The number of Mission residents who rely on their vehicles to get from one place to another is increasing, according to data from the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD).
Barclay Pitkethly, director of regional programs for FVRD, presented the results of the 2011 regional trip diary to Mission council earlier this month. The information will be used to plan traffic infrastructure in the future, he said.
The percentage of drivers increased from 63 per cent in 2008 to 67 per cent in 2011. Commuters carpooled less and the number of people who walk or cycle to their destination has also declined.
Transit ridership numbers increased from two to three per cent in the same time period.
Of the estimated 36,000 trips taken on a typical day in 2011, 68.4 per cent of travellers remained in Mission, while the majority who travelled outside the community headed south and westbound. About 15 per cent of the trips were to Abbotsford and 12.7 per cent were to Langley. Trips that originated from Mission to the neighbouring communities were significantly higher than trips to Mission from the same communities, according to the report.
Twenty-eight per cent of commuters travelled to work or post secondary school, said Pitkethly.
Data was collected throughout the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, but Pitkethly's presentation focussed on statistics in Mission.