Driving more than we did before
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We're driving even more in Charlotte than we did before COVID, a new analysis finds.
Why it matters: The data doesn't bode well for a city with rapid transit striving to lower emissions and become more walkable and bikeable.
By the numbers: Average daily vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per capita increased 12.3% across the 100 biggest U.S. metro areas this past spring compared with the same period in 2019, per a report from StreetLight Data, a transportation analytics firm.
- VMT rose 21.1% in Charlotte and 26.6% in Raleigh.
The bottom line: "It's not just that [VMT] is back up, but we're actually seeing a bit of an acceleration compared to the previous couple of years," Emily Adler, director of content at StreetLight, tells Axios.
- "So that suggests that we're not peaking, that whatever efforts we've strived for to keep VMT down, they're not quite working — or they're not working yet."