IELTS Writing Task 1: U.S. Commuting Trends (2019 vs 2025 Bar Chart)

The bar chart illustrates changes in commuting habits among U.S. residents between 2019 and 2025. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Model Answer

The bar chart compares the commuting preferences of U.S. residents in 2019 and 2025 across a range of transport modes.

Overall, while travelling by private car remained the most common choice, its dominance declined noticeably. By contrast, all comparable alternative modes increased in popularity, resulting in more diverse commuting patterns by 2025.

In 2019, private cars were by far the most widely used mode of transport, accounting for 85% of commuters. However, this figure fell significantly to 73% in 2025. In contrast, the proportion of people using public transportation rose from approximately 11% in 2019 to around 14% in 2025, indicating a gradual shift toward shared transport options.

Several other modes also experienced notable growth. The share of ride-hailing increased markedly from around 4% in 2019 to approximately 11% in 2025, while cycling rose from about 5% to roughly 9%. Walking, which had no available data in 2019, accounted for around 11% of commuters in 2025. Meanwhile, the least common modes—car-sharing and taxis—both grew from roughly 2% to about 6%, and motorcycle use saw a modest increase from approximately 3% to around 5%.

IELTS Task 1 Practice Quiz – U.S. Commuting Trends

1 / 8

What is the most noticeable overall trend in the chart?

A. Car usage increased significantly

B. All transport modes declined

C. Car usage declined while other modes increased

D. Public transport became the dominant mode

2 / 8

Why does the total percentage exceed 100%?

A. The data is incorrect

B. Some categories are repeated

C. People can use multiple modes of transport

D. The chart includes estimates

3 / 8

Which statement about walking is correct?

A. It increased steadily from 2019 to 2025

B. It decreased slightly

C. It cannot be compared due to missing 2019 data

D. It remained unchanged

4 / 8

In this chart, the percentages for each year add up to more than 100% because commuters can use multiple transport modes. Which sentence is NOT appropriate?(Choose all that apply)

A. Cars accounted for the largest share of commuters.

B. Public transport was used by around 14% of commuters.

C. The remaining modes made up the rest of commuters.

D. Several categories increased in their individual shares.

E. Together, the other modes accounted for about 30% of commuters.

5 / 8

Choose the best academic phrasing: More people used public transport.

A. Public transport was used more.

B. The number of people using public transport increased.

C. The proportion of commuters using public transportation increased.

D. Public transport got more popular.

6 / 8

What does the rise in multiple smaller categories suggest?

A. People stopped commuting

B. Transport options became more limited

C. Commuting patterns became more diverse

D. Cars were no longer used

7 / 8

Why is “around” or “approximately” used in the report?

A. The data is unreliable

B. The values are estimated from the chart

C. The writer is unsure

D. It sounds more formal

8 / 8

Rewrite this sentence in a more analytical way:

Ride-hailing was 4% in 2019 and 11% in 2025.

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