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Traveling Sustainably

With cars clogging up our roads and pumping out emissions, expanding sustainable transportation options is a top priority for Milpitas. Ensuring everyone has access to bus and train routes, car-sharing systems, and bike lanes are some ways to do this! 

GHGs from Driving

Epic Distances Traveled

Individually, our driving each day may not seem like that many miles. When we add up all the miles of all the trips taken by car by all the residents, the numbers quickly get very large. Although many trips don't seem like much individually, across all the trips, we cover epic distances! 

In addition to the resources required to cover those distances and the GHGs they emit, we spend huge amounts of time just traveling from place to place. Through better planning and by diversifying transportation choices, we can mitigate these impacts.

GHGs from Driving

Miles Driven per Capita

Total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in Milpitas increased over 18% from 2005 to 2019. Those increases are the result of significant population increases as well. When we control for population, we can see some good trends, with VMT per person going down.

This indicates that while we are growing, we are growing better, without complete dependence on private vehicles.

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GHGs from Driving

Cleaner Cars

In addition to reducing the miles driven per person, we can see the impact of cleaner vehicles in terms of decreased GHGs created for every mile driven. This has been slowly improving just from minor increases in fuel economy in recent years and is set to change dramatically as the switch to electric vehicles takes hold. 

The pieces are in place for transformational change in the climate impacts of the transportation sector. The plans we're putting in place will position Milpitas to be a leader in climate-friendly mobility. 

New Mobility Options

Milpitas BART Station


Milpitas now has a BART station! This connection will help strengthen Milpitas' role in the regional economy by connecting residents to employment centers throughout the Bay Area and making Milpitas a more attractive place for employers looking to tap the region's workforce.

With this new mobility hub in place, we'll be watching how travel behavior changes along with GHGs from our community.

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What's Next for Milpitas Metro?

With the BART station in place, the Milpitas Metro area is set for changes that will make the area a thriving regional mobility hub. You can get all the details from the Milpitas Metro Specific Plan.

Explore the Plan!
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City Initiatives

Clean City Fleet

Milpitas’ growth is designed to be sustainable and efficient.  Our updated CAP will focus on how our community can get around in a safe, reliable, efficient, cost-effective, and healthy way. Individual choices can have impacts on your health and your wallet. And collectively, these choices impact air quality and how much developed land is  dedicated to transportation systems.

The City is supporting different forms of low-carbon transportation by setting the standard for clean transportation. The City is transitioning the municipal vehicle fleet to hybrid and electric while working to increase access to public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

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Get Involved! The Bikeway & Pedestrian Master Plan

In March 2020, the City started to update the Bikeway & Pedestrian Master Plan and Trails Master Plan.

The City wants to hear from you about what will make Milpitas a better place for pedestrians and cyclists. Make your suggestions on the interactive map help us plan the future of climate-friendly mobility in Milpitas!

Bikeway & Pedestrian Master Plan Interactive Map
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How You Can Help

Send Us Your Feedback

Ready to share your thoughts on how we improve performance in Traveling Sustainably? Be sure to visit our Action Plan Feedback page and add your opinions across all the plan sectors.

How You Can Help

Mobility Choices are Multiplying

Take a small step today to reduce your transportation footprint!


Electric vehicle incentives
Sign up to carpool regionally
Find a new bike path!
EV charging stations
Suggested routes to school
Visit great local businesses
Explore the City's New Bike & Trails Plans
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