Results from the California Household Travel Survey (CHTS) —the largest and most complex review of its kind—show that the%age of California residents walking, biking, or using public transportation on a typical day has more than doubled since 2000.

Nearly 23% of household trips were taken by walking, biking, and public transportation. In 2000, that share was only 11%. This increase includes an increase in walking trips, which nearly doubled from 8.4% to 16.6% of trips.

Comparing the 2010-2012 CHTS with the 2000 CHTS, the most frequent mode of travel continued to be auto driver (49.3% of all reported trips) followed by auto passenger (25.9%). The 2010-2012 survey showed an increased share of walk trips (16.6%), public transportation trips (4.4%), and bicycle trips (1.5%).

The 2012 study provides a snapshot of the travel behavior of approximately 109,000 persons from more than 42,000 households in 58 California counties; this included parents driving to work or kids biking to school.

Participants received diaries and recorded where and when they travelled and how they got to and from their destinations on one random day. The average number of trips for a household was 9.2, while the average number of trips per person was 3.6.

Last year, legislation was approved creating California’s $129-million Active Transportation Program, which distributes funding for human-powered transportation projects and programs to increase the proportion of trips accomplished by biking and walking.

Caltrans and regional transportation planning agencies will use the CHTS data to forecast future travel demands and greenhouse gas emissions and look for ways to improve transportation to meet the needs of the state’s residents.

The CHTS was a partnership among Caltrans, the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission (CEC), the California Department of Housing and Community Development, the California Department of Public Health, and transportation planning agencies statewide. The survey data will be used by all of the agencies for various purposes. The study was jointly funded by Caltrans, the Strategic Growth Council, CEC, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, and seven transportation planning agencies.

The CHTS has been conducted roughly every 10 years since 1991. The most recent review began in January 2012 and ended in February 2013. The survey data will assist the department in developing and updating transportation models.