Even though the automobile is king of the American commute, some US cities can still do boast an impressively green travel rate. 68 percent of New Yorkers travel by either bike, walking or the city’s transit system, according to research conducted by the League of American Bicyclists. Washington DC and Boston also had high shares of non-drivers – 53.1 and 50.7 percent respectively. Even though some cities are turning their back on the automobile, this is not the case across the rest of the country. 76 percent of Americans travel to work alone by car.
The Typical U.S. Commute: By Car, Alone
According to the 2013 American Community Survey (published annually by the U.S. Census Bureau) more than 85% of U.S. workers aged 16+ commute to work by car, most of them alone. Only 5.2% of workers use public transportation to get to work and the percentage of people who walk or ride a bike to work is astonishingly small at 2.8% and 0.6%, respectively.
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Of course, there are areas where the percentage of “green commuters” is significantly higher, but the national average is surprisingly low.
This chart shows large US cities with the highest share of bike/walk/transit travel in 2014.
You will find more statistics at Statista