Commuter Services of Pennsylvania recently completed their seventh annual member database survey, with the purpose of gauging the popularity of commuting options, compare current usage habits to prior years and to calculate miles taken off the highway within the nine county region.

The study reported the percentage of respondents using alternative forms of transportation (other than driving alone) has increased in comparison to prior years. These results have been driven by a significant increase in bus/transit usage in the past year, whereas carpooling and vanpooling has remained at a consistent level over the last few years.

The Commuter Services database had more than 18,800 members at the time the survey was conducted, which was an increase of more than 4,200 from 2011. Here are the top key findings from the survey:

• Forty-three percent of those surveyed rely on some form of commuter option other than driving alone as either their primary or secondary mode of transportation.

• Nearly 20% of those surveyed use either carpooling or vanpooling as their primary mode of transportation.

• Eleven percent of those surveyed use bus or transit service as their primary mode of transportation.

• Fourteen percent of those surveyed currently telecommute or work from home.

• All database members who carpool take approximately 696,735 miles off the road one way to work per week, which translates into 64,099,620 miles roundtrip for the year or $32,690,806 saved (based on $0.51 per mile).

• All database members who use all forms of transportation other than driving along take approximately 1,511,609 million miles off the road one way to work per week, which translates into 139,068,028 million miles roundtrip for the year or $70,924,694.28 saved (based on $0.51 per mile).

Commuter Services works with employers and commuters to encourage options such as taking public transit, carpooling, biking, walking, vanpooling or telecommuting in order to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality.