Andrea Hamre

Commuter mode choice and free car parking, public transportation benefits, showers/lockers, and bike parking at work: Evidence from the Washington, DC region

Municipalities and employers in the U.S. attempt to reduce commuting by automobile through commuter benefits for riding public transportation, walking, or cycling. Many employers provide a combination of benefits, often including free car parking alongside benefits for public transportation, walking, and cycling. This study evaluates the relationship between commuter benefits and mode choice for the commute to work using revealed preference data on 4,630 regular commuters, including information about free car parking, public transportation benefits, showers/lockers, and bike parking at work in the Washington, DC region. Multinomial logistic regression results show that free car parking at work is related to more driving. Commuters offered either public transportation benefits, showers/lockers, or bike parking, but no free car parking, are more likely to either ride public transportation, walk, or cycle to work. The joint provision of benefits for public transportation, walking, and cycling is related to an increased likelihood to commute by all three of these modes and a decreased likelihood of driving. However, the inclusion of free car parking in benefit packages alongside benefits for public transportation, walking, and cycling, seems tooffset the effect of these incentives. Benefits for public transportation, walking, and cycling, seem to work best when car parking is not free.

An examination of recent trends in multimodal travel behavior among American motorists

ABSTRACT According to national statistics, 87% of all trips in the United States are by automobile and 90% of commuters typically get to work by car. Statistics for individual trips or the main mode of commuting do not capture variability in individual travel behavior over time. This article uses the 2001 and 2009 National Household Travel Surveys to analyze recent trends in the share of multimodal motorists who use a car and also walk, bicycle, or ride public transport during a day or week. This article identifies trends of multimodal behavior among car users in the United States and provides profiles of these multimodal motorists. During a typical day about 14% of American car users make at least two trips by foot, bicycle, or public transport, while during a typical week about 25% of motorists make at least seven trips by means of transport other than the car. Results from a bivariate analysis and logistic regressions suggest significant shifts toward more multimodal behavior among motorists between 2001 and 2009. Multimodal motorists tend to be younger, educated beyond high school, in households without cars, and live in high-density neighborhoods with access to a rail system. Results suggest that planning for walking, cycling, and public transport benefits a larger proportion of the U.S. population than suggested by traditional trip-based analysis.

Business and Bikeshare User Perceptions of the Economic Benefits of Capital Bikeshare

This study investigated potential economic benefits of bikesharing in commercial areas immediately adjacent to bikeshare docking stations. With the use of a sample of five Capital Bikeshare (CaBi) stations in Washington, D.C., an intercept survey of 333 bikeshare users at five CaBi stations at commercial activity centers and a door-to-door survey of 140 local businesses within 1/10 mi of those five CaBi stations were conducted. It was found that many CaBi riders were motivated to use the system because of savings in travel time (73% of users) and cost (25% of users). In addition, 16% of riders reported making new or induced trips because of CaBi, and 23% of users reported spending more money because of it. Income level was positively associated with new trips, spending levels, and spending during new trips. Joining CaBi to save money had a significant positive association with new trips. The business survey showed that 20% of the businesses in the sample reported a positive impact of bikesharing on sales, and 70% identified a positive impact on the area. In addition, 61% would have either a positive or a neutral reaction to replacing car parking in front of their business with a bikeshare station. Businesses that perceived a positive impact on sales from the bikeshare system were more likely to support the expansion of the system and the replacement of car parking with bikeshare stations. Overall, the findings from five CaBi stations in commercial business areas suggests that bikesharing may generate benefits among both users and businesses.

Planning for Sustainable Transport in Germany and the USA: : A Comparison of the Washington, DC and Stuttgart Regions

Abstract Federal, state, and local governments in Germany and the USA strive to make passenger transport more sustainable to combat oil dependence, climate change, local pollution, and negative public health outcomes. This paper compares the Washington, DC and Stuttgart regions to demonstrate differences and similarities between the German and US land-use and transport planning systems. To illustrate local planning for more sustainable transport, we compare two best-practice examples for integrating transport and land-use planning: the Rosslyn–Ballston Corridor in Arlington County in the DC metro region and Scharnhauser Park in the City of Ostfildern in the Stuttgart region. In spite of significant differences in motorization, travel behaviour, sustainability, and planning systems, both Arlington County and the City of Ostfildern promote sustainable transport using comparable strategies: (1) mixed-use development around public transport stations; (2) comprehensive long-range plans; (3) citizen participation; and (4) coordinated transport, housing, and economic development policies.