University of California Transportation Center

Despite the size and growth of the immigrant population in the U.S., only a handful of scholars have studied the travel behavior of immigrants and its impact on our nation’s roads, highways, and transit systems. Yet immigration has affected and will continue to affect our transportation infrastructure significantly. In particular, the data suggest that immigration has contributed to increased travel across all transportation modes, the growth in transit commuters, and a shift in the demographic composition of transit riders. These trends have implications for congestion, the future of transit ridership, and opportunities to better address the travel needs of immigrants.