Patterns of transportation usage impact environmental and transportation planning. These patterns may also reflect issues of poverty, location of employment, the availability and quality of public transit, local land use and environmental policies, or lifestyle choices of residents.

The majority of commuters in MetroWest drove alone to work in 2016-20 (75%), followed by 10% who used public transportation, 8% who carpooled, and 7% who biked, walked, or used other means. The region was similar to Massachusetts as a whole. The U.S. had a smaller share of residents who used public transportation (5%) and a larger share who drove to work alone (81%). Since 2000, there has been a three percentage point decline in the share of commuters in the region driving alone to work.

In 2016-20, Middlesex and Norfolk had slightly smaller percentages of commuters who drove to work alone (71% and 72%, respectively) than the region as a whole, while Worcester was higher, at 84%. Norfolk had the highest share of transit users (15%). Just 2% of Worcester County commuters used public transportation.

In Framingham, 80% of commuters were driving alone to work and 7% carpooling with just 4% using public transportation. In Natick, 79% drove alone, compared to 72% in Waltham.

The multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are expected to be released annually in December.