TransLink’s latest snapshot of transportation habits in Metro Vancouver shows overall trips taken on transit continue to climb.
Fourteen per cent of all trips were taken on public transit in 2011, the highest proportion since TransLink began recording its trip diaries in 1994.
The transit authority records over a 24-hour period the trip-making habits of a random sample of Metro Vancouver residents, and it’s the most comprehensive data set available, used in transit policy planning. The last transit snapshot was taken in 2008. Last year’s results were released Friday.
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For 2011, the numbers show 6.1 million individual trips were taken on a weekday in fall 2011, up 5.8 per cent from 2008. The number of trips taken increased slightly more than population growth.
The proportion of transit and cycling trips grew faster than that of trips taken in cars, which grew slower than the population.
Cycling trips as a proportion increased 26 per cent, transit was up 17 per cent, walking increased by six per cent and car trips increased by four per cent. The population grew by six per cent.
In terms of absolute growth, 126,000 more trips were taken on transit in 2011 than 2008; there were 118,000 more car trips, 34,000 more walk trips and 22,000 more trips taken on a bicycle.
Overall, the car is still the preferred mode of transit for Metro Vancouver with 3,279,000 trips counted in the latest trip diary, or 74 per cent of all trips.
Cycling accounts for 106,500 daily trips and transit for 859,000 daily trips.
The survey, which represents about 22,000 households, also found people are making more trips in general, now 2.77 in a day up from 2.70 in 2008. People in their 40s and women made more trips.
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