Ever found yourself in San Antonio traffic cursing the transportation gods because of the gridlock caused by the number of automobiles on the road?
Well, if you’re driving by yourself, you might be part of the problem.
Despite city and national campaigns urging carpooling as a way to save the environment and reduce clutter on city streets, many people drive to work alone, which can lead to greater traffic and shorter tempers.
On average, 76 percent of San Antonio commuters drive to work solo, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau 2016 American Community Survey.
The highest percentage of San Antonio solo drivers — a whopping 88 percent — commute from zip code 78214 on the city’s far east side. Neighborhoods with large percentages of lone commuters include much of the city’s north side, while the central, downtown, and south side neighborhoods have lower percentages of people driving alone to work.
This likely also explains why traffic gets worse as drivers venture further outside the city center.
Throughout the summer, VIA Metropolitan Transit held open house meetings to solicit public feedback about their 2040 long-range plan, which aims to create more mobility choices for the city, including rapid transit and trackless trains.
Updates to the Vision 2040 transportation plan are available here.
