Where we are

Currently, the personal vehicle is the primary means of transportation. While this is pretty convenient, it is not very efficient. As stated on the Why It's Important page, personal transportation is a huge part of our total transportation greenhouse gas emissions.

Current State of Transport

The charts below show the commuting decisions made by Americans in 1980, 1990, and 2000, as well as the increase in vehicle-miles-travelled per year. In general, there has been a movement towards more people commuting alone and in general an increase in Vehicle Miles Travelled, although there was a recent drop, likely due to recent increases in gasoline prices.

Current Potential

Not everyone has great access to public transport or lives in bikeable or walkable cities. Currently, about two-thirds of rural Americans totaling approximately 60 million people are totally unserved by public transportation. There are many areas of the world that have heavy traffic but nothing in the way of sidewalks or bike lanes that would make bicycling or walking more reasonable options.