Sustainable Transportation
Transit
An MBTA bus stop on Inman Street. A quarter of Cambridge residents use transit to commute to work.
Vehicles per Household
Since 2000, vehicles per household have been decreasing in Cambridge as more residents choose to not own a vehicle.
Cambridge is one of the easiest places to live or work without driving. With over 40,000 households, 100,000 jobs, and hundreds of thousands of services in just over 6 square miles of land, just about everything you need is close at hand. With so many things close by, people in Cambridge have an array of transportation options. The Traffic, Parking & Transportation Department is working to improve the quality of all sustainable modes of transportation, which include transit, bicycling and walking.
In 1992, Cambridge City Council passed the Vehicle Trip Reduction Ordinance, an act that aimed to lower the amount of traffic and air pollution in the city. Since then, the combined efforts of City staff, employers and residents has resulted in the rise of sustainable forms of transportation. Today, less than 31% of Cambridge residents drive alone to work. TP&T, in partnership with the Community Development Department, the Public Works Department and several others, strives to raise the quality of sustainable transportation for everyone who lives, works or visits the City of Cambridge.
TP&T strongly supports sustainability through:
- Shifting automobile use to more sustainable modes, such as walking, bicycling, and transit,
- Limiting automobile parking to no more than what is needed,
- Installing bicycle lanes and bicycle parking,
- Timing traffic signals to minimize pedestrian delay
- Working with other city and state agencies, developers, businesses and residents to ensure projects are as sustainable as possible.
Sustainable transportation reduces traffic congestion and air pollution, while improving, public health and economic development. Please join us in taking advantage of all the sustainable transportation options available to residents, businesses and visitors in Cambridge. And our sincere thank you to those already using healthy and clean forms of transportation.
Hubway (Public Bike Sharing)
Cambridge Transit Strategic Plan