City staff present resident and employee travel surveys: single-occupant vehicle trips down, telework and micromobility rising

City transportation staff presented results from the city’s resident and employee travel surveys, a longitudinal dataset used to track modal split and impacts of programs such as EcoPass. The presentation summarized long-term trends and recent changes that inform the city’s Transportation Demand Management work.

Key findings presented by Chris (transportation staff): - Single-occupant vehicle (SOV) trips for all trips by residents have fallen from about 44% in 1990 to roughly 35% most recently; the city goal remains 20%. - Micromobility and electric-assist devices have grown: e-bikes and e-scooters are now measured and are reported as 4.4% of all trips; staff said these devices are included under the bicycle category on charts. - Telework has increased substantially since COVID; about a quarter of respondents teleworked on their survey day and a majority of employees reported teleworking within recent time frames (employee survey figures showed 61% had teleworked in the measured period). Staff said telework significantly reduces commute trips and could have longer-term impacts on VMT and greenhouse gas emissions. - Transit use declined starting around 2015–2018 following service reductions; EcoPass ownership remains a strong predictor of transit use—residents or employees with EcoPass are several times more likely to take transit than those without. - Deliveries have surged; 38% of residents who received a delivery reported it replaced a vehicle trip, which staff flagged as a travel-pattern change affecting VMT. - Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per resident per day was presented as about 12 miles on average, a more relatable per-capita measure than aggregate millions of VMT.

Staff noted differences by trip purpose and home–work geography: residents who both live and work in Boulder show lower SOV work-trip shares than nonresident employees commuting in. Nonresident employees were described as living farther away on average and more often outside RTD service areas, which contributes to higher SOV shares for that group.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about how e-bikes and scooters were categorized, how the EcoPass influenced nonwork trips, and whether VMT measures included nonresident employee commutes. Staff replied that the bicycle category includes e-bikes/scooters, that EcoPass ownership strongly increases transit use for both work and nonwork trips, and that the city’s greenhouse gas inventory and VMT reporting include nonresident trips using an ICLEI protocol and cell-phone/connected-vehicle data.

Staff said the team will conduct the next survey in the fall and continue sharing results to help target TDM programs and EcoPass outreach.