hearing the advertising
- Four in ten (43%) of respondents who took an action to change their commute said the advertising they saw or heard encouraged the action. 46% of respondents who made a mode change drove alone for their commute before they made the change.
Photo credit: Sam Kittner
Awareness and use of commuter assistance resources[12]
| About half of respondents (52%) are not aware of commuter assistance resources that are set up to serve the region. A source to find information on ridesharing, public transportation, HOV/Express Lanes, and telework in the Washington region was something that only about a third of residents knew of. Over half of respondents did not know of the regional Guaranteed Ride Home Program. Awareness of such a source was generally higher among commuters who used an alternative mode for commuting. |
- 48% of regional commuters had heard of Commuter Connections
- About one in three (32%) residents said they knew of a telephone number or website they could use to obtain commute information.
- 15% of respondents said such a thing did not exist
- Commuters who had heard of Commuter Connections reported higher awareness of regional commute resources (44%) than did commuters who were not aware of Commute Connections (21%)
- One in ten (11%) respondents who knew of Commuter Connections had contacted the program or visited a Commuter Connections or MWCOG website in the past year.
- 36% of respondents who said their employers offered commute services at the worksite knew of a regional commute information resource, compared with 26% of those who said no such services were offered at work
- 59% of respondents did not know of the regional Guaranteed Ride Home Program
Photo credit: Sam Kittner
Employer-provided commuter assistance services
| Over half of respondents reported that their employers provided at least one alternative benefit or mode at the worksite[13]. Free parking at work is provided for over half of respondents. Those who had to pay for parking used alternative modes of transportation at significantly higher rates (about 5 times as much) than those who did not have to pay for parking. Respondents who had to pay to park used all alternative modes at higher rates than did respondents with free parking. Specifically, train mode share was more than five times as high for respondents who had to pay to park as for respondents who had free parking. Use of bus, carpool/vanpool, and bike/walk also were higher for respondents who did not have free parking. |
- 60% of respondents said their employers offered one or more alternative mode benefits or services to employees at their worksites. 60% of respondents said their employers offered free, on-site parking to all employees
- Respondents who worked for Federal agencies were most likely to report availability of benefits/services at their worksites;
- 85% of Federal workers said they had at least one of these services
- Two-thirds (66%) of respondents who worked for non-profit organizations had access to services
- Respondents who worked for private employers and state/local agencies were least likely to have access; only half (50%) of private sector employees and 44% of state/local government employees reported access to commuter benefits/services.
- Most commonly offered services by employers were SmarTrip/other subsidies for transit or vanpool which were available for 45% of respondents
Photo credit: Sam Kittner
Technology-based applications and driverless cars
| Technology has played a large part in commuting travel information to respondents. However, younger respondents were more likely to have used transit arrival applications. Driverless cars are still a new concept to many people, and two-third of respondents not very familiar with the idea. Most people who had heard of them cited more concerns than benefits. However, some people, like young people, were interested in self-driving cars. |
- Social media and apps
- 85% of respondents had used one of the applications listed in the survey[14]
- Respondents who were younger than 45 were higher users of transit schedule arrival applications, bikeshare, carshare, and e-scooter service apps
- Driverless cars
- 6 in 10 (58%) people had heard about driverless cars, a third were very familiar with the idea
- People who were familiar with driverless cars were more likely to list concerns about autonomous vehicles than benefits
- Half weren’t interested in trying any sort of autonomous vehicle (4 in 10 were at least somewhat interested in using a driverless car)
- Younger people were more interested than older people
- Among the 28% who cited a benefit, the benefit mentioned most often (13%) was for a potential reduction in vehicle crashes. 9% said driverless cars could result in better traffic flow and 2% said it could provide more reliable travel time.
- 6 in 10 (58%) people had heard about driverless cars, a third were very familiar with the idea
Photo credit: Sam Kittner
Changes from 2016 Survey
Changes in User Profiles
| As is expected, the population of the greater metropolitan region changed from 2016 to 2019. Some respondents changed their home location, their work location, or both. The survey also suggests that more people have come into the greater DC area for work since 2016, as about a third of respondents previously did not work in the area. The SOC calculated the number of respondents who have changed their commute modes in the past three years. Respondents were asked if they had used transit for their commutes at any time during the past three years. Many of those who did make the change were former drive alone commuters. Respondents attributed their decisions to take alternative modes to many factors, with the most popular one being to save money. |
- Moving: About three in ten respondents made a location change
- 11% changed only the home location
- 13% changed only the work location
- 7% changed both home and work
- The remaining 69% made no change
- About two-thirds (63%) moved within the Washington metropolitan region. One-quarter (26%) moved from Maryland or Virginia, but from a jurisdiction outside the Washington region, and one in ten (11%) moved from a state other than the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia.
- The biggest reason people stopped using transit was because they were left with limited or no transit options after their home or job changed – only 17% of people are within a mile of a metro station, and only half live within a mile of a bus stop
- Six in ten (57%) of respondents who were using an alternative mode at the time of the survey said they started using that mode within the past 3 years. 40% of alternative mode users were previously driving alone, and 32% of alternative mode users were not working or not working in the region 3 years ago:
- 15% switched because they were motivated to save money or time
- 23% switched due to change in job or residence
- 7% switched to avoid congestion
- 9% switched due to parking cost
- 5% switched because employees offered a transit benefit
- Respondents reported shifts in commute mode that occurred within the last three years because they:
- Wanted to save money (16%)
- Wanted to save time (14%)
- Had a change in personal circumstance (12%)
- Changed to a new residence (12%)
- Wanted to save on parking (9%)
- Wanted to avoid traffic congestion (7%)
- Three-quarters (75%) of respondents said commuting was the only factor they considered in making the move and 63% of respondents who said commuting was more important than other factors said they had a shorter commute after making the move.
- 60% of people who used ride-hailing apps previously took public transit when ride hailing wasn’t available[15].
- Commuters who drove alone had been using this mode 10 years or more
Commute Patterns
| Key Changes: The amount of time spent on a commute has increased from 36 minutes in 2013 to 43 minutes in 2019. However, the length of the trip has not increased in that time span. In fact, respondents’ average distance to work has remained similar to previous years, noting an average of 17.1 miles in 2019 and 17.3 in 2016. This is a sign that traffic congestion is worsening. Although drive alone commuters have decreased 9% since 2016, it remains the predominant form of transportation. However, scooters, ride hailing, and other alternate modes of transportation have expanded the options for alternative modes, and alternative mode users have risen from 33% in 2007 to 41% in 2019. A group of respondents also moved, which changed how they chose to commute. |
- It is taking 26% longer to get to work than it did 15 years ago (length of travel is unchanged at avg. 17 miles)
- Number of workers driving alone is down from three years ago
- Drive alone percentages are at 58%, down 13% from 71% in 2004, and 9% from9% in 2007
- Increase in number of people using public transportation since 2004
- Increase in transit and rail commuters to 1% of commuters (up 4% from the 2016 percentage)
- About 4 in 10 (39%) of commuters who started using a new alternative mode within the past three years previously drove alone to work
- 22% of people who switched to alternate mode of transportation used to ride a train
- 13% of people who switched to alternate modes of transportation used to ride the bus
- 26% of those who moved said their commute got more difficult
Availability of and attitudes toward transportation options
| Key Changes: Attitudes towards park and ride, carpooling, and HOV/express lanes have stayed similar to the results in the 2016 survey. Availability of personal cars has increased since 2016. |
Four in ten people under 35 years old have at least one car available in the household – this is up 8% from three years ago
- The share of respondents who said they didn’t know anyone with whom to rideshare has declined since 2013.
- The amount of time saved from using an Express Lane stayed about the same form 2016 (19 minutes)
- About the same share of respondents who used Park and Ride lots in 2016 (6%) used them in 2019 (7%)
Changes in Commute Satisfaction
| Key Changes: Rail, drive alone, and vanpool/carpool, regional transportation system commuter satisfaction rates are dropping, and Metrorail satisfaction rates are increasing. Respondents overall noted that their commute was more difficult now than in past years, and overall commute satisfaction is down from 2016. |
- Commuter rail and drive alone satisfaction rates were lowest since 2013 and lowest out of all respondents (48% of rideshares and 45% of commuters)
- Metrorail satisfaction increased (56% satisfied from 48% in 2016)
- Bus riders, commuter train riders, and Metrorail riders were equally satisfied (6 out of 10 rating their commute a 4 or 5)
- Vanpool satisfaction declined
- Carpool/vanpool mode share declined from 1% in 2007 to 4.6% in the 2019 survey.
- Commuting became more difficult in the past year for three in ten commuters[16]
- 36% of respondents reported being satisfied with the regional transportation system, down from 44% in 2013
- 50% of respondents were minimally (scale from 3 to 5) satisfied with their trip to work, down from 64% in 2013
Changes in Awareness of Advertising
The percentages of people who had seen, heard, or read advertising who said they were more likely to consider ridesharing or using public transportation were statistically lower than the percentages of respondents who noted this willingness in 2016 (25%), 2013 (25%) and 2010 (24%).
Changes in Telework
| Key Changes: Teleworking is increasing, and fewer respondents are saying that their jobs are not compatible with teleworking. |
- The survey reports an increase from 19% in 2007 to 35% in 2019 for telework commuters
- Percentage of commuters who said their jobs were not compatible with telework dropped from 51% in 2007 to 34% in 2019
Changes in awareness and use of commuter assistance resources
| Key Changes: Awareness and use of commuter assistance resources fell from 2016. |
- Awareness of Commuter Connections fell between 2016 and 2019, from 61% in 2016 to 48% in 2019
- Awareness of regional commute assistance resources has declined since 2010, when 66% of respondents knew of a number or website, dropping between 53% in 2016 and 32% in 2019.
- Awareness of GRH has been steadily dropping since 2010, when 27% of respondents said they knew of a regional program
Changes in employer-provided commuter assistance services
| Key Changes: Employee offered alternative mode benefits has increased, potentially because of the end of the recession that was occurring in 2013. |
- The SOC reported an increase of respondents saying their employers offered one or more alternative mode benefits or services to employees at their worksites (from 55% in 2016 to 60% in 2019)
- Six in ten (60%) respondents said their employers offered one or more commuter benefits or services. This was a slight increase over the rates for most past SOC surveys and nearly meeting the 61% rate recorded in 2010. This suggests that commute service cutbacks made by employers during the economic recession years of 2013 and 2016 have been reversed.
Methodology
Geographic area and respondents[17]
- The sample was taken from 11 independent cities and counties that make up the Washington Metropolitan non-attainment region
- All residents who live within these 11 cities and counties above the age of 18 were eligible to take the survey, which was distributed randomly using address-based sampling
- Inner Core: City of Alexandria (VA), Arlington County (VA), and the District of Columbia
- Middle ring: Fairfax County (VA), Montgomery County (MD), Prince George’s County (MD)
- Outer Ring: Calvert County (MD), Charles County (MD). Frederick County (MD), Loudoun County (VA), Prince William County (VA)
- 8,246 interviews completed for the survey
- 7,808 from the internet survey
- 438 through telephone follow up
Interview Method
Primary Internet
- Web based survey
- Final Internet version – January 14, 2019
- Address-based sampling was used to select the sample of potential respondents
- Postcard survey invitations were sent through postal mail to selected addresses
- traveltowork2019.org – recipients entered one of two passwords noted on the card (this permitted two adults in each household to take the survey)
- Survey consisted of 126 questions; respondents answered a combination of them depending on their answers to certain questions
- Questions were asked through multiple choice, rating scales (1-5, 1 being least satisfied and 5 being most satisfied), open ended questions, and Likert scale
Secondary follow up phone call
- This was distributed to the sample of residents who had received the postcard survey invitation but did not complete the survey via the internet
Changes in 2019 Version of Survey
- Scooters and ride hailing were asked about for the first time.
- Questions about social media and technology were added.
- Respondents were asked a question to identify applications that regional commuters used from a list of nine applications
- Respondents were asked about familiarity with driverless cars
Weighting of the Survey Data
- Population statistics were used to weight the data
- Combinations of statistics regarding employment status, race/ethnicity, and age by jurisdiction were used to weight the survey results
- Population statistics were taken from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey
- Weighting: Combined internet/telephone survey results were expanded at the jurisdiction level to match counts of employed residents in each sample jurisdiction, to represent the number of employed residents of the metropolitan region, and to correct for under- or over-representation of some racial/ethnic groups and age groups in the sample.
Footnotes:
[1] This information was not available in the SOC for previous years
[2]Potential also existed in current alternative mode users, federal agency workers, and respondents younger than 35 years
[3] Multiple choice question – “how many minutes does it typically take you to travel from home to work? If the time varies from day to day, enter what would be most typical” as an open-ended question for respondents to answer.
[4] ‘Primary’ refers to the mode used the greatest number of days per week.
[5] The SOC survey initially groups scooters with bicycles and e-scooters, including bikeshare and dock less bikes. If a user selected that they used that mode to commute to work, they were asked a follow-up question about which specific mode they used.
[6] The study defined telecommuting as “wage and salary employees who at least occasionally work at home or at a telework or satellite center during an entire workday, instead of travelling to their regular workplace”. To qualify as a teleworker, the respondent must answer “Yes” when asked if they considered themselves to be a telecommuter, which then prompted a series of questions about how often the respondent usually telecommuted.
[7] The SOC measured satisfaction through allowing respondents to pick a number between 1 and 5, with 1 being the least satisfied and 5 being the most satisfied.
[8] At least a 4 or 5 on the 5-point scale
[9] Q56a1: Open ended question – Now think about the benefits of traveling by carpool, vanpool, bus, or train, bicycle or walking. What impact or benefit does a community or region receive when people use these types of transportation?
[10]Q56b: Open ended question – You said you [bicycle or ride a scooter, walk, carpool, vanpool, ride public transportation] to work some days. What benefits have you personally received from travelling to work this way?
[11] Persuasiveness of advertising was measured by asking if a respondent who had seen, heard, or read advertising was more likely to consider ridesharing or using public transportation after seeing or hearing the advertising
[12] Respondents were asked about regionally available telephone numbers and websites that provided commute information. They were also asked about Commuter Connections, the organization that provides serves and programs to assist employers and commuters with making choices about their commuting needs
[13] These benefits include Smartbenefit/transit/vanpool subsidy, commute information, bike/walk services, preferential parking, GRH, carpool subsidy/cash payment, capital bikeshare, carshare (Zipcar, car2go)
[14] These applications included: Wayfinding/trip mapping, traffic alerts, ride-hailing service, transit schedule, bus/train arrival, trip/fitness tracking, traveler information/display/screen, bikeshare/dockless bike service, carshare service, e-scooter service, and none
[15] The survey asked this if a respondent mentioned using Uber, Lyft, or Via for some of their trips to work , and if they answered yes to any of them, they survey asked users how they would have made the trips if the ride hailing services were not available. The user could choose from a list of options.
[16]Respondents were asked if their commute “is easier, more difficult, or about the same now as it was one year ago?”
[17] ‘Respondent’ refers to expanded data unless otherwise noted. Other terms such as “commuter,” “employee,” “worker,” and “resident” are also used in the State of the Commute and in this synthesis.
Primary researcher and author: Jessica Peyton