Transcript 2004 State of the Commute Survey: Assessing the Impacts of Regional Transportation Demand Management National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board December 15, 2004

2004 State of the Commute Survey:
Assessing the Impacts of Regional
Transportation Demand Management
National Capital Region Transportation
Planning Board
December 15, 2004
Purpose of Data Collection

Estimate effectiveness of the Commuter Operations Center
and six Transportation Emission Reduction Measures
(TERMs):






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Telework Resource Center
Integrated Rideshare
Guaranteed Ride Home
Employer Outreach
Employer Outreach for Bicycling
Regional Mass Marketing
Effectiveness measures: users, placements, and
reductions in Vehicle Trips (VT), Vehicle Miles of Travel
(VMT), and emissions
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2004 State of the Commute Survey
 Survey sample
 7,200 randomly-selected workers in the
Metropolitan Washington non-attainment area.
 Telephone survey conducted between February
and May 2004.
 Survey questions
 Commute Patterns
 Availability/attitudes toward commute options
 Awareness of regional/employer commute services
 Provide for comparisons with 2001 State of the
Commute survey
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Mode Split Comparison: 2001 to 2004
 Driving alone increased slightly from 70% in
2001 to 71% in 2004.
 There was a drop in carpooling and
vanpooling from 7% to 6%
 Transit stayed the same at 17%.
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Commute Lengths 2001 vs. 2004
 The one-way commute distance increased
from 15.5 miles in 2001 to 16.5 miles in 2004.
 The average commute time was 34 minutes
in 2004, up from 32 minutes in 2001.
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Employer Commute Assistance
 Over half of the region’s employers offer
commute benefits or support services to their
employees.
 Metrochek is offered by 31% of employers, up
from 29% in 2001.

51% of employers offer Metrochek in DC, 20%
in Maryland, and 22% in Virginia.
 81% of employees whose employer did not
offer commute benefit programs drove alone
vs. 63% of commuters whose employers did
offer commute benefits.
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Parking Availability
 Free on-site parking at employer sites was
available to 66% of commuters in 2004, up
from 65% in 2001.

35% of District employers offer free parking,
compared to 78% in both Maryland and
Virginia
 86% of commuters who had free parking
drove alone compared with 47% of
commuters who did not receive this benefit.
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Telecommuting
 In 2001, 11.3% of the workforce teleworked an
average of 1.1 days per week
 In 2004, 12.8% of the workforce teleworked an
average of 1.3 days per week
 Federal telecommuting increased from 6.9% in
2001 to 11.8% in 2004
 Non-Federal telecommuting increased from
12.6% in 2001 to 13.4% in 2004
 13% of Virginia commuters telework, compared
to 12% for Maryland and 10% for DC.
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Telework Potential in Region
 Public Sector
lags behind
Private / NonProfits and
has the
highest
potential for
growth
Teleworkers 2004 "Could & Would" Total Potential
Employer Type
320,000
400,000
720,000
Private Sector /
Non-Profit
15%
20%
35%
Federal
12%
23%
35%
State / Local
6%
13%
19%
Totals
13%
18%
30%
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Attitudes and Awareness: Overall
Commute
 29% said that their commute was more
difficult than a year ago, mainly because of
longer commute distances or added
congestion.
 14% said that their commute was easier
than a year ago because of a shorter
commute distance, less traffic congestion, or
they switched to an alternative mode.
 More than half of the commuters felt that their
commute was about the same as a year ago.
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Attitudes and Awareness: Transit and
Ridesharing
 Transit
 68% of commuters said that public transportation
was available from home to work, about the same
as 2001.
 32% of commuters said they don’t ride the bus
because “it takes too long”, up from 27% in 2001.
 37% of commuters said they didn’t take the train
because the service was not available, about the
same as in 2001.
 Ridesharing
 47% of commuters said they didn’t rideshare
because they “didn’t know anyone to rideshare
with”, about the same as 2001.
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Attitudes and Awareness: Guaranteed
Ride Home
 Almost 60% of commuters know that there is
a regional GRH program, a dramatic increase
from 2001 when only 20% of commuters
were aware of the program.
 Findings show that all mode users are equally
aware of the program.
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Attitudes and Awareness: Marketing
and Advertising
 Over half of commuters have seen, heard, or
read advertising for commuting.
 13% recalled Commuter Connections as the
sponsor of the ad.
 17% of commuters who drive alone said they
were influenced by the ads and would
consider using alternative modes.
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Commuter Connections Transportation
and Emission Impacts - Daily
Trips reduced
91,000
VMT reduced
1,722,000
NOx reduced
1.96 Tons
VOC reduced
1.01 Tons
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Cost Effectiveness of Commuter
Connections Programs
Cost Per Trip Reduced
$
0.15
Cost Per VMT Reduced
$
0.01
Cost per ton of NOx reduced
$ 6,000
Cost per ton of VOC reduced
$12,000
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Benchmarking TDM – Employer
Outreach
Region
Employer
Regulation
Washington No
Atlanta
No
Number of
Employer
Clients
5,000
400
Clients Per
100,000
Employees
186
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Houston
No
127
6
Phoenix
Yes (50 or
more
employees)
1,200
77
San Diego
No
200
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Benchmarking TDM – Ridematch
Database Comparison
Region
Database Annual
Size
Applications
Applicants
per 1,000
employees
Placement
Rate
Washington 17,000
21,000
7.8
42%
Atlanta
28,000
6,500
2.9
24%
Houston
7,000
5,000
2.3
N/A
Phoenix
2,600
3,300
2.1
N/A
San Diego
13,300
12,000
8.5
N/A
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Conclusions
 Employers are participating in offering
commute benefits in greater numbers, but
more of them need to either start or expand
programs.
 Free parking is still the norm rather than the
exception.
 Advertising creates high awareness and
encourages commuters to take action.
 There is tremendous potential for additional
telecommuting.
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Conclusions
 Transportation Demand Management (TDM)
is an important tool in maintaining and
operating the region’s transportation
infrastructure.
 TDM would be more effective if more housing
and employment were concentrated along
major corridors and in activity centers with
less free parking.
 The region needs to build upon its successful
track record with TDM – our program impacts
and cost effectiveness compare favorably
with other similar metropolitan regions.
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