Alicia Barney
Most Americans, and even most Utahns, probably wouldn?t guess the Beehive State has one of the most stellar commuting report cards in the nation.
But it?s so. Perhaps the most impressive statistic is that Utah is fourth in the nation for carpooling. According to U.S. Census data, in 2004, only Hawaii, Arizona and Alaska had higher percentages of carpoolers. Of all counties in the United States, Salt Lake County rates 11th and Utah County 13th for highest percentage of workers that carpool to work.
?We?ve seen a lot of growth in carpooling,? said Brent Whilhite, UDOT spokesman. ?When it was first introduced in Salt Lake County it was slow getting started, it took a while for people to catch on, and for people to realize the benefits. It?s great because a lot of people are centrally located going to another place, like Sandy to Salt Lake, so it can save a lot of time and it?s easy to organize carpools.?
Current construction to create a carpool lane on I-15 from University Parkway to the Salt Lake ? Utah County line is a result of the growing numbers of carpoolers, said Geoff Dupaix, UDOT public involvement coordinator.
?The HOV lane doesn?t move cars, it moves people,? he said. ?Instead of moving a single occupant, it?s moving more people in a single lane.?
The carpool lane will hopefully further increase carpooling and relieve commuter traffic to and from Salt Lake County as well as within Utah County, where much of the congestion originates, Dupaix said.
Utah programs facilitate carpooling. UDOT offers a Carpool Connection program on its Web site to match commuters with compatible schedules. The Utah Transit Authority has a similar Rideshare program.
According to 2004 U.S. Census data, 74 percent of Utah workers drive alone to work. While that nearly three-fourths figure may seem high, another surprise is that Utah actually placed at the bottom of the list ? 45th in the nation ? for the percentage of single drivers in 2004.
The only states with lower percentages of single drivers are New Jersey, Alaska, Hawaii, New York and Washington, D.C.
Even fewer workers drive alone in the Provo-Orem area, 69 percent in 2004. Provo-Orem matches the state percentage of carpoolers ? 14 percent, but has more residents that work at home ? 10 percent versus the state average of 6 percent.
According to U.S. Census data, only 3 percent of Utahans travel to work using public transportation. Again, while this number may appear low, Utah is 16th in the nation for use of public transportation.
There have been slight changes in the numbers over the past few years. The percentage of single drivers has increased about two percent since 2000 and the data shows a marginal decrease in the use of public transportation.
From 1990 to 2000, driving alone increased minimally, while all other means of getting to work, including carpooling, public transportation, walking, bicycling, and motorcycling, decreased slightly.