United States Department of Transportation
i
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions is only the beginning: a literature review of the co-benefits of reducing vehicle miles traveled.
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2017-03-01
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[PDF-464.72 KB]
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Abstract:Traditional evaluation of the transportation system focuses on automobile traffic flow and
congestion reduction. However, this paradigm is shifting. In an effort to combat global warming
and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a number of cities, regions, and states across the
United States have begun to deemphasize vehicle delay metrics such as automobile Level of
Service (LOS). In their place, policymakers are considering alternative transportation impact
metrics that more closely approximate the true environmental impacts of driving. One metric
increasingly coming into use is the total amount of driving or Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT).
Since passing the seminal Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) in 2006, California has enacted
two major laws over the past decade that are spurring efforts to reduce VMT: Senate Bill 375
(2008) and SB 743 (2013). SB 375 addresses regional GHG emissions reductions from passenger
travel. For each region in the State with a metropolitan planning organization (MPO), the law
requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to set and regularly update per capita GHG
emissions reduction targets for 2020 and 2035. To achieve those targets, SB 375 requires each
MPO to adopt a “sustainable communities strategy” (SCS) as part of its regional transportation
plan. VMT reductions are a key strategy in SCSs.
Senate Bill 743 (2013) directs the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to revise
the guidelines for determining the significance of transportation impacts during analyses
conducted under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). SB 743 requires a
replacement metric that will “promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the
development of multimodal transportation networks, and a diversity of land uses.” It mandates that “automobile delay, as described solely by [LOS] shall not be considered a significant impact on the environment” under CEQA, except in “locations specifically identified in the guidelines, if any.” VMT is OPR’s currently recommended replacement metric (OPR, 2016).
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