Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)
Knowing the total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) helps us understand where people drive a lot, which provides insight into where more EV charging is likely needed. We estimate the number of residential Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) generated in each geography based on the BTS LATCH survey. This survey uses a national travel survey and data from the Census to estimate the VMT per household generated by residences in each census tract.
The LATCH survey uses 2010 census tract boundaries, which do not necessarily align with 2020 boundaries. To account for this, we first calculate an area-weighted average of the VMT per household in the summary geography (based on the 2020 census boundaries). We then multiply this by the number of households in the geography, according to the ACS, to estimate the total residential VMT generated.