Here’s what U.S. coastal residents think about regional travel

Raise of hands: Who has been stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, overpaid for a ticket, or experienced no legroom in an uncomfortable seat?  

You’re not alone. Trips between 50 and 200 miles are too often plagued by hassle and headache.  

That was one of the main takeaways from a survey of more than 2,000 adults across major coastal cities in the U.S. conducted last summer. We included these findings in our global consumer survey analysis, released this month.  

It’s also one of the main reasons we created seagliders — to provide residents in coastal cities with a better alternative.  

Here are some key takeaways from the U.S. survey:  ‍

Travel frequency

Almost half of all U.S. respondents (44%) travel between coastal destinations at least once a month, and 83% take those trips at least a few times per year.  

This varied somewhat among cities, with 15 percent of Hawaiians traveling a few times a week, and 8% of Miamians traveling daily.  

Mode of Transportation

Overall, the majority across the U.S. travel by road (82%), followed by 11% by air, 5% by rail, and 2% by water.  

Residents in Los Angeles and San Diego were the top users of cars for these trips, with 78% and 73% respectively using their own vehicles as their primary form of transportation. Hawaiians were the only group whose top mode of transportation wasn’t a car — 41% use commercial flights for these trips.

Passenger preferences

When asked what factors were most important to them when deciding on a mode of transportation for regional trips, cost, convenience, and comfort topped the list. There were the same top three factors as the global survey results, but in the U.S., cost slightly outweighed the others.  

They were also the top three factors for all residents in all U.S. cities surveyed except Hawaii, where safety came out first, followed by convenience and cost.  

Seaglider Interest

Eighty-eight percent of U.S. respondents said they were interested in traveling by seaglider, compared to 86% globally.  

Among cities survey, the highest interest was in Hawaii (96%), followed by Seattle (90%), San Diego (89%), Miami (88%), Los Angeles (87%), Boston (86%), and New York (85%).  

We hear you. We’re designing seagliders to be a less expensive, faster, no-hassle travel option with ample legroom, big windows, and a smooth ride — coming soon to coastlines around the country.