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

2 Purpose of Data Collection Estimate effectiveness of the Commuter Operations Center and six Transportation Emission Reduction Measures (TERMs): 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

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 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

5 Mode Split Comparison: 2001 to 2004 Driving alone increased slightly from 70% in 2001 to 71% in There was a drop in carpooling and vanpooling from 7% to 6% Transit stayed the same at 17%.

6 Commute Lengths 2001 vs The one-way commute distance increased from 15.5 miles in 2001 to 16.5 miles in The average commute time was 34 minutes in 2004, up from 32 minutes in 2001.

7 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 % 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.

8 Parking Availability Free on-site parking at employer sites was available to 66% of commuters in 2004, up from 65% in % 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.

9 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 % of Virginia commuters telework, compared to 12% for Maryland and 10% for DC.

10 Telework Potential in Region Public Sector lags behind Private / Non- Profits and has the highest potential for growth

11 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.

12 Attitudes and Awareness: Transit and Ridesharing Transit 68% of commuters said that public transportation was available from home to work, about the same as % of commuters said they don’t ride the bus because “it takes too long”, up from 27% in % of commuters said they didn’t take the train because the service was not available, about the same as in Ridesharing 47% of commuters said they didn’t rideshare because they “didn’t know anyone to rideshare with”, about the same as 2001.

13 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.

14 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.

15 Commuter Connections Transportation and Emission Impacts - Daily Trips reduced91,000 VMT reduced1,722,000 NOx reduced1.96 Tons VOC reduced1.01 Tons

16 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

17 Benchmarking TDM – Employer Outreach RegionEmployer Regulation Number of Employer Clients Clients Per 100,000 Employees WashingtonNo5, AtlantaNo40018 HoustonNo1276 PhoenixYes (50 or more employees) 1,20077 San DiegoNo20014

18 Benchmarking TDM – Ridematch Database Comparison RegionDatabase Size Annual Applications Applicants per 1,000 employees Placement Rate Washington17,00021, % Atlanta28,0006, % Houston7,0005,0002.3N/A Phoenix2,6003,3002.1N/A San Diego13,30012,0008.5N/A

19 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.

20 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.