Means of transportation to work refers to the main method of transportation people use to commute to work U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey and Puerto Rico Community Survey 2013 Subject Definitions). Taking public transit, biking, and walking (defined as active transportation or taking public transit, biking, or walking) lead to increased physical activity and therefore improved health (PolicyLink, Healthy Equitable Transportation Policy).

Key Findings

• The majority of residents (81%) drive to work instead of taking active transportation.
• Most neighborhoods have 10% or less of its residents taking active transportation to work.
• The areas in the county with the highest percentages of residents taking active transportation to work are in Daly City, San Mateo, Redwood City, and Menlo Park.

Methods

• Data were obtained from U.S. Census Bureau’s 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates at American FactFinder. 
• Data were cleaned and aggregated to determine the percentage of workers that commute using active transportation.
• Data were mapped using ArcGIS for Desktop.
• Data included all workers 16 years and older.

Limitations

• Approximately 295,000 households are selected to participate in the annual American Community Survey, or less than 1 percent of all households in the U.S. 
• Data were estimates based on survey responses, and not actual counts.  
• Estimates have some chance of error.