People Report Walking or Riding Transit More Than They Actually Do

Alan Pisarski says despite reports of growth in walking, biking, carpooling and transit, very little has changed in the U.S., and people will always over-report their good intentions.

1 minute read

November 13, 2011, 1:00 PM PST

By Tim Halbur


"Only about 68.3% of usual transit users actually used it on a specific day," writes Pisarski.

"The big shift is to the auto-based modes, solo driving or pooling, accounting for more than three quarters of the shift, with the remainder largely shifting to walking. This is almost the identical loyalty share observed in 2001, but with greater shifts to the auto instead of walking."

Interestingly, those who say they walk usually do as they say, and those who say they drive alone do so 93.5% of the time. The study is based on a survey that asked people how they get to work, followed by a question asking how they actually got to work the previous day.

Sunday, November 13, 2011 in New Geography

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