This week, a select group of Boulder community members will have the chance to take part in the city’s first Resident Travel Diary Study since 2018.
The travel diary study, which is typically carried out every two to three years, asks a randomly selected, statistically representative sampling of Boulder residents to track their trips for one 24-hour period in September. The results of the study help inform transportation policies and projects, and help city officials track progress toward goals detailed in the Transportation Master Plan.
This is the first resident travel diary study since the COVID-19 pandemic, which upended travel patterns. When the 2018 travel diary study results were published, single-occupant vehicle trips among Boulder residents were on the decline and trips made by bicycle and transit were on the rise. Since then, the City of Boulder has added more than 11 miles to its bike system and made other infrastructure changes to encourage walking and bicycling, but transit service was significantly impacted by low ridership and operator shortages during the pandemic. Transit ridership on RTD buses and trains has partially bounced back from a 70% drop in 2020, but remains below pre-pandemic levels.
With the 2023 resident travel diary study, the city will gain important insights into transportation choices and trends among Boulderites. If you are among the lucky community members selected to participate in the study, we encourage you to complete and return the materials to ensure the city receives data that represents the full range of community members’ experiences.
Didn’t receive a travel diary study packet? Between October 3 and October 17, you can share your thoughts about the transportation system and other city services through the City of Boulder Community Survey on Be Heard Boulder, the city’s online community engagement portal. Like the travel diary study, the last full community survey was conducted in 2018. The survey provides City Council with information on key community issues, including transportation, city planning, affordable housing, public safety, perceptions about community engagement, and quality of life issues. Previous surveys and their results are available on the Community Survey website here.