Richmond loves its cars more than almost any other U.S. city
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Richmonders are logging some of the most daily driving among people in major U.S. metro areas, a new analysis finds.
Why it matters: There's a wide range among different cities in how much people typically drive each day, with factors from walkability to public transit access playing a role.
Driving the news: Richmond has the sixth most daily per capita vehicle miles traveled (VMT) of the 50 most-populated U.S. metros, with 35.5 VMTs.
- RVA comes in behind Raleigh, which leads the nation in daily driving at 38.1 miles traveled, followed by Birmingham (36.1), Jacksonville (36) and Nashville and Charlotte, basically tied with Richmond at 35.5.
- San Francisco (21.7), Philadelphia (21.1) and New York City (14.4) came up last — which makes sense, given their relatively well-developed public transit networks, walkability, density, etc.
How it works: The numbers come by way of Replica, a mobility analytics firm that publishes traffic and other similar data based on anonymized mobile device info, roadside sensors, transit agencies and more.
- For this analysis, Replica looked specifically at private car trips made by adults in fall 2023.
Caveat: The figures include not just personally owned vehicles, but also taxis and ride-hailing vehicles.
The intrigue: Some of the cities with the least VMT are also suffering from traffic slowdowns — perhaps one more reason people may opt to take the bus, train or subway instead.
Yes, but: More driving also means more traffic fatalities. Richmond saw 24 traffic-related deaths last year — nine of which were pedestrians, WRIC reported.
- That's down from 2022, though, when the city had 35 traffic-related fatalities, including 13 pedestrians killed while walking.
Between the lines: Replica's latest data comes as New York has all but given up on congestion pricing, an ambitious and controversial first-in-the-nation effort to reduce street traffic and fund public transit through a new toll on drivers entering Manhattan's busiest areas.
- Had the plan succeeded, New York's already-low VMT might have fallen even further in the future.
The bottom line: Some cities are car cities — and that doesn't seem likely to change any time soon.