Denver commuters use transit more than rest of U.S.

Commuters traveling to downtown Denver use transit more and drive alone less than the average American commuter, according to the annual Downtown Denver Commuter Survey.

The survey, conducted each fall, measures a sample of the downtown employee population to analyze commuting patterns, explore the attractiveness of transportation benefits and determine how commuters currently travel to their downtown offices.

"Understanding the commuting preferences, options and trends of downtown employees plays a critical role in the management and planning of downtown Denver," says Tami Door, President and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership. "By highlighting these key findings, we can reinforce downtown Denver’s role as a regional transportation hub, as well as continue to support the transportation amenities and programs that our downtown employees rely on."

Key findings in the report show that transit and driving are the two most commonly used ways commuters travel to work, with 46 percent of respondents using transit and 38 percent driving alone; and factors such as age, gender, office location, commute length and employer-provided transportation benefits affects an employee's commuting habits.

Commuters younger than 30 are almost twice as likely to bike to work and more than three times as likely to walk to work than commuters as a whole. Men are 167 percent more likely to bike to work than women.

People who commute to downtown Denver are nine times more likely to use transit, seven times as likely to bike and half as likely to drive to work than the average U.S. commuter.