People in California Are Using Their Cars Less

California residents, long known for taking to the freeways, have dramatically reduced their dependency on cars, according to a new report.

The report by the California Department of Transportation indicates that almost 23 percent of California household trips are made by walking, biking, or using public transportation, more than double the rate in 2000. The results are driven by what the department calls a “dramatic increase” in walking trips, which have jumped from about eight percent to about sixteen percent of household trips. Still, the vast majority of trips are still in cars, vans, and trucks.

It’s “a shift with real benefits for public health that also cuts greenhouse gases and smog-forming pollution,” Mary Nichols, chairman of the California Air Resources Board, said in a statement.

The study surveyed more than 42,000 households and nearly 109,000 Californians. The information is a cause of celebration for environmentalists who have seen mixed trends nationwide, as the number of car miles driven annually peaked about a decade ago, the Los Angeles Times reports. But congestion has risen recently due to the recovering economy.