Although the vast majority of American workers remain reliant on cars to get to work, the percentage has decreased. In 2007, 85% of Americans drove themselves to work and 6% rode with someone else. By 2018, while the 6% of Americans who carpool has remained constant, there has been a decrease in the percentage of those who drive themselves to work, edging down to 77%, according to Gallup’s Work and Education poll, conducted 1-12 August.
Meanwhile, the minority of Americans who employ alternative ways of getting to work—mass transportation, walking, biking, working remotely or “something else”—has grown, from 9% in 2007 to 16% today.
The decrease in those driving themselves to work has been accompanied by small, two-percentage-point upticks since 2007 in the percentages of US adults who ride mass transportation, walk to work, or telecommute or work from home. One percent of Americans now say they bike to work.
Gallup also asks US workers the total time they spend each day commuting to and from work. Currently, Americans who commute to work report an average round-trip time of 52.4 minutes. In 2007, it took commuters an average of 48.1 minutes to get to and from their jobs. Though the four-minute increase from 2007 to 2018 is not statistically meaningful, the US Census Bureau has found a similar increase over that time. . . .
