Commuters Who Walk Are Happier Than Those Who Drive: Report

ARLINGTON, VA — A recent study conducted by the transportation research center Mobility Lab found that Arlington residents find ways to get to work other than driving nearly 60 percent of the time.

According to the Arlington Resident Travel Survey, Arlington residents take transit twice as often, and bike and walk three times as often, as residents in the D.C. region. County-wide, commuters traveled an average of 7.9 miles and 31 minutes one-way to work, the study shows.

Many commuters were long-time users of their mode, but commuters continued to change the ways they get to work.

About 44 percent of residents drive to work, while 29 percent take the train and 13 percent take a bus. Six percent of residents bike to work and five percent walk. Three percent of residents carpool and one percent taxi, the study shows. Six in 10 respondents lived within one mile of a Metrorail station.

Nine in 10 commuters gave a high rating for quality of life and two-thirds were satisfied with Arlington’s transportation system. Seven in 10 (69 percent) of respondents were satisfied with transportation services in their home neighborhood, but satisfaction varied by community.

The study shows Arlington residents "with active commutes" are the most satisfied. Satisfaction rates for solely driving to work have fallen every year since 2009, with 49 percent of residents feeling satisfied. Out of the residents that walk to work, 91 percent are satisfied with their commute.

Eighty-one percent of the residents that bike to work are satisfied, while 66 percent of those who bus are satisfied. The lowest satisfaction rate is among residents who take the train to work, with only 37 percent of them satisfied with their commute.

Residents in Jefferson Davis, North Arlington and Rosslyn/Ballston have the most "active" commutes. Twelve percent of Rosslyn/Ballston and Jefferson Davis residents bike or walk to work, compared to 11 percent of North Arlington residents.

Columbia Pike is the community with the least amount of residents who bike or walk to work. Only five percent of residents have an active commute, the study shows.

Some Arlington residents don't commute at all to get to work. The study says nearly two-thirds of Arlington commuters telework at least occasionally. About 17 percent telework one or more days per week.

The study was conducted in two components in 2015. One part was a telephone survey of 400 adult residents. A second survey was undertaken online, with 4,008 Arlington residents participating. The online survey asked many of the same questions as the telephone survey, but included additional ones primarily about non-work travel. The Internet portion will serve as a baseline for future follow-up resident studies.

The study was conducted by Mobility Lab in partnership with the Southeastern Institute for Research, LDA Consulting, and CIC Research, and was prepared for Arlington County Commuter Services.

>> See the full study here.

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