A US survey finds most people prefer driving alone
Posted June 23, 2015 7:24 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – You have your coffee, your radio and your personal space… would you invite someone into your car to share that ride to work?
A poll of our neighbours to the south suggests many people would not give up driving alone, even just once a week, and commuters in Vancouver also seem loathe to give up the sanctuary of the solitary drive.
“I would like to travel by transit,” says Simon, the overnight manager at a 24 hour restaurant. “But it’s not as convenient. I travel a distance and I need my car. It’s not by choice, it’s just that I have to commute from Coquitlam and it would take me two or three hours to get here if I were to go by bus.”
Jay commutes downtown from his home near Horseshoe Bay every day and has considered ditching his car.
“I think I could. I’ve actually contemplated riding my bike on nice days. I’m not going to ride an hour and fifteen minutes in the rain,” he says.
“We don’t have a shower at work so it’s going to be the baby wipe wash-down,” he laughs. “But gas is expensive and we have pretty good bike routes here in Vancouver, so it’s a thought.”
The Puget Sound Regional Council recently tried to find out what would entice Seattle-area commuters to take transit, carpool or van pool at least one additional day per week.
Of the 6,000 people they surveyed, 45 percent said “nothing,” they simply wouldn’t do it. Almost 20 percent said they would do it if high-speed transit were available, saving them at least 10 minutes per trip.
Another 19 per cent said it would take a big jump in gas prices to make them change their commuting habits, with the price at the pump hitting $5 per gallon ($1.75 per litre).
