Why This Measure Matters

Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is a primary indicator for transportation-related emissions. As VMT increases, so do transportation-related emissions in our community. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing community-wide VMT supports the reduction of other transportation-related impacts on the environment and public health, including air pollution and water contamination.

What’s the Story?

As of 2021, the transportation sector accounted for 34% of community-wide greenhouse gas emissions in the City of Olympia with a total of 413,224,913 vehicle miles traveled.

While vehicle miles traveled (VMT) decreased significantly at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020), total VMT has been increasing again since 2021. VMT is a metric that measures the total distance traveled by all vehicles in the city in the course of one year. Reducing VMT is a key part of the City's strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change.

Target

The City of Olympia has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040. To reach this goal, the City aims to reduce vehicle miles traveled 20% by 2040 relative to the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario.

A 20% reduction equates to an annual reduction of 5,498,000 VMT which gives a total reduction of 93,466,000 VMT.

Reporting frequency