AUSTIN (KXAN) — New research from traffic engineering software company StreetLight Data found walking trips have substantially declined in U.S. cities since 2019 — a trend mirrored here in Austin, a late 2023 report revealed.
The research found walking activity nationwide declined 36% between 2019 and 2022. Active transportations mode usage — or the combination of walking and bike trips — decreased from 14% of transit modal use in 2019 to 10% in 2022. Conversely, the share of vehicle trips grew from 86% in 2019 to 90% in 2022.
In the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area, the decline in annual walking trips surpassed the national average, with the Texas capital area down 37% in 2022 compared to 2019 figures. When looking at 2022 year-over-year figures, the percentage of walking trips declined 4% in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro.
MOBILITY NEWS: CapMetro rolling out $21M MetroBike expansion plan
When looking on a state-by-state basis, Texas’ annual walking trips dropped 39% from 2019 to 2022. In a 2022 year-over-year analysis, the Lone Star State’s percentage change in walking trips decreased by 11%.