Exploring the Use of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) as an Evaluation Metric within Virginia’s Transportation Planning Process

Traditionally, Level of Service (LOS) has been the primary metric used to quantify the transportation effects of proposed projects such as land development proposals or transportation improvements. Projects thus typically aim to minimize increases in road congestion, quantified under LOS as movement towards a lower level (i.e., closer to LOS F). More recently, jurisdictions including California have begun using Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) to measure transportation impacts. Unlike LOS-based evaluations, which aim to minimize increases in traffic congestion, VMT-based evaluations seek to measure the extent to which a proposal can reduce (or slow the increase in) vehicle travel in a corridor, area, or region. This study will explore how VMT might be used as a transportation evaluation metric in Virginia by investigating how it has been used elsewhere and examining how those applications could be translated to the Virginia context. VDOT would benefit from an improved understanding of the uses of VMT in several areas of planning practice.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $211220
• Contract Numbers:

  124614

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Virginia Transportation Research Council

  530 Edgemont Road
  Charlottesville, VA  United States  22903
• Performing Organizations:

  Virginia Transportation Research Council

  530 Edgemont Road
  Charlottesville, VA  United States  22903
• Principal Investigators:

  Ohlms, Peter

• Start Date: 20231115
• Expected Completion Date: 20260228
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Evaluation; Metrics (Quantitative assessment); Vehicle miles of travel
• Geographic Terms: Virginia
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01899053
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Virginia Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 124614
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Nov 14 2023 11:14AM