Indicators
State indicators – Information
This indicator measures the percentage of workers aged 16 years and over who commute by bicycle. Data come from the 2012 American Community Survey one-year estimates.
Commute Mode Share – Automobile
This indicator measures the percentage of workers aged 16 years and over who commute by private vehicle, including car, truck, van, taxicab, carpool or vanpool, and motorcycle. Data come from the 2012 American Community Survey one-year estimates.
Commute Mode Share – Public Transportation
This indicator measures the percentage of workers aged 16 years and over who commute by public transportation, including bus, rail, and ferry. Data come from the 2012 American Community Survey one-year estimates.
This indicator measures the percentage of workers aged 16 years and over who commute by foot. Data come from the 2012 American Community Survey one-year estimates.
Vehicle Miles Traveled per Capita
This indicator calculates the total annual miles of vehicle travel divided by the total population. Data come from the Federal Highway Administration, 2011 Highway Statistics.
This indicator estimates the percentage of people who live within 200 meters of a high traffic roadway that carries over 125,000 vehicles per day. Data on the location of roads and traffic levels come from the 2011 National Transportation Atlas Database; data on population come from the 2010 Census.
Person Miles of Travel by Private Vehicle
This indicator measures the distance driven by a person, on average, in a year in private vehicles, including cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, pickup tricks, taxicabs, other trucks, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, and light electric vehicles such as golf carts. Data come from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey.
Person Miles of Travel by Walking
This indicator measures the distance walked by a person, on average in a year. Data come from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey.
Alcohol-Impaired Fatalities per 100,000 Residents
This indicator measures the annual rate of fatalities from traffic collisions involving a driver who is impaired by alcohol. Alcohol-impaired driving is defined by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as vehicle crashes involving a person with a blood alcohol concentration of at least 0.08 g/dL. Data on fatalities come from the 2012 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System; population data come from the 2012 American Community Survey one-year estimates.
This indicator measures the percentage of drivers and front-seat passengers that wear seat belts. Data come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Seat Belt Use in 2012—Use Rates in the States and Territories report.
Use of Federal Funds for Bicycle and Pedestrian Efforts
This indicator measures the percentage of federal transportation dollars that go to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects. Data come from the Alliance for Biking and Walking’s 2014 Benchmarking Report, which presents Federal Highway Administrative data on the average federal funding that states set aside for bicycle and pedestrian projects from 2009 to 2012. The reliability of these data is limited by differences in how states report spending on bicycle and pedestrian projects. Some states only count funding that goes toward standalone projects, such as dedicated bicycle/pedestrian trails, while others also count funding for facilities that are part of larger projects, such as a new bicycle lane that is included as part of a roadway widening project. This indicator should not be used to draw comparisons between states that report differently. This indicator does not include state and local funding for bicycle /pedestrian projects.
Road Traffic Fatalities per 100,000 Residents – Vehicle
This indicator measures the annual rate of fatalities from traffic collisions involving a vehicle that is either moving or parked. Data on fatalities come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System; using a five-year average of data from 2008-2012. Population data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
Road Traffic Fatalities per 100,000 Residents – Bicycle
This indicator measures the annual rate of fatalities from traffic collisions involving a bicyclist. Data on fatalities come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System; using a five-year average of data from 2008-2012. Population data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
Road Traffic Fatalities per 100,000 Residents – Pedestrian
This indicator measures the annual rate of fatalities from traffic collisions involving a pedestrian. Data on fatalities come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System; using a five-year average of data from 2008-2012. Population data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
Road Traffic Fatalities Exposure Rate – Vehicle
This indicator measures the risk of a driver or passenger dying in a traffic collision. It is calculated by dividing the vehicle road traffic fatality rate by the vehicle commute mode share. Data on fatalities come from the 2008-2012 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System; population data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
Road Traffic Fatalities Exposure Rate – Bicycle
This indicator measures the risk of a bicyclist dying in a traffic collision. It is calculated by dividing the bicycle road traffic fatality rate by the bicycle commute mode share. Data on fatalities come from the 2008-2012 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System; population data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
Road Traffic Fatalities Exposure Rate – Pedestrian
This indicator measures the risk of a pedestrian dying in a traffic collision. It is calculated by dividing the pedestrian road traffic fatality rate by the walking commute mode share. Data on fatalities come from the 2008-2012 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System; population data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
Physical Activity from Transportation
This indicator measures the percentage of all trips made by foot or by bicycle that are at least 10 minutes long. Walking or bicycling for sustained periods of time helps people get enough physical activity to stay healthy. Data come from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey.
Public Transportation Trips per Capita
This indicator measures the average number of public transportation trips that a resident takes in a year. Data come from the 2013 American Public Transportation Association’s Public Transportation Fact Book, which is based on data from the 2011 National Transit Database.
This indicator provides information on whether or not a state has adopted a complete streets policy that requires or encourages a safe, comfortable, integrated transportation network for all users, regardless of age, ability, income, ethnicity, or mode of transportation. Data come from the National Complete Streets Coalition’s list of complete streets policies. A score of either 0 (no policy) or 100 (policy in place) is provided for this indicator.
Metropolitan Area (MSA) indicators – Information
Commute Mode Share – Automobile
This indicator calculates the percentage of workers aged 16 years and over who commute by private vehicle, including car, truck, van, taxicab, and motorcycle. Data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
Commute Mode Share – Public Transportation
This indicator calculates the percentage of workers aged 16 years and over who commute by public transportation, including bus, rail, and ferry. Data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
This indicator calculates the percentage of workers aged 16 years and over who commute by bicycle. Data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
This indicator calculates the percentage of workers aged 16 years and over who commute by foot. Data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
This indicator measures the average neighborhood-level diversity of destinations across a metropolitan area based on the mix of eight different employment types (office, retail, industrial, service, entertainment, education, health, and public sector) within each block group in the metropolitan area. A block group typically contains 600 to 3,000 people, and although the size of a block group depends upon population density, the average block group in a metropolitan area is less than one square mile in area. . Metropolitan areas receive a value between 0 and 1 based on a widely-used measure of the mix of different job types, which are assumed to represent different land uses. Scores closer to 1 indicate that a large number of block groups within a metropolitan area offer convenient access to a wide range of jobs and services. Data come from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Smart Location Database, version 2.0, which draws from the Census Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics dataset and private data sources to measure diversity.
This indicator estimates the percentage of people who live within 200 meters of a high traffic roadway that carries over 125,000 vehicles per day. Data on the location of roads and traffic levels come from the 2011 National Transportation Atlas Database; data on population come from the 2010 Census.
Housing and Transportation Affordability
This indicator calculates the percentage of income that the average household spends on housing and transportation combined. Data come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Location Affordability Index, version 2, which uses data on housing costs from the American Community Survey and estimates transportation costs based on land use characteristics, commute patterns, and socioeconomic information.
Alcohol Impaired Fatalities per 100,000 Residents
This indicator measures the rate of fatal traffic crashes that involve a driver who is impaired by alcohol. Alcohol-impaired driving is defined by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as vehicle crashes involving a person with a blood alcohol concentration of at least 0.08 g/dL. “Driver”’ refers to the operator of any motor vehicle and fatalities can be those of the driver, occupant, or non-occupant. Data on fatalities come from the 2012 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System; population data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
Road Traffic Fatalities per 100,000 Residents – Vehicle
This indicator measures the rate of fatalities from traffic collisions involving a vehicle that is either moving or parked. Data on fatalities come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The indicator uses a five-year average of data from 2008-2012. Population data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates. The Transportation Health Tool uses the following person types, as entered in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, when measuring vehicle fatalities: passenger of a motor vehicle in-transport; occupant of a motor vehicle not in-transport; occupant of a non-motor vehicle transport device; unknown occupant type in a motor vehicle in-transport.
Road Traffic Fatalities per 100,000 Residents – Bicycle
This indicator measures the rate of fatalities from traffic collisions involving a bicyclist. Data on fatalities come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, using a five-year average of data from 2008-2012. Population data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
Road Traffic Fatalities per 100,000 Residents – Pedestrian
This indicator measures the rate of fatalities from traffic collisions involving a pedestrian. Data on fatalities come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, using a five-year average of data from 2008-2012. Population data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
Road Traffic Fatalities Exposure Rate – Vehicle
This indicator measures the relative risk that a driver or passenger might die in a traffic collision. It is calculated by dividing the vehicle road traffic fatality rate by the vehicle commute mode share. The Transportation Health Tool uses a five-year average for both variables. Data on fatalities come from the 2008-2012 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System; population data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. The indicator includes the following person types, as entered in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, when measuring vehicle fatalities: passenger of a motor vehicle in-transport; occupant of a motor vehicle not in-transport; occupant of a non-motor vehicle transport device; unknown occupant type in a motor vehicle in-transport.
Road Traffic Fatalities Exposure Rate – Bicycle
This indicator measures the relative risk of a bicyclist dying in a traffic collision. It is calculated by dividing the bicycle road traffic fatality rate by the bicycle commute mode share. Data on fatalities come from the 2008-2012 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System; population data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
Road Traffic Fatalities Exposure Rate – Pedestrian
This indicator measures the relative risk of a pedestrian dying in a traffic collision. It is calculated by dividing the pedestrian road traffic fatality rate by the walking commute mode share. Data on fatalities come from the 2008-2012 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System; population data come from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey five-year estimates.
This indicator provides information on whether the metropolitan planning organization that serves the region has adopted a complete streets policy that requires or encourages a safe, comfortable, integrated transportation network for all users, regardless of age, ability, income, ethnicity, or mode of transportation. Data come from the National Complete Streets Coalition’s list of complete streets policies. A score of either 0 (no policy) or 100 (policy in place) is provided for this indicator.
Urbanized Areas (UZA) Indicators – Information
Vehicle Miles Traveled per Capita
This indicator is calculated as the total daily miles of vehicle travel in an urbanized area divided by the total population. Data come from the Federal Highway Administration, 2011 Highway Statistics.
Public Transportation Trips per Capita
This indicator measures the average annual number of public transportation trips per capita among residents of an urbanized area. Data come from the 2013 American Public Transportation Association’s Public Transportation Fact Book, which is based on data from the 2011 National Transit Database.