Active Transportation

Active transportation is any self-propelled, human-powered mode of transportation, such as walking or bicycling. Increasing access and prioritizing development of active transportation like walking and cycling reduces a household's reliance on single-occupancy vehicles and fossil-fuel dependent vehicles. Choosing a bike over a car just once a day reduces an average individual’s carbon emissions from transport by 67 percent. Increasing modes of active transportation also has implications for public health. Active commuting that incorporates cycling and walking is associated with an 11 percent reduction in cardiovascular risk. Communities of color are less likely to have access to safe biking and walking infrastructure, despite being dependent on forms of active transportation for essential travel at higher rates than their white counterparts. For example, Chicago’s white neighborhoods have 50 percent more bike lanes than Black neighborhoods. Creating new bike lanes, walking paths, and other active transportation infrastructure in communities of color is critical to advancing environmental justice.

This briefing book breaks down several transportation policies being considered in states across the country. Each section includes a description of the policy, key facts and figures, and several examples of legislation passed or introduced on the state level. Sections include: active transportation, congestion pricing, electric vehicles, low carbon fuel standards, medium- and heavy-duty vehicle electrification, public transportation, transit-oriented development, the Transportation Climate Initiative, and vehicle miles traveled.