Increasing Non-Car Modes of Transportation in Irvine, CA
Abstract
How can we increase access to non-car modes of transportation in Irvine, California?
The City of Irvine’s transportation landscape, serving a population of over 314,000 across 66 square miles, is characterized by a high rate of solo commuting, with over 80% of workers driving alone (City of Irvine, 2024). Irvine, due to its automobile-oriented infrastructure, faces challenges in its accessibility of public transportation and heavily relies on car modes of travel. In addition, cuts to certain routes, and increases to bus fare costs by the Orange County Transportation Agency (OCTA) impact the frequency of public transportation (Biesada, 2024). In Irvine, more than 50% of greenhouse gas emissions is made up by transportation sources (Bruce, 2022). As a result, the City has taken actions focusing on reducing this percentage through the introduction of OCTA’s ‘Youth Ride Free’ program made permanent in 2022 and the University Pass that recognizes Irvine’s large student population in the UC Irvine area (Orange County Transportation Authority, 2022a). This proposal seeks to further address issues of accessibility to non-car transportation through the implementation of mobility hubs in three Irvine based locations: UC Irvine, UC Irvine North Campus, and the Irvine Spectrum. This implementation will result in a nearly 56% projected reduction in miles traveled by vehicle while promoting the use of multimodal transportation, positioning the City of Irvine in a better place to address sustainability goals that seek to reduce vehicular emissions and increase ridership, providing greater accessibility for residents.
