October 10, 2023
Connections 2050 sets a goal to integrate the infrastructure we use to move around the region into an accessible, multimodal transportation network, with transit, walking, and biking serving as fundamental components. Increasing the share of people choosing to use transit, walking, biking, and/or carpooling–as opposed to driving alone–reduces congestion, lessens roadway maintenance needs, improves air quality, and decreases the region's carbon footprint.
Connections 2050 sets a goal to integrate the infrastructure we use to move around the region into an accessible, multimodal transportation network, with transit, walking, and biking serving as fundamental components. Increasing the share of people choosing to use transit, walking, biking, and/or carpooling–as opposed to driving alone–reduces congestion, lessens roadway maintenance needs, improves air quality, and decreases the region's carbon footprint.
Commute trips make up only a fifth of all trips, yet they are the chief contributor to peak-period demand for transportation facilities. New data in the Tracking Progress Commute Mode Indicator shows in 2022, as the COVID-19 pandemic eased, the share of people working from home was 19%, a decrease of 5.1% from its peak of 24.1% in 2021. Just under half of those 5.1% of all workers newly returning to their offices in 2022 are driving to work alone (2.4% of all workers); while, more than half of those returning commuters in 2022 chose modes other than driving alone (2.7% of all workers). This has caused an increase in commute mode share in several categories: +1.1% for all modes of transit, +0.6% specifically for carpooling, +0.5% for walking, +0.3% for biking, and +0.2% for taxi. This continues the region’s slow upward trend for non-single-occupant vehicle commutes that had been occurring in the years leading up to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Working from home is still three times its pre-pandemic level, while nearly all transportation modes remain below their pre-pandemic commute mode share. See the breakdown by mode in our analysis under the “How are we doing?” tab in the Commute Mode Indicator.
Want to download the data for your own use? Under each chart, find a link to the data in DVRPC’s Data Catalog. You can also explore other indicators in Tracking Progress, DVRPC’s interactive dashboard for exploring Greater Philadelphia’s progress toward the Connections 2050 regional Vision.