OVERVIEW

We examine commuting, public transit, and vehicle accidents in this sector and ask questions about the type of transportation used and the ability to access your destinations.

Comparable counties are available for some of these indicators by selecting them from the geography filter.

*Indicators may be viewed on mobile devices; however, for best experience, use a desktop computer
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INDICATORS

SURVEY RESULTS

Almost all survey respondents had access to cars and walking. 60-72% of respondents had access to bicycles, public buses, and taxis. Cars and walking have high usage (85-95%), but the use of buses, taxis, and rideshare drop significantly to around 20%. Walking, bicycles and rideshare all had the highest demand for more access, with public buses slightly behind. As income decreases, there is less usage of personal cars and higher use of carpooling, buses, rideshares, and taxis. Carpools, buses, rideshare, and taxis use increase for people of color.

Two out of three survey respondents can always get where they need to be. Approximately one in ten respondents can rarely or only sometimes get where they need to be. As income decreases, the percent of respondents who can always get to where they need drops to four in ten. The percent that can rarely or sometimes get to where they need increases from 3% to 24%. For people of color, the percent that can always get where they need drops to three in ten, while the percentage increases for usually or sometimes get where they want.

Almost all survey respondents said they feel very or somewhat safe as a driver. Bicyclists and motorcyclists report a lower percentage of 55-60%. Three in four respondents said they felt somewhat safe or very safe as pedestrians.

CURRENT EFFORTS

The Berkshire Bike Path Council, BRPC, MasBike, and MassDOT are working to improve cycling throughout the region, primarily focusing on designing and implementing the Berkshire Bike Path, a county-wide bike trail extending from Vermont to Connecticut.
The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, neighboring RPAs, elected officials, and stakeholders are working on improving rail access to the region through the East/West Rail Service and the Berkshire Flyer.
In collaboration with the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission works with stakeholders and elected officials to further develop micotransit options in the region. Microtransit is a technology-enabled on-demand shared-ride public transportation service that offers flexible routes and on-demand scheduling. This type of service can be considered a middle ground between traditional fixed-route transit and ride-hailing technology like Uber or Lyft.