Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)
US Cities Ranked by Vehicle Miles Traveled
Density, weather, and access to public transportation systems play a key role in how many miles are driven in the country’s 50 largest metro areas.
Driving Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels in the U.S., Study Says
Congestion is increasing much faster than vehicle miles traveled, suggesting that the “new normal” of hybrid work and an influx of suburban residents is taking a toll on the nation's transportation system.
Connecting Land Use and Transportation Planning to Save the Climate
The United States will have to make major changes to long-standing land use and transportation paradigms to prevent the worst outcomes of climate change. How to make those changes was the subject of a recent podcast.
Opinion: Stop Trusting Elon Musk—on Tunnels, on Teslas, on Everything
Musk has leveraged social media intrigue and a hot streak on the market to become the standard bearer for autonomous vehicle technology. Trust Tesla at public peril, argues James Brasuell in this opinion piece.
Making the Case for E-Bikes
A new white paper lays the groundwork for better e-bike incentive programs.
Fare-Free Transit Hasn’t Reduced Car Trips, Data Says
Fare-free transit isn’t the climate change benefit that many have hoped, according to recent writing by David Zipper for Bloomberg.
What Is LOS?
Level of Service (LOS) defines how well vehicle traffic flows along a street or road. LOS is one of the most influential metrics in planning, with critical relevance for both land use and transportation planning.
What Is VMT?
A measure of the demand for vehicle travel on public roadways, VMT provides a metric for evaluating the potential impact of road projects and developments and could become an increasingly useful tool for assessing road usage taxes.
San Diego County Weighs VMT Proposal
San Diego County could tax developers based on projected vehicle miles traveled as part of a new CEQA requirement that replaces Level of Service with VMT.
Study: D.C. Region Must Take Aggressive Steps To Reach Climate Goal
To achieve its stated emissions reduction goal, the Greater Washington area must sharply reduce driving and speed up the adoption of electric vehicles.
New Tool Calculates Induced Demand Caused by Road Widening Projects
The calculator can help transportation advocates and agencies project how many additional miles and emissions a highway widening project would create.
Op-Ed: Instead of a New VMT Tax, Raise the Gas Tax
Implementing a tax based on miles traveled could disincentivize purchasing more efficient cars and would do little to improve road safety, one columnist argues.
More Details from the Massive Infrastructure Bill and its Amendments
The bill's more than 400 amendments include a VMT pilot, a Texas megahighway, and funding for accessibility at transit stations.
Reducing Car Trips in L.A.: Transportation Demand Management Ordinance Could Be Expanded
The proposed expansion would affect smaller multi-family developments and include incentives for reducing travel during peak hours and encouraging transit, walking, and biking.
On the Essential Role of Land Use in the Fight Against Climate Change
The country cannot hope to achieve its goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions without fundamentally rethinking its land use and development patterns, according to this article.
Minnesota and California Take Steps to Reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled
The two states both approved measures that will set VMT reduction goals and create enforcement mechanisms to promote more climate-friendly policies.
U.S. DOT Says Mileage Charge Is Not in Biden's Plan
Secretary Pete Buttigieg's statement that the per-mile-tax concept "shows a lot of promise" caused a stir, but a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Transportation later claimed it won't be part of Biden's forthcoming infrastructure package.
Zero Traffic Deaths Isn't as Far Fetched as It Sounds
Even supporters of Vision Zero—a goal to eliminate traffic fatalities from roadways adopted by cities and states all over the United States—doubt that such lofty ambitions are possible. But there are plenty of reasons to believe in the cause.
Report: Ride-Hailing Drastically Increases Vehicle Miles Traveled
New research published in Transport Policy finds that ride-hailing companies increase vehicle miles traveled of users by 97 percent in Chicago, 114 percent in New York City, and 118 percent in San Francisco.
Where the Pandemic Has Scrambled Traffic Patterns
The map of metropolitan areas that drive least, and thus emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions, has been completely redrawn by the pandemic, according to a recent report.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
