Walking, Biking, and Public Transit

Building communities where people can walk, bike, and ride.

Americans traveled roughly 3.32 trillion vehicle miles in 2025, averaging four times the distance from Earth to the Sun every hour, according to the Federal Highway Administration. All this time on the road means significant gasoline consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution, as well as traffic fatalities and congestion. Vehicle miles traveled nationwide are projected to increase in the years ahead, threatening to overwhelm the nation’s already overburdened road network.

At the same time, our transportation system’s reliance on cars leaves many people behind. Transportation is the second-largest household expenditure, and the high cost of vehicles and related expenses prevents some households from owning vehicles and accessing jobs and essential destinations.

Making our neighborhoods more accessible through walking, biking, and public transit is critical to equitably reducing transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring that our transportation system serves everyone. 

Low-carbon transportation systems will require coordinating transportation, land use, and housing planning to create sustainable communities and expand access to essential destinations.

ACEEE advances accessible, affordable, and energy-efficient travel options for everyone. We promote measures to create low-carbon transportation systems in which people have real choices in how they travel. We analyze the potential energy savings and overall benefits of different strategies to reduce the need to drive. We track federal, state, and local progress on transportation efficiency policies. We also work with state and local governments to provide technical assistance on transportation and land use policy implementation in pursuit of clean energy goals.