Commuting behavior is not the definitive way to understand how people move around the city — most trips we take are not to or from work, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

But daily commutes are probably Denver’s most consistent trips, so the Downtown Denver Partnership’s annual commuter survey is a helpful tool to measure how people are entering and leaving the area’s busiest job center.

The 2018 version is ready for you to take over at the Partnership’s website.

Last year’s survey revealed a big jump in downtown bike commuters that coincided with the installation of more protected bike lanes.

But way too many people still drive solo to the Central Business District — about 39 percent of all commuters — to make a dent in the Hancock administration’s goals for reducing car dependence. Walking is more popular than it was five years ago due to growth in residential development, while transit use is worse off:

These statistics are a decent barometer but they don’t reflect citywide trends. They only capture one type of trip, commuting, in one geographic area, downtown. It’s the city’s top employment center and the most transit-rich, which makes it important to track, but it’s not representative of Denver as a whole.

Still, it’s worth taking the survey to help advocates make the case for things like bus lanes, better crosswalks, bike lanes, and employer-subsidized passes for transit and bike-share.