A recent report issued by the U.S. Census Bureau looks at commuting patterns by U.S. workers in 2013 using data from the American Community Survey. It highlights differences in rates of automobile commuting by key population characteristics such as age, race, ethnicity, and the types of communities in which workers live.

One finding of note: young people in big cities were much less likely to drive to work in 2013 than they were several years earlier. For instance, urban workers aged 25 to 29 showed about a 4-percentage-point decline in automobile commuting between 2006 and 2013.

You can also find an extensive analysis of commuting behavior that was produced locally. In a recent multifaceted study sponsored by the Metropolitan Council and MnDOT, U of M researchers analyzed travel behavior over time in the Twin Cities.

The extensive five-part study report is based on the rich set of data produced by the Met Council’s Travel Behavior Inventory household travel survey. David Levinson, RP Braun/CTS Chair in the U’s Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering, was the study’s principal investigator.

The five components of the report examine:

• Changes in travel duration, time use, and accessibility
• Changes in walking and biking
• The effect of transit quality of service on people’s activity choices and time allocation
• Changes in travel behavior by age cohort
• Telecommuting and its relationship with travel and residential choices

For more information:

• Download the Twin Cities’ Travel Behavior Over Time report
• Download the U.S. Census Bureau report: Who Drives to Work? Commuting by Automobile in the United States: 2013
• Read more about the Travel Behavior Over Time study in CTS Catalyst:
  • Travel behavior study shows drivers are spending less time traveling and more time at home (February 2015)
  • Biking and walking are on the rise in the Twin Cities (May 2015)
  • How do trip rates change among different age cohorts? (June 2015)