Indicator ST.1.d Gross number of vehicle trips per San Francisco resident per day

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ST.1.d Gross number of vehicle trips per San Francisco resident per day

Data Source

Data from Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission, 2006.

Chart/graph created by City and County of San Francisco, Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Section.

Explanation and Limitations

Vehicle trip production indicates the level of automobile use by residents and others starting travel within San Francisco. Trip attraction indicates the level of automobile use by visitors coming into San Francisco from outside the city but still from within the Bay Area. This indicator helps in understanding travel patterns for tourists and employees. Vehicle trips per capita is the average number of trip productions and trip attractions divided by the total population.

The numbers presented above include all intra-regional (i.e., between Bay Area counties) and intra-zonal (i.e., travel starting and ending within each of the Bay Area neighborhoods or zones) travel by San Francisco residents. It excludes all commercial/truck travel and all inter-regional travel (i.e., between the Bay Area and neighboring counties).

Compared to other counties in the Bay Area, San Francisco has relatively low vehicle trips generated per resident. In part, this is due to the comparatively wider availability of and dependency on public transportation. It is also due to the high population density in San Francisco. This indicator does not currently display neighborhood, socio-economic or racial/ethnic differences in vehicle miles traveled per resident.

Why is this a Community Health Indicator?

Vehicle trips reflect the amount people are driving, related to both traffic volume on local streets and vehicle miles travelled at a regional level. Cold starts at the beginning of trips produce a disproportionate share of overall trip emissions.a As the miles driven in motor vehicles increase, so do the associated hazards from air and water pollutants, noise, and vehicle collisions.  Heavy volumes of vehicle traffic also create traffic “hotspots” and contribute to unfair burdens of air pollution, noise, and stress for those living adjacent to busy streets and highways, and degrade the environment for walking, biking, and public transit. Additionally, people who are driving more are less likely to be gaining the physical activity benefits of using walking, biking, and public transit for utilitarian trips.

  1. Ewing R, Frank L, Kreutzer R. Understanding the Relationship between Public Health and the Built Environment: A Report to the LEED-ND Core Committee. 2006.

  2. Frank LD, Andresen MA, Schmid TL. Obesity relationships with community design, physical activity, and time spent in cars. Am J Prev Med. 2004;27(2):87-96.