This document is an executive summary of a series of 16 briefs that collectively describe commuting in America. This body of work, sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and carried out in conjunction with a National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) project that provided supporting data, builds on three prior Commuting in America (CIA) documents that were issued over the past three decades. Unlike the prior reports that were single volumes, this effort consists of a series of briefs, each of which addresses a critical aspect of commuting in America. The briefs, this Executive Summary, and accompanying data tables complete the body of information known as Commuting in America 2013 (CIA 2013). AASHTO makes these items available via its website (http://traveltrends.transportation.org). The Commuting in America series of reports describing travellers and their commute to work began in April 1984, using Census data to describe the emerging patterns of commuting. The original intent of CIA, well-stated by Frank François, former executive director of AASHTO, was “to serve as a common resource of factual information upon which policymakers can draw in shaping transportation development actions and policies over the coming years…. It does not purport to reflect the policy positions of any of the sponsoring organizations and should not be interpreted in this manner.” CIA 2013 continues to adhere to this original intent and philosophy. This report is supported as part of the AASHTO Census Transportation Planning Products (CTPP) program. This multi-year initiative, of which CIA 2013 is part, provides data and analysis on commuting to support the information needs of the state and metropolitan transportation planning and policy community. CIA 2013 includes several changes in the data sources that support the technical analysis reported in CIA products. The replacement of the decennial Census long-form survey with the American Community Survey (ACS) has resulted in a significant difference in one of the major data sources available to support these documents. The ACS significantly shortens the time lag between data releases compared to long-form census commuting data, and the continuous collection of ACS data enables more frequent updating. Coupled with changes in delivery format, sponsorship, and principal data sources, this analysis is carried out at a point in time when there is growing evidence of significant changes in travel behaviour associated with demographic, economic, technological, and social-cultural changes. These changes are affecting work trip commuting and travel in general, thus increasing the importance and significance of the information in these documents. The series of briefs summarized in this Executive Summary include the following: 1. Commuting in America 2013 Overview 9. How Commuting Influences Travel 2. The Role of Commuting in Overall Travel 10. Commuting Mode Choice 3. Population and Worker Trends 11. Commuting Departure Time and Trip Time 4. Population and Worker Dynamics 12. Auto Commuting 5. The Nature and Pattern of Jobs 13. Transit Commuting 6. Job Dynamics 14. Bicycling and Walk Commuting 7. Vehicle and Transit Availability 15. Commuting Flow Patterns 8. Consumer Spending on Transportation 16. The Evolving Role of Commuting. (Author/publisher)
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