Vermont Business Magazine Earlier this month, the CCRPC released the results of the 2018 Chittenden County Transportation Survey. The purpose of the survey was to objectively measure public opinion regarding performance of the region's transportation system and strategies to address existing and future transportation issues. Among the findings is that people want existing roads and bridges better maintained but don't want to see new highways; interest in public transportation appears to have waned a bit; people are willing to pay more in gas taxes to get transportation upgrades they do want; and they're letting the Internet do their shopping instead of driving around as much.
Previous surveys were undertaken in 2000, 2006 and 2012. They are collected from a random sampling of Chittenden County residents in order to achieve results that can be reliably extrapolated, within a margin of error, to the entire County population.
Questions measure opinion on how well the transportation system serves the public's travel needs, affects issues of livability, promotes economic development and opportunity, and impacts the environment. Regarding possible improvement strategies, the survey garners opinion on a variety of approaches, including: adding more highway capacity, expanding public transportation, providing more and safer pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and changing development patterns to better support the transportation system. Broader questions related to transportation policy and financing are also part of the mix.
A few notable results are related to the increased use of technology:
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16% of respondents reported using app-based services such as Uber and Lyft which did not exist 6 years ago.
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The percent of respondents who work in places that offer telecommuting is up to 37% from 26% in 2012.
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Telecommuting use has almost doubled from 16% in 2012 to 29% in 2018.
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76% have reduced # of trips by using the internet for shopping, bills, work (61% in 2012; 57% in 2006).
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PRESENTATION
To learn more about how Chittenden County residents currently view transportation in the region, view the presentation given to the CCRPC Board or for more detail see the full 2018 survey results.
Source: CCRPC