Commuting Mode

Following a substantial community effort and many years, Whistler has an updated Official Community Plan and Vision (OCP) that sets the course for the community into the future. Whistler Council adopted the OCP at its meeting June 23, 2020. The new vision and OCP builds on Whistler 2020, Whistler’s previous guiding policy document. Work is underway to align existing community performance indicators with the new vision and OCP. Updated 2019 data will be available in summer 2020.

Commuting Mode

In 2018, 53% of Whistler residents traveled to work by preferred modes of mobility. Results dropped by a significant amount from 2017 for both winter and summer trips. Not surprisingly, summer results (59%) score more favourably than winter results (46%) and seasonal residents are traditionally keen commuters with 86% using preferred modes in 2016.

Why monitor this

Commuting to work constitutes a large proportion of transportation trips made by Whistler residents. Transportation in single occupancy vehicles (SOV) is more resource intensive and polluting on a per person basis than other modes and commonly coincides with peak traffic volumes on Highway 99. Alternate transportation modes such as carpooling, transit, biking or walking can conveniently replace SOV transportation, especially for those regular trips.

What this measures

This indicator reveals the proportion of residents who reported commuting to work via preferred transportation alternatives, specifically mass transit, carpool or cycling.