 The total Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) have been steadily growing over the last several years. In 2003, there were a total of 8,338,000 VMT for the Ann Arbor urbanized area as defined by the Census. VMT increased to 8,677,000 by 2005 - a 4% increase. VMT per capita has also steadily increased from 27.2 daily VMT in 2003 to 28.1 in 2005 - a 3% increase. |
What is a vehicle mile traveled?
A VMT is a unit of measure that calculates the total miles traveled by all vehicles in a specific area for a specific period of time. VMT is used to evaluate the use a roadway receives at different times of the day.
The number of vehicle-miles traveled per year for each vehicle in the Residential Transportation Energy Consumption Survey was obtained in one of two ways:
- Calculations based on odometer readings. For each vehicle in the sample, the survey collected a beginning-of-year and an end-of-year odometer reading. The number of vehicle-miles traveled annually is equal to the difference between the two readings, adjusted to reflect 365 days per year. The mileage for vehicles that were in the household less than a full year was adjusted to reflect the amount of time the vehicle was in the household.
- Imputations using a regressions estimate. For vehicles for which one or both odometer readings were missing, a regression estimate was used to estimate the annual mileage. As was done for the odometer reading calculations, the mileage for vehicles that were in the household less than a full year was adjusted to reflect the amount of time the vehicle was in the household.
Source: Energy Information Administration
How do vehicle miles traveled affect the Ann Arbor environment?
A VMT increase, more greenhouse gases are produced, contributing to air and water pollution.
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