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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Moving People

Friday, January 8, 2016
 
 
  • In 2013 total domestic person-miles of travel (PMT) was about 4.7 trillion. Nearly four-fifths of PMT was in cars or other personal vehicles, while domestic air travel accounted for 11 percent.
  • In 2013 PMT on highways remained below the prerecession peak in 2007; annual data for 2014 are not yet available, but a monthly indicator of highway vehicle-miles of travel (VMT) suggested strong growth in 2014. PMT and VMT often rise in tandem.
  • In 2014 new peaks were set for the number of commercial airline passengers (about 850 million) and revenue passenger-miles (1.2 trillion). In contrast to previous years, U.S. air carrier’s international revenue passenger-miles exceeded domestic miles in both 2013 and 2014. In 2014 passengers filled more seats per flight than a decade earlier.
  • International visitors to the United States rose from 60 million in 2010 to nearly 75 million in 2014, generating $221 billion in revenue—the highest in this century.
  • Between 1990 and 2013, the number of people who drove alone to work increased by 25 million, while nearly 2 million fewer people carpooled to work.
  • About 9 percent of households (about 9.8 million) had no vehicle in 2009. However, only 4 percent of households with a worker were without a vehicle, underscoring the critical role the personal vehicle plays in getting employees to and from work.
  • About 14.8 percent of workers with no available vehicle walked to work, roughly four times the percentage for workers with one available vehicle. Similarly, 2.8 percent of those without a vehicle biked to their workplace, compared with 0.8 percent for workers with one available vehicle
  • Transit use for the trip to work has slowly increased since reaching a low point in the mid-1990s. Transit now accounts for 5 percent of work trips, with higher levels in some metropolitan areas (the highest being New York City, San Francisco, CA, and Washington, DC).
  • Walking and biking are important components of commuting to work in many cities. Regionally, walking to work is highest in Eastern cities. Over 10 percent of commuters in Boston, MA, Pittsburgh, PA, Washington, DC, and New York City walk to work. Biking to work is highest in the West and Midwest. Over 6 percent of commuters in Portland, OR, bike to work, as do over 5 percent of commuters in Madison, WI, and 4 percent in Minneapolis, MN.
  • Working exclusively at home increased by about 82 percent from 1990 to 2013, growing from 3.4 million to 6.2 million.

 

FIGURE 2a Foreign Visits by Major Markets: 2000–2014

 Table Version | Excel 

FIGURE 2a Foreign Visits by Major Markets: 2000–2014

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, U.S. Monthly Arrivals Trend Line: Overseas, Canada, Mexico & International, available at http://travel.trade.gov as of March 2015.

 

FIGURE 2b Workers Net Change by Mode of Transportation: 1990–2013
 

FIGURE 2b Workers Net Change by Mode of Transportation: 1990–2013

SOURCES: 1990: U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC), Census Bureau (CB), Decennial Census. About Commuting (Journey to Work). Available at http://www.census.gov/ as of June 2015. 2013: USDOC/CB as cited in U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics, Table 1-41, available at http://www.bts.gov as of June 2015.