Public Works
COMMUTE METHODS: Percentage of Portland commuters who drove alone
Current Value
50%
Definition
This measure displays the percentage of commuters in the City of Portland who drove alone to get to work. This measure relies on the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey, which asks “How did this person usually get to work LAST WEEK?” As described in the PBOT Transportation System Plan, PBOT’s goal is for 30% or fewer of commuters to get to work via driving alone by 2035. Other methods of commuting to work shown in the census data aside from driving alone include carpooling, walking, bicycling, taking transit, working from home, or other means (which includes taking a taxi, motorcycling, or other).
Step by step instructions to pull and calculate this data:
Visit data.census.gov, search for table s0802 (means of transportation to work), and add "Portland city, Oregon" as the geography. Select ACS 1-year estimate for the year of interest. Divide the estimate for "car, truck, or van - drove alone" by the estimate for "total". For 2023, this is 181,408/363,011 = 50%.
Why Is This Important?
Portland's 2035 Transportation System Plan sets a goal that 30% of commuters or fewer would drive alone to work by 2035 (policy 9.49.f). It promotes a future where 70% or more commuters walk, bike, take transit, carpool, or use other modes to get to work. It set this goal as a way of reducing the negative effects of an overly auto-oriented city.
When more people drive more places, traffic fatalities and injuries go up. Congestion gets worse, as does wear and tear on the roadway and the costs associated with maintaining those roads. Carbon emissions and local particulate matter increase. And as the city becomes more auto-oriented, it becomes harder to navigate for people who don't have, or don't want, a vehicle.
For these reasons, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) aims for a transportation system where more people have the option to use non-auto modes and fewer people drive alone. One indicator of this is commute mode choice, which PBOT chose as a metric because of our access to regular census data on this subject.
What Do The Numbers Show?
Since 2018, the percentage of Portland commuters driving alone has decreased from 59% to 50%. This is due in large part to a nine percent decrease (from 56% to 47%) between 2020 and 2021, largely attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2021, however, the percentage of Portland commuters driving alone has increased slightly, from its low point of 47% in 2021 to its 2023 rate of 50%.
How Did We Arrive at These Numbers?
We report this metric using data from Table S0802 of the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which can be found here. This table displays the mode of transportation the survey respondent used most frequently to get to work the week before they took the survey.
Where Can I Find More Information?
Please read the 2035 Transportation System Plan and sign up for email updates about the forthcoming 2045 Transportation System Plan update.
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