Frank Douma

Telecommuting Implications for Travel Behavior: Case Studies from Minnesota

Case studies of two telecommuting programs were conducted as part of a larger research effort devoted to examining the implications of telecommunications for Minnesota transportation and community development. Data were collected in a large private high-technology firm and in a public agency located in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area. A multiple method design was employed including a cross-section survey of nontelecommuting employees; a census survey of telecommuters; and in-depth interviews with telecommuters, their coworkers, and their supervisors. Analyses were conducted to explore the relationship between telecommuting and travel behavior and the potential effects of travel outcomes for community systems. Results indicate that telecommuting implementation strategies differ within and between organizations, and these differing approaches appear to moderate the relationship between telecommuting and complex travel behaviors, such as local errand running and trip chaining. Additional findings concur with those of other studies, and the difficulty of the commute is highlighted as a primary factor in understanding the choice to telecommute and its impact on travel behavior.

Influence of E-Shopping on Shopping Travel: Evidence from Minnesota’s Twin Cities

Research was done to reveal the travel impact of e-shopping in the Minneapolis–St. Paul (Twin Cities) metropolitan area of Minnesota. A sample of Internet users drawn from urban, suburban, and exurban neighborhoods was used to identify the relationship between e-shopping and in-store shopping. An online survey composed of direct and attitudinal questions was used to obtain the data. Ordered probit models were developed to account for the influences of a variety of confounding factors, such as shopping attitudes, shopping accessibility, shopping responsibility, and sociodemographics. The preliminary results, controlled for the confounding factors, show that e-shopping behavior (for online searching and online buying) tends to have a complementarity effect on in-store shopping.

Attitudes and Willingness to Pay for Tolled Facilities: A Panel Survey Evaluation

This paper presents the results of an evaluation study of the behavioral impacts of a high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane project in Minnesota. The I-394 MnPASS Express Lane Project is the fifth HOT lane project implemented in the United States. HOT lanes remain a new enough concept that there is little empirical information on methods for evaluating them or on their impacts on travel behavior for transportation planners and policy makers to use when making decisions about future facilities. The MnPASS evaluation study is significant not only because it uses a panel design but also because it involved multiple waves of stated preference (SP) experiments. These waves were conducted before and after project implementation. This paper uses information from the evaluation study to examine two significant issues: (a) How applicable is a panel design to evaluating road pricing projects? and (b) How does willingness to pay vary on the basis of before-and-after iterations of the SP experiments?

Addressing Key Concerns Regarding Automated Speed Enforcement via Interactive Survey

Speeding is a public health crisis that accounts for approximately one-third of roadway deaths each year in the United States. One countermeasure with clearly documented efficacy to reduce speed is automated speed enforcement (ASE). Public acceptance, however, has been marginal, with many drivers calling into question its need and legality. This project aimed to measure public rejection of ASE and to provide individualized information strategically to determine if opinions may be shifted more favorably as a result. Statistically significant movement on ASE opinion was achieved after respondents engaged with a tailored survey that addressed their particular concerns about ASE. Almost half (47%) of those who began with a neutral or negative opinion of ASE moved toward a more favorable opinion of it. Those who changed their opinion were more engaged (e.g., considered the opposite of their current stance more fully) and were persuaded by evidence of safety benefits that result from effective speed reduction with ASE deployment.

Obtaining manufacturers’ perspectives in making regional transportation decisions

Abstract The University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs worked with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), Minnesota Department of Administration, and University of Minnesota Extension to develop and implement a unique approach linking economic development and transportation planning. Using the Economic Development Administration’s US Cluster Mapping tool, competitive traded industry clusters were identified in MnDOT operations districts. University, MnDOT, and local economic development staff interviewed manufacturers and their carriers within the identified clusters to understand the transportation and logistics issues these companies face and how MnDOT could make improvements to its operations and systems to help alleviate or minimize these issues. The approach was modeled after the successful business retention and expansion work conducted for Minnesota communities by the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Community Vitality. A key element to the success was involving local economic development staff in interviews and pairing them with MnDOT staff.

Legal Accelerators and Brakes for Deployment of Automated Vehicles

This chapter will review three questions that prompted significant discussion at the 2014 Symposium on Vehicle Automation sponsored by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) as potential accelerators or brakes for deployment of automated vehicles: (1) Where are uniform laws needed? (2) What deployment will come first and will it be evolutionary or revolutionary? (3) How should tests be devised for ratings or certification? Participants in the “Legal Accelerators and Brakes” session noted that the legal environment does not appear to be the obstacle, or “brake” to autonomous vehicle deployment that many fear it will be. Greater uniformity in operational laws, such as tailgating and distracted driving, as well as in safety testing standards, could potentially accelerate deployment. Participants in the session concluded that key privacy and security questions will be informed by legal developments that are not unique to driving.

Bus-only shoulders in the twin cities metropolitan area, Minnesota

As of December 2006, Minnesotas Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area (the Twin Cities) was home to 257 bus-only shoulder (BOS) miles. As the BOS network grew in the Twin Cities, it became a fundamental piece of the regions transportation system and faced little opposition. Partnerships among transportation agencies and officials contributed greatly to the ideas success, ensuring that support and resources were made available. The result has been the proliferation of a “transit advantage” to transit passengers who bypass congestion and may save time by taking the bus. To understand how and why BOS have succeeded so well in the Twin Cities, this report used five elements of transportation projects identified by the Hubert H. Humphrey State and Local Policy Program to examine the origin and evolution of BOS. Governance, stakeholder participation, finance, design, and economics each played a role in developing the BOS system. Collectively, the details of each provide a picture of how BOS came to be in the Twin Cities and also provide insight for cities interested in pursuing BOS networks of their own.