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March 2004 Commuting PatternsStudy after study has demonstrated that Americans choose their residences based on a number of factors. The last study on this topic by the Washington Center for Real Estate Research indicated financial factors topped the list for recent home buyers, followed by characteristics of the neighborhood, proximity to work ranked as the third most important decision criteria. Therefore, as soon as a report on “Journey to Work” based on Census 2000 was released, the WCRER began to analyze the findings. Commuting patterns are becoming increasingly dependent on private vehicles. Nearly 88 percent of workers indicated they get to their place of employment in a car, truck, or van. This is an increase of 1.3 percentage points (13.1 million workers) compared to 10 years earlier. Moreover, most of these individuals drove alone. Carpooling declined by 1.2 percent during the 1990s, while usage of public transit declined by half a percent. Some of the decline in mass transit usage must be attributed to sprawl—the decentralization of employment from the central business districts to suburban office parks, etc. Walking to work is in a rapid decline, with 16.3 percent fewer workers doing without vehicles of any kind. There was a 22.8 percent increase in home-based workers, but despite substantial media attention, only 2.2 percent of Americans work from home (although significantly more are creating office environments in their homes). The average commute was reported as 25.5 minutes, a mere three minutes longer than 10 years earlier. Alternatively, we can say the average commute increased by 13.8 percent during the decade. Even though 3.1 minute per trip doesn’t sound like much, it really adds up. Each work day is a round trip—6.2 minutes extra. If we assume that holidays and vacations don’t count (and represent 20 workdays without commuting), that extra commuting represents 24.8 HOURS per year—and a total of 204 hours per year mindlessly driving to and from work. Only 29.4 percent of American workers indicated they could make the one-way commute in under 15 minutes. Fortunately, only 15.4 percent of workers reported an average commute of 45 minutes or longer. Commutes in Washington State were of average duration, with an above-average proportion of workers working at home (only 11 states had a higher proportion of home workers). Slightly fewer Washington residents drove to work alone than nationally. Despite the perception that everybody drives, public transit is used slightly more frequently than average, and carpooling is more popular than in most states. The report also identified the top 10 metropolitan areas (old definition) in terms of each commuting method. Both the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA, and Portland-Salem, OR-WA Consolidated Metropolitan Areas were in the nation’s top echelon of public transit users, with 6.8 and 5.7 percent of workers, respectively, relying on buses, ferries, and trains, etc. The only other Washington community listed was Bellingham, in tenth place for working at home (5.0 percent).
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Media ReleaseGlenn
E. Crellin, Director PO Box 644861 Statistics on Washington’s housing market and other useful information are available on WCRER’s Web site: www.cbe.wsu.edu/~wcrer. For other information on real estate markets around the State of Washington, or general information about the real estate industry in the state (excluding legal questions), readers can reach the WCRER at 1-800-835-9683. |