If you’re not counted, you don’t count

There are very few resources out there that give residents and officials a sense how Pittsburghers get around. While the US Census runs the American Community Survey (ACS), which has given us a snapshot of basic commuter patterns, it really misses the mark on capturing the full scope of how we travel. Namely, the ACS only counts people with jobs, so there is simply no data for students, kids, retirees or the unemployed. Additionally, the ACS forces participants to pick one mode, so it doesn’t track multi-modal transportation. In the real world, people often take multiple forms of transportation per week, or even per day.

For bike commuters, we know even less about people’s preferences and habits. Aside the ACS, we really only have access to limited count data, like the Penn Ave bike lane counters, and Strava. While important, this data is also limited.

Conversely, not having crucial commuting data hinders our efforts to make improvements. For instance, without ACS data, we wouldn’t know that Pittsburgh has more than doubled our bike commuter rate since 2007, when the City began installing bike lanes.

Enter the Make My Trip Count survey

The Green Building Alliance launched the first Make My Trip Count (MMTC) Survey in 2015, yielding over 20,000 responses, making it the largest snapshot of how Pittsburghers get to work and school. Recognizing that transportation is complicated, the survey also takes multimodal trips into account. People may ride their bike into downtown, but take the bus home. Or they may drive to a park and ride lot or a bike share station.

This comprehensive approach, along with questions aimed at improving your commute, helps give planners and decision-makers better insight into our patterns and preferences.

Please take 5 to 10 minutes of your time to share how you get around, and help make our region a better place to commute.

Take the Survey

About Make My Trip Count

All personal information collected will remain confidential.

Respondents who complete the survey will be entered into a drawing to win one of twenty $50 Visa gift cards.

Make My Trip Count is a strategic study of Pittsburgh’s commuting patterns. The survey is managed by Green Building Alliance in collaboration with the Allegheny Conference, Allegheny County, Bike Pittsburgh, the City of Pittsburgh, Duquesne Light, EMC Research, Healthy Ride, Innovate PGH, Oakland Transportation Management Association, Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, Pittsburgh Parking Authority, Port Authority of Allegheny County, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, and Sustainable Pittsburgh. Make My Trip Count is supported by the Hillman Foundation, Duquesne Light, and the Microsoft Corporation.