A Guide to Navigating Existing and Emerging Sources of Local VMT and Travel Data

ZSB12017-SJAUX
As the crisis of climate change looms, transportation policy in California continues to emphasize sustainability in land-use and transportation decisions. This report evaluates the implementation of two sustainability-focused policies (Senate Bill 375 and 743) by local governments and the current-state-of-the-practices by metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in assisting them in California. The research focuses on local governments’ access and use of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and transportation data for achieving VMT and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction by land-use planning. The research also examines the role of MPOs in providing needed transportation data, training, and technical support to its local members to help them quantify VMT impacts of land-use plans and projects. Through surveys and interviews of 539 city and county governments and 18 MPOs in California, the research team analyzes current practices. Findings include that local governments utilize automobile data more frequently than alternative modes, and do not heavily rely on MPOs for obtaining transportation data. Local governments recognized the need for more transportation data and were particularly interested in publicly available sources.