<P> Houston is considered an automobile - dependent city, with an estimated 77.2% of commuters driving alone to work in 2016, up from 71.7% in 1990 and 75.6% in 2009 . In 2016, another 11.4% of Houstonians carpooled to work, while 3.6% used public transit, 2.1% walked, and 0.5% bicycled . A commuting study estimated that the median length of commute in the region was 12.2 miles (19.6 km) in 2012 . According to the 2013 American Community Survey, the average work commute in Houston (city) takes 26.3 minutes . A 1999 Murdoch University study found that Houston had both the lengthiest commute and lowest urban density of 13 large American cities surveyed, and a 2017 Arcadis study ranked Houston 22nd out of 23 American cities in transportation sustainability . Harris County is one of the largest consumers of gasoline in the United States, ranking second (behind Los Angeles County) in 2013 . </P> <P> Despite the region's high rate of automobile usage, attitudes towards transportation among Houstonians indicate a growing preference for walkability . A 2017 study by the Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research found that 56% of Harris County residents have a preference for dense housing in a mixed - use, walkable setting as opposed to single - family housing in a low - density area . A plurality of survey respondents also indicated that traffic congestion was the most significant problem facing the metropolitan area . In addition, many households in the City of Houston have no car . In 2015, 8.3 percent of Houston households lacked a car, which was virtually unchanged in 2016 (8.1 percent). The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016 . Houston averaged 1.59 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8 . </P> <P> The eight - county Greater Houston metropolitan area contains over 25,000 miles (40,000 km) of roadway, of which 10%, or approximately 2,500 miles (4,000 km), is limited - access highway . The Houston region's extensive freeway system handles over 40% of the regional daily vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Arterial roads handle an additional 40% of daily VMT, while toll roads, of which Greater Houston has 180 miles (290 km), handle nearly 10% . </P> <P> Greater Houston possesses a hub - and - spoke limited - access highway system, in which a number of freeways radiate outward from Downtown, with ring roads providing connections between these radial highways at intermediate distances from the city center . The city is crossed by three Interstate highways, Interstate 10, Interstate 45, and Interstate 69 (commonly known as U.S. Route 59), as well as a number of other United States routes and state highways . Major freeways in Greater Houston are often referred to by either the cardinal direction or geographic location they travel towards . Highways that follow the cardinal convention include U.S. Route 290 (Northwest Freeway), Interstate 45 north of Downtown (North Freeway), Interstate 10 east of Downtown (East Freeway), Texas State Highway 288 (South Freeway), and Interstate 69 south of Downtown (Southwest Freeway). Highways that follow the location convention include Interstate 10 west of Downtown (Katy Freeway), Interstate 69 north of Downtown (Eastex Freeway), Interstate 45 south of Downtown (Gulf Freeway), and Texas State Highway 225 (La Porte or Pasadena Freeway). </P>

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