Reducing Vehicle Travel: The California Experiment

Abstract

In 2005, California embarked on an ambitious effort to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, over 37% of which come from the transportation sector. Technological innovations will get the state most of the way towards its goal, but reductions in driving are almost certainly necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to slow climate change. The state is looking to a variety of strategies to reduce vehicle miles of travel (VMT), including infill development, transit and active travel, increased prices, and demand management.  But how much impact are such strategies likely to have?  And what policies can the state adopt to ensure widespread implementation of these strategies, many of which depend on action by local governments?  In this presentation, I provide an overview of California policy on VMT reduction and share highlights of research at the National Center for Sustainable Transportation that is assisting the state in its efforts.

Biography

Susan Handy is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy and the Director of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation at the University of California, Davis.  Her research interests centre on the relationships between transportation and land use, bicycling as a mode of transportation, and strategies for reducing auto dependence. She is a member of the Committee on Women’s Issues in Transportation of the Transportation Research Board and an associate editor of the Journal of Transport and Health.

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