Charlotte improved. They used to be slightly worse than us.
I assume Nashville was an error last time as they had a worse VMT than either of us.
Yet still everything stalls out around commuter rail or most other non-car transit options. Iâm sure our numbers go up more when complete 540 is done.
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Usually metros have their job centers centrally located. In the case of Raleighâs MSA, one of the major job centers literally straddles the boundary with another MSA (RTP obviously). Raleighâs MSA canât grow fully around that job center, only east of it. So, if folks are getting jobs in RTP and either canât afford to be near it, or if they choose to be further away from it for whatever reason, and if they stay within Raleighâs MSA boundary, they are going to negatively affect the data.
Even in the case of Raleigh as a job center, it too isnât physically centered within the MSA.
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Itâs almost like⌠MAYBE building more commuter rail over time will slowly reduce car dependency??? 
But Raleigh is âtoo lateâ to start building any commuter rail, guess a couple more busses with their own lanes in another 12 years will suffice! 
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Itâs interesting we rank #1 when we have such a high percentage of WFH jobs. I believe itâs around 20 or even 25% which youâd think would reduce a personâs daily VMT.
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We arenât dense enough for rail ----> wait until weâre dense enough.
We canât support density because we donât have rail â> wait for rail to build the density.
Rinse/repeat until the heat death of the universe.
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This is the easiest metro to bring rail to.
The track is already there. It already takes passenger trains between Raleigh and Durham.
Take the Piedmont, double track it, split the grade crossings, add a station to RTP, electrify it, and run 20 trains a day. Done. BRT can be used to build branching lines off that backbone.
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I read, here or elsewhere, how WFH actually increased miles driven because people go out to run errands rather than making them part of their daily commute. That beings said, I just saw on CNBC that total vehicle miles for the US recovered from the pandemic slump, but are not growing like they were before the pandemic.
Thatâs interesting because itâs completely backward for me. Not getting in my car to commute makes me want to find ways to not get into my car. I drive so little that I donât want to drive if I donât have to. That said, the dynamic may have to do with where I live vs. where the majority lives. There are plenty of places accessible to me by foot that I shape my behavior around those resources. When I do get in my car, I make sure that I make the most of it by hitting multiple places within proximity of each other in one trip.
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I had posted that on the other thread. I heard it on a podcast with Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist for Cox Automotive. I imagine they have a pretty good lay of the land but thatâs the only source I have.
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Ah, so you get the credit! Thank you for that information. It made sense to me. To @Johnâs point, I would guess it really matters where you live. I am not really in a walkable area, so when I was working from home, I would often just go out for a drive, lol.
Source:
I found that true after I moved downtown during the pandemic. However before, when I wasnât downtown, I found myself driving out to places and doing more since I was stuck in a suburb with the same environment day-in and day-out. Probably didnât drive as much as my commute, but took more total trips a day.
Makes a world of difference when you live in a walkable community. I only drive a few times a week now.
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The only thing I can see Raleigh doing to help with this number is to promote higher density within the city itself. Between North Hills and downtown, there are a good number of offices. Adding in more mixed use developments only helps. I think this has been happening with the addition of the other developments popping up such as the Exchange, of course NH, DTR including not only Fayetteville St, but also between it and GWS. More and more housing is being added, but we do need to add in much more where there is lower density near downtown. If anything, I blame the DOT, CAMPO, and whatever department that continues to push adding in more travel lanes.
Iâve never understood this. Well in a way I do, but then I really donât. Some people want a big yard. If you live near a park, then you donât need a yard and donât have to worry about lawn maintenance. Some apartment complexes have their own playgrounds or dog parks. I look for amenities. Easy access to shopping, parks, greenways, my job, etc.
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https://www.axios.com/2023/11/30/ev-electric-cars-cities-america-most
Silver lining: according to a different Axios article EV adoption rates in the triangle are higher than Charlotte and competitive with bigger East Coast metros.
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even if raleigh is higher in drivingâŚcan other modes be increased in parallel?
The only lever that Raleigh has complete control over and can make an immediate impact on being car light is density of development in key nodes to enable more walkability.
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Can I bother you for a sign-up link for said list?
I believe you can just shoot an email to raleighyimby+subscribe@googlegroups.com to join.
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