Community Assessment - Health & Quality of Life in San Mateo
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public transportation

• One-third (32.6%) of San Mateo County survey participants rate local public transportation as "fair/poor." Only 32.9% give "excellent" or "very good" evaluations. ³⁸⁸

• Furthermore, only 60.1% of San Mateo County respondents believe they could rely on public transportation to get them to work, shopping, and appointments, if needed. ³⁸⁹

traffic

• A total of 61.2% of San Mateo County survey participants rate traffic flow as "fair" or "poor" in terms of being free of congestion; only 13.4% rate this as "excellent" or "very good."³⁹⁰

• "Fair/poor" evaluations of traffic flow are highest among Coastside residents, and lowest among residents of North County. ³⁹¹

• In 1996, San Mateo County became the fourth most traffic-congested county in the region, surpassing the average total daily congestion in San Francisco and Marin Counties for the first time. ³⁹²

• San Mateo County has 2 of the Bay Area’s 10 worst traffic congestion locations:³⁹³

*  Highway 92 eastbound p.m., San Mateo County to Alameda County, Foster City Boulevard to I-880 (ranked as the 6th worst)

*  U.S. 101 northbound p.m., San Mateo County Whipple Avenue to Third Avenue (9th worst)

• In 1996, San Mateo County drivers experienced 7,000 vehicle hours of delay, a 400% increase since 1994. ³⁹⁴ The expanding economy is creating more traffic, with no addition to the capacity of the highway system. ³⁹⁵

commute data

• Most (83%) of people working outside the home commute to work between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. The remaining 17% work off-hour jobs. ³⁹⁶

• Survey findings reveal that San Mateo County commuters drive an average of 13.0 miles to work, one way (averaging 20.8 minutes). ³⁹⁷

• 1996 data reveal that 66.3% of San Mateo County commuters drive alone to work, while 18.3% carpool. A total of 9.3% rely on public transit. ³⁹⁸

*  The carpool rate among San Mateo County residents is the second-highest in the region. ³⁹⁹

*  San Mateo County had the highest percentage of CalTrain riders in the region in 1996. ⁴⁰⁰

*  In neighboring Santa Clara County, individual driving is much higher, while use of public transit is lower. ⁴⁰¹

• In 1990, a total of 118,360 persons commuted into San Mateo County from other counties to work. At the same time, 145,053 San Mateo County residents commuted to work outside the county. ⁴⁰²

• For the 346,559 San Mateo County commuters in 1990, the most common destinations were:

*  Elsewhere in San Mateo County (201,506 commuters or 58.1%)

*  San Francisco County (79,022 commuters or 22.8%)

*  Other Counties (66,031 commuters or 19.1%) ⁴⁰³

403  Ibid.

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