Identifying the percentage of non-drivers and those who lack access to a motor vehicle in the population is key in understanding the level of need in a community for other transportation options and for making the case to people who assume that driving is and must always be the default.
Anna Zivarts, author of the book When Driving Is Not an Option, outlined the general size and importance of this non-driver category in transportation planning, and offered estimates for Washington state. For Pennsylvania, it has been instructive to assemble information about the number of young people, the very old, those with disabilities that preclude driving and those who cannot afford a vehicle or fuel, but it has been a quite rough estimate until now, largely based on the percentage of the population in the state that do not have drivers’ licenses (30% here).
But a new study from the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) takes this topic on nationally. On the Who Doesn’t Have a Car? website, they map all the federal legislative districts and provide detail on the numbers of people of driving age, the number of minors with potential for independent mobility, and the number of vehicles available per household.
Their initial fact sheet for Pennsylvania is available here. It is informative, though also could use a bit of further clarification. We look forward to seeing this resource used in planning moving forward.