MetroFuture’s emphasis on alternative modes would allow the region’s residents to rely less on their cars, with a goal of reducing the regionwide automobile mode share from 77% in 2000 to 61% by 2030. The greatest improvements would be made in urban areas, where fewer than half of all trips would be auto trips (down from 56% currently). Regionwide, even as the number of residents and jobs grows by 13% and 11%, respectively, MetroFuture would reduce the actual number of vehicle trips and the total miles traveled by 5%. The vehicle miles traveled per person would decline by 15%. Thanks to proximity of shops, convenience of transit, and availability of car-sharing services, more households would be able to live with a single car, and many could live well with no car at all.

Currently, the region’s residents and workers drive 107 million miles per day for commuting, work, delivery, and personal trips; equivalent to 25 miles per person per day. If Current Trends continue, the number of vehicle miles travelled would increase faster than population and jobs. The region’s residents and workers would be driving an additional 17 million miles each day, an increase of 16% overall, and 5% per person after accounting for population growth.

Objectives:

• There will be a 15% reduction in per-capita vehicle miles traveled by automobiles registered in the region.
• There will be a steady reduction in the number of cars per resident.
• An increasing proportion of the region’s households, distributed equally across income levels, will have no car.