What's within reach without a car

The areas come from Mapbox's travel-time service, along streets and paths open to people on foot or on bikes, at an even pace without waits at lights. The places are 103,191 grocery stores, pharmacies, schools, libraries, parks, train stations, cafés, clinics, bus stops and bike-share points in California mapped in OpenStreetMap (a pair of stops with the same name across a street counts once) (extract of 2026-09-29). Volunteers map them, so some are missing, pharmacies most of all.

Driving costs use the IRS business rate (76¢ a mile), which counts fuel, wear, insurance and the car losing value, on the same distance there and back. Activity is counted against the 150 minutes a week of moderate activity in the HHS guidelines.

A route being short says nothing about what it's like to walk or ride. The cycling map shows the bike lanes, paths and quieter streets, and the walking map the paths and the busy roads to cross at a signal.

Your start point is sent only to Mapbox, to draw the areas and routes. We don't store it and it never goes in the page address.

A third of US car trips are under 3 miles: how short car trips are.

The average US household spends about $13,318 a year on transportation (2024, BLS), most of it on vehicles: about 353 hours of work at the average wage. Driving alone to work takes Californians 28.2 minutes each way on average, about 235 hours a year: time and money.

About 4,274 people die in crashes on California roads each year (2021–2024, NHTSA FARS), 27% of them on foot: the harm cars do.

How far can you walk in 15 minutes?

About three quarters of a mile at an easy pace, less where there are long waits to cross. The map draws the area along real streets and paths from the address you enter.

How far can you bike in 15 minutes?

Around two and a half to three miles at an easy pace on flat streets. The map draws the area on streets and paths open to bikes, from the address you enter.

How much does it cost to drive a short trip?

The IRS business rate, 76 cents a mile from July 2026, counts fuel, wear, insurance and the car's loss of value. At that rate a two-mile trip there and back costs about $3.04.

What does "Your week" add up?

Round trips to the nearest place of each kind, as many a week as you set: the minutes on foot or by bike (Mapbox travel times), the miles, what those miles would cost by car at the IRS rate (76 cents a mile), and the CO2 a typical passenger car emits over them, about 400 grams a mile according to the EPA. Trip counts are remembered in your browser; places and your start point are not.

What does "What this route runs along" mean?

For a bike trip, the share of the route on paths and protected lanes, bike lanes and bike boulevards, quiet streets, and busy roads with no bike lane, as mapped in OpenStreetMap and in this site's low-stress network. It describes the streets, not how a ride will go.

How much activity do adults need?

The HHS Physical Activity Guidelines suggest at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, such as brisk walking or riding a bike. Two 10-minute walks or rides a day, five days a week, add up to 100 of them.