25 Daily vehicle miles traveled per capita in Travis County

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Indicator: Vehicle miles traveled per capita in Travis County

Significance of Indicator: Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per capita divides the total number of miles traveled in Travis County by the population. The Capital Area Regional Transit Coordination Committee (RTCC) reports that lower VMT per capita is almost always a good thing from a transportation perspective. Lower VMT per capita equates to less roadway wear and tear saving taxpayers money. It also means that roadways are less congested which improves air quality and improves families' quality of life by reducing the amount of time that they spend stuck in traffic.

what the data tell us

In 2008, 25 vehicle miles were traveled per capita in Travis County. This is lower than the VMT per capita for Bastrop, Caldwell, and Hays Counties, but higher than the VMT per capita for Williamson County. With the exception of Caldwell County, VMT per capita seems to have peaked in 2000 and has slowly declined since then. Even though VMT per capita has declined, the regional transportation system remains congested.

Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled Per Capita: Long-Term Trend

Definition: Daily vehicle miles traveled divided by population

Data Source: Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Texas State Data Center

Data Considerations: VMT reflects miles driven by both personal vehicles and commercial vehicles including freight trucks. VMT is calculated by TxDOT based on traffic counts collected using permanent counters on some roadways as well as regular saturation counts of major roadways on and off the state highway system. The actual miles driven by residents in the region may be lower or higher than average VMT per capita.

The Story Behind the indicator

VMT per capita must be examined with consideration given to economic situations. VMT per capita often declines during recessions due to the number of unemployed persons who are not driving to work and a reduction in the amount of freight/goods that are transported. Factors that reduce VMT per capita, even in thriving economic situations, include when communities are designed so that workforce housing is located near employment, when people have greater access to alternative modes of transportation such as biking or mass transportation, or when freight/goods are transported by rail rather than by truck.

Some local efforts to improve this indicator

Capital Metro provides alternatives to private vehicle travel.
The Capital Area Regional Transit Coordination Committee (RTCC), an issue area group of CAN, promotes full mobility and access to community services for all people.
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) is working to improve this indicator through their new 2035 plan that will fund transportation centers in a way that supports high density "activity centers" connected by public transit.