Commute Conditions Improve -- Carpooling/Travel Speed Increase Says RIDES for Bay Area Commuters' Annual Commute Survey.

News Editors/Transportation Writers

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 2002

More people are carpooling to work, according to Commute Profile 2002, the tenth region-wide survey of Bay Area commute patterns conducted by RIDES for Bay Area Commuters. The survey also found commuters are reaching their jobs more quickly.

Commute Profile 2002 findings show a small but steady increase in carpooling over the past couple of years. Eighteen percent of commuters carpool on a regular basis, up from 17 percent in 2001 and 14 percent in 2000. "Not since 1995 has the rate of carpooling been this high," said Steve Beroldo, RIDES' Planning and Evaluation Manager and author of Commute Profile.

Other transportation modes used for commuting have remained relatively constant since last year and driving alone continues to be the most popular choice with 69 percent of Bay Area residents making the trip solo, the same percentage as last year.

As the rate of carpooling increases, more people become eligible to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV or carpool) lanes. About 10 percent of commuters use a carpool lane for their trip to work. Although carpooling commuters still save time on their commute by using HOV lanes, for the first time in several years the amount of time saved decreased (to 16 minutes one-way versus 23 minutes in 2001).

"It's unlikely the travel speed in the carpool lanes has changed, so this is most likely an indicator of increased speed in the mixed-flow lanes resulting from decreased congestion," said Beroldo.

Fifty-one percent of those who use HOV lanes said they carpool, vanpool or use transit to take advantage of the lanes. Twenty-nine percent of commuters say they would not continue to carpool, vanpool or ride transit if the lanes were eliminated.

"Access to and usage of carpool lanes, time saved and the influence of the lanes on mode choice are all indicators of the effectiveness of the Bay Area's carpool lane network," said Beroldo. "More people using the lanes means fewer cars on the road."

Overall, commute conditions appear to have improved since last year. Average travel speed increased to 32 miles per hour, from 30 miles per hour last year. This increase is a reversal of the trend of decreasing speeds observed in previous years. The increase in travel speed appears to be related to the slow down in the economy -- fewer jobs, fewer commuters and decreased congestion. Along with an increase in speed, commuters' perceptions of their commute conditions are improving.

The percentage of commuters indicating their commute is "better now than it was a year ago" is greater than the percentage indicating their commute is "worse than it was a year ago" for the first time since questions of this nature were introduced in 1999. The percentage of "better" responses is more than double what it was a year ago. Most commuters, 60 percent of those surveyed, cited lighter traffic as the reason for the improved conditions.

County Comparisons

-- Santa Clara County has the highest percentage (86 percent) of commuters who both live and work in the county. For eight of the Bay Area's nine counties, the percentage of commuters living and working in the same county increased over the last year; Alameda remained the same at 60 percent.

-- For the first time since the Commute Profile series began, Contra Costa County has passed Solano County with the highest percentage of residents carpooling to work (23 percent in Contra Costa and 22 percent in Solano), followed by Napa and Alameda counties, each with 19 percent. At 16 percent each, Marin and Santa Clara have the region's lowest rates of carpooling.

-- San Francisco County residents continue to lead the region in use of transit and "other" modes such as bicycling and walking. Thirty-two percent use transit as their primary means to get to work; 10 percent use "other" modes. The second highest rates of transit use are in Alameda County with 11 percent and Marin with 10 percent. Solano has the lowest transit use at just under two percent.

Commute Profile is an annual survey of commuters who live in the nine-county Bay Area. It is unique among Bay Area surveys in its focus on commuters, their travel behavior and changes that occur over time. Commute Profile 2002 surveyed 3,643 adults (just over 400 in each of the nine counties) over the age of 18 who are employed full-time (35 hours or more) outside the home. The employed residents sample on which Commute Profile 2002 is based has a normal sampling error rate of two percent at the regional level and five percent at the county level. The region-wide population, based on employed residents, is estimated to be 3,500,000.

Founded in 1977, RIDES is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals and businesses learn about and use alternatives to driving alone. RIDES' services are funded by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and county congestion management agencies.

Note to Media: Copies of Commute Profile 2002 are available. Contact Julia Maglione, 510/273-2088 or [e-mail].