What does this measure?

The type of transportation used on a daily basis by workers over the age of 16 who commute to work, expressed as a percentage of all workers who do not work at home.

Why is this important?

Patterns of transportation usage impact environmental and transportation planning. These patterns may also reflect issues of poverty, location of employment, or environmental habits of residents.

How is our region performing?

Nearly all of the region's commuters drove to work in 2006-08, with 84% driving alone and 9% carpooling. Although these rates are comparable to national figures, our region is far below the state rate of 27% of public transit users, primarily due to the effect of New York City. Monroe County has a 3% rate of public transportation usage, compared to 10% in the city of Rochester. Overall the rates in our region have shown little change since 2000.

Notes about the data

Commuters are recorded in the geography in which they reside.

The 2006-08 figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined three years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census.