Mode Share Scenario Outcome

Photo by Flickr user mindfrieze

"Mode share" indicates the share of the region's travel that is made by different modes of Transportation. Major Transportation modes include driving alone (single-occupancy vehicles) carpooling (high-occupancy vehicles), transit, and walking/biking. It is generally desirable to decrease single-occupancy vehicle trips, as well as increase transit ridership and walking and biking trips, because these are more efficient and less environmentally damaging modes of travel.

Within the region, approximately 2.8 million trips each day are made by transit, walking or biking, out of a total of around 27 million trips, giving a mode share of around 10% for these Transportation modes. This ratio continues in the reference scenario, which is forecast to have approximately 3.5 million transit, walking, and biking trips out of 32 million total trips.

The impacts of each scenario on mode share are described below, estimating the number of additional transit, bicycling, and walking trips compared to the current trend (with an increase considered to be an improvement). The base figure is 3.5 million trips.

Change from current trend

Reinvest

Improves slightly

Preserve

Improves

Innovate

Improves

Change in transit, walking, and biking trips

Reinvest

+10% (350,000 more trips)

Preserve

+27% (950,000 more trips)

Innovate

+22% (800,000 more trips)

What strategies in this scenario caused this change?

Reinvest

Transit, walking and biking were increased by use of transit oriented development strategies. Transportation infrastructure improvements including adding significant capacity to roadways led to more auto trips as well.

Preserve

A variety of transportation strategies including improved transit service, bicycle and pedestrian improvements, transportation demand management, and other low-capital strategies were applied. These made transit, walking, and biking more attractive travel modes compared to autos.

Innovate

A variety of technology and pricing transportation strategies were employed. Improvements to transit service through advanced technology use occurred, and other trips were shifted to transit by variable pricing of expressways and parking.

These estimates were calculated by using the CMAP travel demand model to estimate the impacts of the strategies in the reports linked above. Please note that each trip is assigned to only one mode (whichever one covers the longest distance), so many short walking trips are not included in the above figures. Documentation of travel demand model features is available here.