For Immediate Release

January 29, 2015

Contact John Zicconi

802-828-2942

Vermont Lacks Transportation Services to Attract Young Adults

MONTPELIER The Vermont Transportation Board today released its Annual Report, which
documents the comments the Board collected during a recent series of public forums that focused on the
Transportation needs and wants of young adults.
After hearing from some 250 Vermonters during a series of eight public forums that were held during
the fall of 2014, the report documents that young adults are not only dissatisfied with Vermonts
transportation services, but believe that the states limited public transportation options combined with
its limited number of bicycle-and-pedestrian facilities is causing many of their peers to either move
away from the Green Mountains or not consider Vermont when choosing a place to live, work and raise
a family.
Vermonts population of young adults has been on the decline for decades now, said Transportation
Board Chairman Nick Marro. The reasons for this trend are multifaceted, but somewhere within this
decline lies a transportation nexus. Understanding how young people view the current state of
Vermonts transportation system, and understanding how those views differ from previous generations,
is one of the keys to being able to properly plan for the states future.
Vermont for years now has seen a steady decline of young adults. The number of Vermonters between
the ages of 20-39 shrunk 20 percent a fall from 187,576 to 149,831 over the 20-year period between
1990 and 2010, according to U.S. Census data. Adding significance to this trend is that Vermonts
overall population grew by 11 percent from 562-758 to 625,741 over this same time period.
A groundbreaking national study published in late 2012 showed that todays young adults drive motor
vehicles significantly less than did young adults of similar ages just one generation ago. The study
documented that from 2001 to 2009, the annual vehicle miles traveled by a 16-34 year-old decreased 23
percent from 10,3000 to 7,900. Over this same time period, these same young people took 24 percent
more bicycle trips, walked to destinations 16 percent more often, and traveled 40 percent more miles by
public transportation.
Vermont does not always follow national trends, so the Transportation Board wanted to talk with
young Vermonters to learn whether their transportation behavior was in synch with their national
counterparts, Marro said. What young Vermonters told us is that they would like to live a lifestyle that
is not dependent on an automobile, but that Vermonts lack of car-free alternatives not only makes that
impossible, but also deters many of their peers from considering Vermont as a place live and work.
The Boards report details the reasons young people find Vermont transportationally unattractive. These
reasons include a lack of public transportation that both runs at convenient times and stops at the
destinations they need to reach, a lack of safe and well-lit bicycle facilities such as dedicated bike lanes

Transportation Board * 14 Baldwin Street * Montpelier, VT 05602 * Tel: (802) 828-2942 * Fax: (802) 828-2660

in downtown areas or bike paths that reach other destinations, and a lack of well-maintained and well-lit
pedestrian facilities like sidewalks that connect their homes to nearby restaurants and shops.
Young people told us they want transportation options, Marro said. Owning a car is very expensive.
Many unmarried young people want to divest themselves of the automobile, while many young families
want to be able to own just one car instead of two. But to do this, they need convenient and the key is
convenient ways to reach stores, restaurants, schools and places of entertainment without driving.
Each fall, the Transportation Board conducts a series of public hearings to take comment about
important transportation issues. Working with the Vermont Agency of Transportation as well as the
states 11 Regional Planning Commissions, the Board each year identifies transportation topics on which
the Agency as well as the Legislature would like additional information.
During the fall of 2014, the Board conducted eight public forums held a various college campuses
around the state. Aside from working with both professors and deans to attract college students, the
Board also worked with various local business and civic organizations to attract young, working
professionals to each form.
The report, which can be downloaded from the Boards website at www.tboard.vermont.gov, includes
chapters on various transportation topics. These topics include:
Transportation options that influence the decisions of young people.
Young adults and their relationships with cars.
Vermonts walking and biking infrastructure.
Public transportation.
Advances in transportation technology.
Highway safety, including young-peoples thoughts about legalizing marijuana and driving.
The Boards forums were conducted according to Title 19 V.S.A. 5(d)(8), which charges the
Transportation Board to work together with the Agency of Transportation to hold public hearings for
the purpose of obtaining public comment on the development of state transportation policy, the mission
of the Agency, and state transportation planning, capital programming and program implementation.
For more information about the report, contact the Boards Executive Secretary John Zicconi at
john.zicconi@state.vt.us or by calling 802-828-2942.

Transportation Board * 14 Baldwin Street * Montpelier, VT 05602 * Tel: (802) 828-2942 * Fax: (802) 828-2660