Insee Première · January 2021 · n° 1835

The car remains the main mode of transport to go to work, even for short distances

In 2017, 75% of employed workers who have to go to work, used their car, 16% used public transport and 8% used environmentaly alternative modes, including 6% walking and 2% cycling. For distances less than 5 kilometers, the car still accounted for 60% of commuting trips, even though its share declined in favor of alternative modes. For short distances, which are more frequent for people living in the city centres, employees went to work more often on foot or by public transport, while managers used bicycles or public transport more often.

Within cities with more than 150,000 inhabitants, Grenoble and Strasbourg were those where residents used the most environmentally modes to go to work, particularly bicycles (17%).

Between 2015 and 2020, the use of bicycles to go to work increased by two points in the city centres, reaching 6% at the beginning of 2020. The use of public transport increased slightly in the centres of the area of attraction of the cities.