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Evidence Base Home » Transportation » Living in or near a transit-oriented development project has an impact on Vehicle Miles Traveled VMT

Articles in Living in or near a transit-oriented development project has an impact on Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT).

  • Households in more automobile dependent communities devote more than 20% of household expenditures to surface transportation (more than $8,500 annually), while those in communities with more diverse transportation systems spend less than 17% (less than $5,500 annually).

    Litman T. Transportation costs & benefits: resources for measuring transportation costs and benefits. Victoria Transport Policy Institute. Available at: http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm66.htm. Accessed July 17, 2009.

     

  • Availability of public transportation can decrease the amount a family drives. In a survey with people who moved to a Richmond, CA transit oriented development, 56% said they used public transit more, and 93% stated they used transit the same or more.

    WCCTAC. Richmond metrowalk survey summary. 2006. Unpublished results.

     

  • 45% of workers in transit zones walk, bike, or take transit to work, compared to just 14% of workers in regions with transit. Three-quarters of households living near transit own one auto or less.

    Heffernan K. Preserving and promoting diverse transit-oriented neighborhoods. Center for Transit Oriented Development. 2006. Available at: http://www.cnt.org/repository/diverseTOD_FullReport.pdf. Accessed July 17, 2009.

     

  • Communities with double the density (more people living in an area) will have 25-30% less driving per family when all the impacts of conditions generally accompanying higher density are included (better transit, more local shopping, more pedestrian-friendly environments).

    Holtzclaw J. Using residential patterns and transit to decrease auto dependence and costs. Natural Resources Defense Council. 1994. Available at: http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=190&res=1024. Accessed July 17, 2009.

     

  • A more dense mix of uses, well served by mass transportation systems, can ensure access to essential needs and services while reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT), thereby reducing environmental and health costs associated with personal vehicle trips.

    US Environmental Protection Agency. Vehicle travel: recent trends and environmental impacts. In: Our Built and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the Interactions Between Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality. Washington, DC: US Environmental Protection Agency; 2001: chapter 3. Available at http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/pdf/built_chapter3.pdf. Accessed August 9, 2009.

     

  • In the Bay Area, the counties with more access to public transportation have the lowest VMT traveled per day. In San Francisco - the county with the lowest VMT - it is 8.8 per day; however, in Sonoma County - with the highest VMT - it is 18.7.

    San Francisco Dept of Public Health. Healthy Development Measurement Tool: Indicator ST.1.c Average vehicle miles traveled by San Francisco residents per day. Available at: http://www.thehdmt.org/indicator.php?element_id=2&objective_id=6&indicator_id=43. Accessed July 17, 2009.

     

  • People in developed countries spend an average of about one hour a day in motor vehicle travel. Valuing travel time at $8/hr (half of $16/hr average wage) indicates an overall average per capita travel time cost of about $3,000.

    Litman T. Transportation costs & benefits: resources for measuring transportation costs and benefits. Victoria, BC: Victoria Transport Policy Institute; 2009. Available at: http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm66.htm. Accessed July 22, 2009.

     

  • In a study in California assessing vehicle miles traveled and obesity, counties with the highest average amount of vehicle miles traveled were significantly associated with the highest average rank of obesity.

    Lopez-Zetina J, Lee H, Friis R. The link between obesity and the built environment: evidence from an ecological analysis of obesity and vehicle miles of travel in California. Health Place. 2006;12(4):656-664.

     

  • Workers with access to public transit are more likely to walk, bike, and take public transit to work than those without.

    Hefferman K. Preserving and promoting diverse transit-oriented neighborhoods. Center for Transit Oriented Development. 2006. Available at: www.cnt.org/repository/diverseTOD_FullReport.pdf. Accessed August 29, 2009.