AUSTIN (KXAN) – While those of us stuck in long Central Texas commutes might find this surprising, a survey conducted by a Central Texas transportation group found that fewer people are relying solely on cars to get to work. Movability, the transportation management association (TMA) of Central Texas, in the fall of 2024, surveyed just over 900 people living in Williamson, Travis, and Hays Counties to get a sense of the region’s commuting patterns. It found that people driving to work by themselves, what they call “drive-alone,” decreased by 10% since 2019, the last time the organization conducted the survey. Further, it found that commuting by bike and work-from-home rates have increased drastically since 2019.   “While drive-alone commuting remains dominant in Central Texas, the region is making great strides towards its goal towards a 50-50 mode split,” the report read. The survey found that the drive-alone rate was 60.5% in Austin and 66.5% across the three counties, down 10% since 2019.  Since 2019, the city of Austin has maintained a goal of a 50-50 mode split for people commuting to work. Under that goal, 50% of people would continue to drive, while the other half would telework or utilize mass transit, bikes, or carpooling as part of their commutes.  The city of Austin recently made a handful of parking code amendments in alignment with that goal. Violations added to the code included not parking in bike lanes, not parking in an electric vehicle space if it isn’t an electric vehicle and you aren’t charging one, and violations for blocking a right-of-way closure area in special event zones. RELATED | What Austin drivers, cyclists need to know about city’s newest parking code changes Movability found that the biking to commute rate increased 428% across the three counties since 2019.  “Investments in active commuting infrastructure seem to be paying off, especially in Travis County. Further, nearly one-quarter of households in the region are 'car-lite,' meaning car ownership isn’t required to call Central Texas home,” the report read.  The organization recommended policy strategies to incentivize carpooling in the Central Texas region, including increasing the number of high-occupancy vehicle lanes and parking spots for those carpooling. ...read more read less