U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Vehicle Technologies Office

Fact #612: March 1, 2010
The Distance of Trips to Work

The recently released Nationwide Household Travel Survey shows that nearly 60% of work trips are 10 miles or less in distance. Only 9% of work trips are over 30 miles. The average work trip distance is 13.9 miles.

Vehicle Trips to Work by Trip Distance, 2009
Graph showing the vehicle trips to work by trip distance. Nearly 60% of work trips are 10 miles or less in distance. For more detailed information, see the table below.

Supporting Information

Vehicle Trips to Work by Trips Distance, 2009 NHTS
Trip
Distance		 Vehicle Trips
(Millions)		 Percent
≥ 5 miles 13,981 40.0%
6–10 miles 6,826 19.5%
11–15 miles 4,723 13.5%
16–20 miles 3,013 8.6%
21–30 miles 3,224 9.2%
≤ 31 miles 3,152 9.0%
Total 34,919 100.0%

Source: Generated from the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) Internet site.

 

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