Table 1-41: Principal Means of Transportation to Work
(Thousands)
| 1989 | 1993 | 1997 | 1999 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| All workers | 106,630 | 100.0 | 103,741 | 100.0 | 116,469 | 100.0 | 118,041 | 100.0 | 119,896 | 100.0 | 115,342 | 100.0 | 133,091 | 100.0 | 138,266 | 100.0 | 139,260 | 100.0 | 143,996 | 100.0 | 138,592 | 100.0 |
| Automobile, total | 93,943 | 88.1 | 91,301 | 88.0 | 101,908 | 87.5 | 103,467 | 87.7 | 105,450 | 88.0 | 101,664 | 88.1 | 116,659 | 87.7 | 119,898 | 86.7 | 120,442 | 86.5 | 124,177 | 86.2 | 119,393 | 86.1 |
| Drives self | 81,322 | 76.3 | 79,449 | 76.6 | 90,207 | 77.5 | 92,363 | 78.2 | 93,819 | 78.3 | 91,607 | 79.4 | 102,458 | 77.0 | 105,046 | 76.0 | 105,955 | 76.1 | 108,776 | 75.5 | 105,476 | 76.1 |
| Carpool, total | 12,621 | 11.8 | 11,852 | 11.4 | 11,701 | 10.0 | 11,104 | 9.4 | 11,631 | 9.7 | 10,057 | 8.7 | 14,200 | 10.7 | 14,852 | 10.7 | 14,488 | 10.4 | 15,402 | 10.7 | 13,917 | 10.0 |
| 2-person | 9,708 | 9.1 | 9,105 | 8.8 | 9,294 | 8.0 | 8,705 | 7.4 | 9,012 | 7.5 | 7,866 | 6.8 | 10,981 | 8.3 | 11,408 | 8.3 | 11,139 | 8.0 | 11,846 | 8.2 | 10,813 | 7.8 |
| 3-person | 1,748 | 1.6 | 1,684 | 1.6 | 1,526 | 1.3 | 1,454 | 1.2 | 1,642 | 1.4 | 1,351 | 1.2 | 3,219 | 2.4 | 1,992 | 1.4 | 1,963 | 1.4 | 2,088 | 1.5 | 1,822 | 1.3 |
| 4+ persona | 1,165 | 1.1 | 1,063 | 1.0 | 881 | 0.8 | 945 | 0.8 | 977 | 0.8 | 840 | 0.7 | NA | NA | 1,451 | 1.0 | 1,385 | 1.0 | 1,467 | 1.0 | 1,282 | 0.9 |
| Public transportationb | 4,880 | 4.6 | 4,740 | 4.6 | 5,337 | 4.6 | 5,779 | 4.9 | 5,602 | 4.7 | 5,081 | 4.4 | 6,202 | 4.7 | 6,642 | 4.8 | 6,761 | 4.9 | 7,170 | 5.0 | 6,922 | 5.0 |
| Taxicabc | 152 | 0.1 | 117 | 0.1 | 139 | 0.1 | 144 | 0.1 | 133 | 0.1 | 128 | 0.1 | NA | NA | 178 | 0.1 | 179 | 0.1 | 167 | 0.1 | 157 | 0.1 |
| Bicycle or motorcyclec | 795 | 0.7 | 744 | 0.7 | 738 | 0.6 | 749 | 0.6 | 846 | 0.7 | 691 | 0.6 | NA | NA | 895 | 0.6 | 949 | 0.7 | 1,183 | 0.8 | 1,060 | 0.8 |
| Walks only | 3,634 | 3.4 | 3,227 | 3.1 | 3,869 | 3.3 | 3,627 | 3.1 | 3,405 | 2.8 | 3,171 | 2.7 | 3,291 | 2.5 | 3,952 | 2.9 | 3,954 | 2.8 | 4,061 | 2.8 | 3,966 | 2.9 |
| Other meansd | 491 | 0.5 | 474 | 0.5 | 867 | 0.7 | 987 | 0.8 | 1,052 | 0.9 | 1,072 | 0.9 | 2,143 | 1.6 | 1,289 | 0.9 | 1,298 | 0.9 | 1,340 | 0.9 | 1,176 | 0.8 |
| Works at home | 2,736 | 2.6 | 3,137 | 3.0 | 3,611 | 3.1 | 3,288 | 2.8 | 3,409 | 2.8 | 3,536 | 3.1 | 4,796 | 3.6 | 5,411 | 3.9 | 5,677 | 4.1 | 5,897 | 4.1 | 5,918 | 4.3 |
KEY: NA = not applicable.
a For 2005 only, the Carpool categories are 2-person and 3+ person; 4+ person is not available as in other years.
b Public transportation refers to bus, streetcar, subway, railroad, and elevated trains.
c Taxicab and Bicycle or motorcycle data are included in Other means for 2005 only.
d Other means include ferryboats, surface trains, and van service and other means not classified.
NOTES
Principal means of transportation to work refers to the mode of travel used to get from home to work most frequently. If more than one means of transportation was used each day, those surveyed were asked to specify the one used for the longest distance during the trip from home to work.
Component values may not add to totals due to rounding.
SOURCES
1989-2005:U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, American Housing Survey for the United States: 2005 (Washington, DC: 2006), table 2-24 and similar tables in earlier editions, available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/ahs.html as of Oct. 12, 2006.
2006-09: U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, available at http://factfinder.census.gov/ as of Oct. 22, 2010.