Mode Share: How We Get Around
Driving remains the predominant mode of travel in the region, representing 86% of trips in 2023 (Figure 1). Transit mode share declined from 2019 to 2021, then slightly rebounded from 2021 to 2023.
Figure 2 shows the share of people who drive, walk, take transit, bike, or use another mode on a typical weekday. This participation rate accounts for changes in the overall composition of travel (mode share) but also accounts for people who make no trips on any particular day, which has increased over time.
The share of people who drive on any given day has declined from 76% in 2019 to 70% in 2023. In 2023, roughly 1 in 10 people made a trip by walking, 1 in 40 made a trip using transit, and 1 in 100 made a trip by bicycle.
Figure 3 illustrates the mode share of trips by household income. The mode types include Vehicle, Walk, Transit, Micromobility, and Other. Across all income groups and years, the majority of trips are made by vehicle, followed by walking and transit. Micromobility and Other modes constitute a smaller proportion of trips. Vehicle use dominates in these groups throughout all years, with minimal changes in the proportion of trips made by walking and other modes. The share of trips by transit fell from 2019 to 2021 in most income groups, and then increased slightly in 2023 for most of the groups.
Figure 4 shows how mode choice varies across land use types in the Twin Cities region. Urban center households conduct a greater share of their travel using non-auto modes compared to rural and suburban households.