Behind The Sound Bite: Commuting
Most commuters in Massachusetts cannot use the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane, according to Eric Bourassa, transportation manager for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The HOV lane is for cars with at least two people in it and during a recent event in Natick to discuss regional transportation issues, Bourassa cited a statistic that 73 percent of Massachusetts commuters drive to work alone. We decided to look for the data supporting that claim and found that he was right, Massachusetts does have a large number of lonely commuters.
What are the statewide numbers?
According to the American Community Survey released by the U.S. Census Bureau, 72.7 percent of Massachusetts commuters drive to work alone. Only 8.4 percent of Bay State commuters carpool, and only 9 percent of commuters take public transportation in Massachusetts.
What about locally?
Commuters in Central Massachusetts are even more likely than residents of other counties in the state to drive to work alone. In Worcester County, 82.5 percent of commuters drive to work solo and only 1.6 percent use public transportation. Middlesex County, which encompasses much of the MetroWest region, has similar figures, with 83.2 percent of residents driving to work alone and only 1.5 percent using public transit.
What about the more urban areas?
In Suffolk County, which includes Boston, there are strikingly different numbers.
Less than half (42 percent) of commuters in Suffolk County drive to work alone. Almost one-third (31 percent) take public transportation.
What about walking to work?
Not surprisingly, Suffolk County boasts the highest rate (12.6 percent) of people walking to work. In Worcester and Middlesex counties, 2.6 percent and 3 percent of workers respectively, walked to work.
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