Transportation Management Associations

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TDM Encyclopedia

Victoria Transport Policy Institute

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Updated 21 March 2019


This chapter describes Transportation Management Associations (TMAs), which are member-controlled, organizations that provide transportation services in a particular area.

 

 

Description

Transportation Management Associations (TMAs) are non-profit, member-controlled organizations that provide transportation services in a particular area, such as a commercial district, mall, medical center or industrial park. They are generally public-private partnerships, consisting primarily of area businesses with local government support. Transportation Management Coordinators (TMC) are professionals who work for TMAs or individual employers.

 

TMAs provide an institutional framework for TDM Programs and services. They are usually more cost effective than programs managed by individual businesses. TMAs allow small employers to provide Commute Trip Reduction services comparable to those offered by large companies. They avoid problems that may be associated with government-run TDM programs, since they are controlled by members.

 

Transportation Management Associations can provide a variety of services that encourage more efficient use of transportation and parking resources.

·         Commute Trip Reduction

·         Commuter Financial Incentives

·         Flextime Support

·         Freight Transport Management

·         Guaranteed Ride Home Services

·         Marketing and Promotion

·         Parking Management and Brokerage

·         Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning

·         Pedways

·         Rideshare Matching and Vanpool Coordination

·         Shared Parking Coordination

·         Shuttle Services

·         Special Event Transport Management

·         Telework Support

·         Tourist Transport Management

·         Transit Improvements

·         Transportation Access Guides

·         Wayfinding and Multi-Modal Navigation Tools

 

 

Transportation Management Associations can support Smart Growth efforts to create more creating more Accessible and resource efficient land use patterns. TMAs can provide Parking Management and brokerage services that result in more efficient use of parking resources (Parking Solutions). This can reduce the need to expand parking capacity, reduce the total amount of land that must be paved in an area, and allow increased Clustering. For example, a church may allow its parking spaces to be used by a nearby restaurant on Saturday nights in exchange for use of the restaurant’s parking on Sunday mornings. This results in more efficient use of parking resources, and allows employers with successful Commute Trip Reduction programs to recoup their costs by leasing excess parking spaces (Shoup 2016).

 

 

How it is Implemented

Regional or local governments, chambers of commerce or management of a major facility (such as a mall or hospital) can help create a TMA and provide seed funding. Developers or facility managers may be required to establish a TMA to mitigate local congestion and parking problems. TMAs are typically funded through dues paid by member businesses and government grants (Hendricks, 2004).

 

 

Travel Impacts

TMAs provide an institutional structure to deliver various TDM strategies. One study estimates that TMAs can reduce 6-7% of total commute trips if implemented alone, and significantly more if implemented with other TDM strategies (TDM Resource Center 1997).

 

Table 1            Travel Impact Summary

Travel Impact

Rating

Comments

Reduces total traffic.

2

Implements Commute Trip Reduction

Reduces peak period traffic.

3

"

Shifts peak to off-peak periods.

3

"

Shifts automobile travel to alternative modes.

3

"

Improves access, reduces the need for travel.

1

May involve some land use management.

Increased ridesharing.

3

Implements Commute Trip Reduction

Increased public transit.

3

"

Increased cycling.

2

"

Increased walking.

2

"

Increased Telework.

3

"

Reduced freight traffic.

1

May involve some freight traffic management.

Rating from 3 (very beneficial) to –3 (very harmful). A 0 indicates no impact or mixed impacts.

 

 

Benefits And Costs

Transportation Management Associations can increase Transportation Options, provide financial savings to businesses and employees, reduce traffic congestion and parking problems, and reduce pollution emissions. They are an important strategy for creating more efficient land use patterns. These benefits can be large because traffic and parking costs tend to be particularly high in commercial and industrial areas where most TMAs exist. Parking and road facility savings often repay TMA operating costs.

 

Costs are primarily direct TMA program expenses, which typically average $10-20 annually per covered employee, although this can vary significantly depending on what services it provides (Ferguston 2007). Sometimes, TMAs increase consumer costs by implementing increased parking fees.

 

Table 2            Benefit Summary

Objective

Rating

Comments

Congestion Reduction

3

Helps reduce commute trips.

Road & Parking Savings

2

Helps reduce commute trips, more efficient use of parking facilities.

Consumer Savings

2

Helps reduce commute trips, increases commute choice.

Transport Choice

2

Helps increase commute choice.

Road Safety

2

Helps reduce vehicle trips.

Environmental Protection

2

Helps reduce vehicle trips.

Efficient Land Use

2

Helps reduce vehicle trips.

Community Livability

2

Helps reduce vehicle trips.

Rating from 3 (very beneficial) to –3 (very harmful). A 0 indicates no impact or mixed impacts.

 

 

Equity Impacts

Most services provided by TMAs are available to any employee at a worksite. TMAs typically require subsidies, but these are often comparable to subsidies for parking and local road improvements. Some strategies (such as Parking Cash Out) are progressive with respect to income, while others (such as Parking Pricing) may be regressive unless offset by other compensation. TMA services often benefit lower-income and transportation disadvantaged people by improving transportation choices and savings. TMAs can improve Basic Access by providing better travel options to employment and essential services.

 

Table 3            Equity Summary

Criteria

Rating

Comments

Treats everybody equally.

2

Usually provide services and benefits to all employees.

Individuals bear the costs they impose.

2

May involve subsidies, but less than for driving.

Progressive with respect to income.

3

Tends to increase affordable transport choices.

Benefits transportation disadvantaged.

3

Tends to increase transport choices for non-drivers.

Improves basic mobility.

2

Tends to increase basic transportation options.

Rating from 3 (very beneficial) to –3 (very harmful). A 0 indicates no impact or mixed impacts.

 

 

Applications

TMAs are appropriate for any geographic area where there are multiple employers or businesses clustered together, which can benefit from cooperative transportation management or parking brokerage services. Regional and local governments, business associations and individual businesses can all help establish TMAs.

 

Table 4            Application Summary

Geographic

Rating

Organization

Rating

Large urban region.

3

Federal government.

1

High-density, urban.

3

State/provincial government.

2

Medium-density, urban/suburban.

3

Regional government.

3

Town.

2

Municipal/local government.

3

Low-density, rural.

2

Business Associations/TMA.

3

Commercial center.

3

Individual business.

3

Residential neighborhood.

2

Developer.

2

Resort/recreation area.

3

Neighborhood association.

1

 

 

Campus.

3

Ratings range from 0 (not appropriate) to 3 (very appropriate).

 

 

Category

TDM Program

 

 

Relationships With Other TDM Strategies

Transportation Management Associations are often created as part of local or regional government TDM policies and programs. TMAs typically support the following TDM strategies:

·         Access Management

·         Alternative Work Schedules

·         Commute Trip Reduction

·         Commuter Financial Incentives

·         Flextime Support

·         Freight Transport Management.

·         Guaranteed Ride Home

·         Operations

·         Parking Management

·         Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvements

·         Ridesharing

·         Shuttle Services

·         Special Event Transport Management

·         TDM Marketing

·         Telework.

·         Transit Improvements

·         Transportation Access Guides

 

 

Stakeholders

TMA stakeholders include regional and local government agencies, transit providers, chambers of commerce or other business organizations, businesses, facility managers (such as a mall or medical center), employees, nearby residents and customers.

 

 

Barriers To Implementation

The main barriers are a lack of support among stakeholders, and often the perception that short-term benefits are small if there is no immediate parking or traffic congestion problem.

 

 

Best Practices

·         TMAs should support a variety of transportation services, travel options and incentives, including planning efforts to create more pedestrian- and transit-friendly land use, and parking brokerage services to help businesses share and trade their parking resources.

 

·         TMAs should include both positive and negative incentives. TDM programs tend to be most effective when they improve consumers’ travel choices and provide incentives to use alternatives to driving when possible.

 

·         TMAs should work to develop and maintain cooperation between transportation agencies, transit service providers, businesses, employees and residents who are affected by their programs.

 

·         Produce an annual “State of the Commute” report, which describes TDM programs and resources, travel trends, and comparisons with other communities, and other Performance Indicators.

 

Guiding Principles for the Establishment of An Area-Wide TMA

by Susan Philbin, Sowton Transport Management Association (www.sowtonforum.org.uk/tma.htm)

 

  1. Define the geographical area in which to site the TMA. This should not be too large so as to engender a ‘community’ spirit within the TMA – with all member companies working for the common good of the area.
  2. Undertake a site audit and assessment of existing situation including trip generation, mode split, public transport services and facilities and existing infrastructure to support sustainable transport modes.
  3. Establish contact with the business community through an existing business forum or chamber of commerce.
  4. Invite local councilors who may hold the environmental portfolio for the site to become involved in the management of the TMA.
  5. Work in partnership with the local highway authority and local planning authority to secure funding for the TMA and to provide sustainable transport infrastructure such as walk and cycle paths in the area.
  6. Engage with the local public transport providers to open channels for lobbying for discounted ticket, increased public transport services and increased or extended routes
  7. Establish funding streams and mechanisms for ongoing funding of the TMA before it is launched.
  8. Write a business plan for the TMA (how to raise fund and what the money will be spent on)
  9. Sell the business plan to gain business commitment
  10. Set up an interim board of directors from interested parties (local councilors, local authority officers, public transport operators and local business representatives)
  11. Directors must agree the business plan prior to the launch of the TMA and prior to registration as a not-for-profit company
  12. Write Memorandum and Articles of Association to establish the operating principles of the company
  13. Elect Chairman, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer
  14. Vote to agree business plan and budget
  15. Write job description for travel plan coordinator
  16. Establish line management and TP coordinator accountability
  17. Launch the TMA and raise awareness to businesses through local media
  18. Establish data base of businesses in defined geographical area with information regarding size, location, parking availability, whether or not they have a TP in place
  19. Contact the businesses, sell the TMA concept  – undertake staff travel surveys of those without Travel Plans in place
  20. Request sponsorship and seek further funding opportunities
  21. Prepare company Travel Plans for participating companies
  22. Liaise with existing Travel Plan Coordinators, local authorities and public transport providers to make best use of demand management measures already in place
  23. Continue awareness raising campaigns coordinated with local authority programmes and nationwide events
  24. Monitor effect of travel plans and sustainable transport measures through annual Automatic Traffic Count Data and Travel to Work Staff Surveys.

 

 

Examples and Case Studies

Ride-on (www.ride-on.org)

Ride-On in San Luis Obispo County, California is a non-profit transportation cooperative established in 1993 with a mission to develop and implement creative solutions to transportation and mobility issues that concern employers, businesses, medical providers, visitors services providers, special events coordinators, government agencies and individuals. It owns 35 vans and buses. The TMA is guided by a steering committee with representation from non-profit organizations, businesses and local government. It provides:

·         Shuttle bus services to regional transportation terminals.

·         Shuttle services for children and patients.

·         Special event transportation.

·         Lunchtime shuttle.

·         Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC) contract services.

·         Transportation information and referral.

·         Commuter baseline survey.

·         Guaranteed/Emergency Ride Home.

 

 

Go Lloyd (www.golloyd.org)

The Lloyd District, located across the Willamette River from downtown Portland, currently consists of approximately 650 businesses and 20,000 employees, including a major convention center, a mall, medical clinics, hotels, and office building. There are plans to add 17,000 new jobs and 4,000 new housing units within the district.

 

Since 1995 the Lloyd District Transportation Management Association (LDTMA) has worked to promote the area’s economic vitality by providing transportation programs and services to improve access. The LDTMA has 69 member businesses representing approximately 9,000 employees. It manages several programs to improve and promote walking, cycling, ridesharing and transit, including Commuter Connection, a retail transportation store that brings a new level of convenience for access to transportation information and services. The LDTMA works to improve walking and bicycling facilities, improve public transit services, and in various ways promotes use of alternative modes, including the Passport Transit Pass Program, an annual all-zone transit pass employers can purchase at a reduced rate per employee for all qualified employees. It manages Commuter Connection, a retail transportation store that brings a new level of convenience for access to transportation information and services. Transportation Coordinators (TC’s) act as liaisons between the LDTMA and employees.

 

In 1997, 76% of all employee commute trips to the Lloyd District were made in an automobile, 60% were drive alone trips and 16% were carpool. Despite the rise and fall in the number of participating employees from one year to the next, the percentage of drive alone trips has decreased during 6 out of the last 7 years, and transit ridership has increased, particularly among Passport Transit Pass member, among whom the percentage of transit trips nearly equals the percentage of drive alone trips. This has reduced about 1,000 daily peak period vehicle trips and about 3.9 million annual vehicle-miles. The district’s ultimate target is 42% transit and 10% bike commute mode splits.

 

Table 5            Lloyd District Commute Mode Split

 

1997

2005

Percentage Change

Drive alone

60%

42.7%

-28%

Rideshare

16%

11.0%

-24%

Bus/MAX

21%

39.1%

91%

Bicycle

3%

3.3%

8.8%

Walk

2%

2.3%

13%

Telecommute

0%

0.8%

NA

Compressed Work Week

0.5%

0.9%

88%

 

 

Commuter Challenge Program (www.CommuterChallenge.org)

Commuter Challenge is a non-profit organization that provides business leaders with expertise and support to create innovative solutions that reduce commute trips, while recognizing business needs and improving quality of life in the Puget Sound region. It partners with the Economic Development Council of Seattle & King County, and various city and state agencies.

 

Employer Recognition. Commuter Challenge sponsors an annual employer recognition program. Winners show management commitment to reducing employee commute trips. The program is also interested in learning about organizations not affected by the Commute Trip Reduction Law that deserve recognition for their voluntary employee transportation programs.

 

Work Options. Employers with real estate space needs, employee recruitment and retention challenges, and parking problems are invited to utilize Commuter Challenge's resources on compressed work schedules, flextime and telework. A cost/benefit analysis tool, case studies of employers with work options programs, and a Manager's Guide to Compressed Workweeks and Flextime are available for employers considering implementation or increasing work options.

 

Workshops/Forums/Committees. Commuter Challenge invites business representatives to participate in various transportation workshops, forums, and committees to address the congestion issues in our region. These opportunities provide the business community an avenue to shape public policies that will affect them, provide input to transportation service providers, and learn about new products and services that will assist them in further reducing commute trips to their work sites.

 

Pacesetter and Website. Commuter Challenge publishes the bi-monthly Pacesetter newsletter, a publication of interest to business decision makers, containing articles on transportation policy and helpful information on what other businesses are doing to reduce commute trips. It also maintains a website that provides extensive resources to support Commute Trip Reduction programs, and descriptions of successful case studies.

 

 

MOST (Mobility Management Strategies) (http://mo.st)

MOST is a European partnership to encourage sustainable transportation, with special programs dealing with travel related to tourism, medical services, education and special events. Its main aim is to develop and evaluate Mobility Management (MM) strategies. It is a combined research and demonstration project. MOST is sponsoring a number of case studies and examples of mobility centers that provide transportation management coordination and services.

 

Black Creek Regional TMA (www.blackcreekcarpool.org)

The Black Creek Regional Transportation Management Association (BCRTMA) is a private, nonprofit membership organization located in the Black Creek area north of Toronto, which includes major manufacturing facilities and York University. This area has more than 150,000 employees who currently generate over 62,000 automobile commute trips each workday. It is supported by the local chamber of commerce, individual employers, plus local, regional, provincial and federal governments. It was established in 2000.

 

The BCRTMA’s goals are to reduce local traffic congestion, parking costs and pollution emissions. The BCRTMA actively promotes improved transit service (increased frequency, more routes, better service quality) and cycling facility improvements. It provides the following transportation services:

 

 

Transportation Management Association of San Francisco (www.tmasf.org)

The TMASF is a privately funded association of building owners and managers that encourages the use of alternatives to single occupant commuting. The TMASF was established in 1989 as a cooperative effort between San Francisco city and county governments, and office building developers in the downtown area. It has more than 45 business members and 50,000 individual members who use the organization’s services. These services include on-line ridematching, transit trip planning and referral, business resource library, comprehensive marketing, survey, public and community relations programs, inter-agency relations and event planning. The organization is run by an executive director who reports to a board of directors made up of member representatives.

 

 

Creating a Culture of Public Transit (Margonelli 2011)

An exurban office park in California shows that we don't have to spend long commutes alone in our cars if we don't want to.

 

In San Ramon, California, 33 percent of the 30,000 workers leave their cars at home. Despite the fact that Bishop Ranch is 37 miles from San Francisco, a dozen miles from the nearest BART rail station, and home to Chevron's corporate offices, its parking lots are surprisingly empty, and it has won many awards for transit. Marci McGuire, the program manager for the Ranch's Transportation center, describes the attitude at the park as "a culture" where it's cool to have a bus pass. "When you do it right, it's like a cult," she says.

 

I spent a couple of hours with Marci to find out how she nurtures this cult that gets 10,000 people out of their cars daily. It seemed to me that there were three aspects of the program that operate counter to the current thinking. First, logistically, there are a lot of buses that terminate and originate within a few blocks of all the 30,000 jobs in the park. Secondly, the focus of the transit program is not exclusively environmental, but encompasses health, stress, and financial benefits. Thirdly, though there are 500 businesses at the park, a single office takes pride in its ability to get people on transit, and thus there's an evangelical zeal to the whole operation. It's not "just a program"--it's Marci and her team's program.

 

First, the logistics: The park was developed from farmland by Masud Mehran's Sunset Development Corporation in 1978 on the belief that San Francisco real estate would soon become expensive and companies would need cheaper space for their administrative services. His grandson, Alexander Mehran, describes the transit program as "a necessity that developed into a whole different animal." When the park started, it was simply too far from anywhere. "We were getting crushed by people going to work in Walnut Creek and Dublin," where the BART stations are. As a result, the ranch bought a fleet of buses and worked with the city and county transit agencies to subsidize both bus routes and bus passes for workers. There are now 13 different bus routes running to the park, and the connections to BART and various local train and express bus services are coordinated. On its website, the Ranch now pitches its transit program as a competitive advantage.

 

The need for employment-centered transit often falls out of debates about Transit Oriented Development, but recent analysis by economist Jed Kolko of the Public Policy Institute of California shows that making sure that transit ends at job sites reduces car commutes more than putting the transit near homes. Policy-wise, transit oriented employment could be easier to encourage through tax breaks and enterprise zones.

 

Secondly, Marci and her team see leaving the car at home as a lifestyle choice rather than a sacrifice--something you'd read about in Real Simple or Oprah. While Marci tells everyone that one Ranch rider got rid of his car and saved $10,512 a year on his auto lease, maintenance, fuel, and tolls through the transit program, she sees that as the start of a long discussion. "If they're just looking to save money, it won't work," she explains, "If you're riding because it helps you make several changes in your life, you'll ride longer. It really matters that people feel they have a choice."

 

Marci says she often tries to figure out what's causing stress in people's lives and uses transit to solve it. One of the biggest problems is that people feel pressed for time, and she suggests they get off transit a stop or two early and walk so that they can avoid spending time on the treadmill later. The ranch is also along a bike path which is used by hundreds of workers for occasional rides. Marci herself lost 40 pounds taking transit and sprinting to make a difficult connection. The one hurdle Marci says she can't overcome is childcare problems, but for easier problems the Ranch also provides free taxi rides home--though only 2-3 percent of the coupons are ever used.

 

Marci says that once riders begin leaving their cars at home they go through a stressful period of two weeks or so where they feel that they've lost the control they had in the car. But within three weeks they notice their overall stress levels are lower. "Transit requires that you go at a different pace. You have to wait. If there were roses, we'd smell them," she says, "There's not much of that in our lives." She says HR people have called her saying some of their meaner workers have become pleasant people after switching to transit.

 

Do you believe her? Would you believe that taking transit solves problems other than getting to work and avoiding oil use--if that? You probably would if Marci were standing in front of you. She's a small, passionately chatty evangelist. Because she and her small staff have been tasked with transit for the whole park of 550 businesses, they take pride in every rider in the program. While urban planners tend to see bus ridership as a design issue, Marci sees it as a cultural endeavor. A conversation with her ricochets from practicalities like transfers to aspirations (that stress!) to an academic understanding of traffic. Typical of her approach is a packet of microwave popcorn –the currency of office afternoons--adorned with a sticker reading: "What do popcorn and traffic have in common?" (Answer: They both expand rapidly to fill empty space.) Will that abstract concept alone get a person out of her car? No, but Marci sees the impact as cumulative. While policy pundits like myself gabble on about the need for policy leadership and pricing externalities and the like, Marci works the gig more like an Avon Lady -- hand delivering bus passes to offices in the park so she can get to know the receptionists who then refer frustrated auto commuters to her.

 

Sitting in Marci's office, the path towards reducing our oil use in a hurry seems clearer than elsewhere--and possible. Maybe we don't need to wait for years of expensive infrastructure buildouts, new development patterns, technology, and punishing taxes or high oil prices. We need some of that, to be sure. But in the short term we could do a lot with policies to encourage employer-centered transit, a lot of connector buses, and a whole army of Marcis.

 

A Mobility Centre in Graz, Austria (www.epommweb.org/epomm_example.phtml)

MobilZentral was the first Mobility Centre in Austria when opened in 1997 in a central location of Graz city centre. It currently offers information on public transport, including personalised timetables, all fares on all local public transport, on Austrian and European rail services and on mobility services in general. It sells all tickets and takes in reservations, and there is a rental service for bikes and bike trailers. Besides these basic services, MobilZentral offers various mobility consulting services. It also takes part and initiates campaigns and general awareness activities. MobilZentral is financed by the Styrian Public Transport Association, the City of Graz, the county of Styria. It is operated by Austrian Mobility Research (AMOR). The services are provided via phone and personally at the Mobility Centre. The objective of MobilZentral is to offer one-stop information on all mobility related questions and beyond, e.g. information on leisure destinations and city information. When regarding the long-term development of customer contacts MobilZentral has been a success. The number of contacts has increased from 300 in the beginning to 4,000 per month today. The annual citizen survey by the Styrian public transport association, which monitors the awareness and use of services and customer satisfaction from a sample of 1000 respondents, offers some long-term data:

 

 

 


This example shows the possibilities of a multi-modal Mobility Centre run by a partnership. First, it experienced all the difficulties that such a co-operative venture can offer. Now it seems to be quite a success story, accepted by the customers and the partners. Moreover, this is due to some extensive marketing, which has led to a functional website www.mobilzentral.at.

 

Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus TDM Program (Tario and  Hanrahan 2013)

The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) is a consortium of nine healthcare, research and educational institutions located on 120 acres in downtown Buffalo, NY. BNMC is the fastest rowing employment center in Western New York (WNY) with 12,000 people working and studying on the BNMC today and 17,000 people projected by the end of 2016. In late March of 2012, the BNMC was in the midst of much change, having just added over 2 million square feet of new development to the Campus and adding an additional 3,500 people to the employee population (going from 8,500 to 12,000) in just one year. In response, the BNMC had constructed a 2,036 space parking garage at the cost of $34 million to the institutions. During the early planning phases for this parking garage in the year 2010, BNMC conducted a comprehensive parking and transportation study which estimates long term parking demands and vehicular trip distributions. This study indicated that the planned future growth of the Campus would bring about considerable parking deficits and quickly require major capital investments in parking and transportation improvements.

 

In March 2012 BNMC entered into an agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for the establishment and first year activities of a BNMC Transportation Management Association (TMA). The TMA was to be a membership organization that worked towards the development of a Transportation Demand Management (TDM) toolkit – or a set of strategies, policies, and programs designed to reduce the number of single occupant vehicles (SOV’s) and to promote the use of alternative transportation modes among workers at the BNMC.

 

This program includes a variety of policies and services, including more efficient parking pricing, improved walking, cycling (including bike parking), ridesharing, transit services, guaranteed ride home programs, and various incentives and contests. A key to the program’s success has been a comprehensive approach to employee outreach through a combination of marketing and organizing. While the BNMC uses a number of more traditional marketing tools – such as newsletters, brochures, webpages and videos – the unique aspect of the BNMC’s marketing campaign has been the use of actual employees and alternative commuters to carry the message. The “champions” (referred to as GO Getters) of over 100 employees are featured regularly in all the forms of media mentioned above. In addition, regular meetings are held with the GO Getters to receive feedback on the GO BNMC programs and learn more about the issues.

 

Although the program is young, preliminary results are encouraging. During its first year the drive-alone mode share declined approximately 5%. One of the largest factors in this shift has been the increased cost of parking passed on to the employee and the discontinuation of employer subsidies. Simultaneously, the BNMC has taken a comprehensive approach by developing and marketing a set of unique alternative transportation programs and providing the necessary supporting transportation infrastructure.

 

  

Cambie Corridor Consortium (www.toolsofchange.com)

The Cambie Corridor Consortium (CCC) was the first transportation management association (TMA) established in Canada. Cambie's aim is to reduce the number of single occupancy vehicles commuting to the Cambie/Broadway area of Vancouver and improve air quality by providing alternative transportation solutions and information. Approximately 25,000 employees are represented through CCC's 21 members.

 

The Cambie area is Vancouver's second largest business district, combining business, shopping, and residential areas. The area also includes several hospitals and medical centres. Because of the nature of the businesses in the area, parking was becoming more and more of a challenge.  A transportation consultant and other staff at the Vancouver General Hospital had been meeting with some of these partners for the last several years, and in 1995, they decided to form the Cambie Corridor Consortium to address some of their transportation problems. From those meetings, a trip reduction expert developed a transportation management plan that was used as the basis for the CCC's programs and services.

 

The program provides a variety of TDM activities and services. Transit kiosks were erected at each member's work site where employees could easily obtain information on transit fares, shuttle bus schedules, and other information

 

A shuttle bus service was implemented to transport hospital staff between sites. The bus makes approximately 2,100 trips per month carrying 9,000 passengers. The CCC also uses the shuttle bus to transport equipment, supplies, and documents between sites, saving member hospitals approximately $200,000 each year in courier costs. Van pooling services were arranged and are used by approximately 200 employees. Another 500+ staff members carpool.

 

A payroll deduction program that allows employees to purchase bus passes at a 15% discount. To respond to the needs of employees, and address some of the barriers expressed in the initial surveys, an emergency ride home has been implemented. CCC has a contract with a local taxi company and employees are given vouchers if they need to leave work in case of illness or emergency. Also in response to employee requests, additional shower and change facilities, and secure bike cages were installed at some of the members' work sites.

 

Since 1994, single occupancy vehicle drivers had dropped by 1.6%, transit use had increased by about 25%, and cycling had increased to 5.5% from 4.5%. The number of walkers had increased tremendously since 1994. Previously, employees who lived a short distance away would drive to work so that they would have a car available during the day to make trips between sites. Almost 10% of all survey respondents said that they regularly walked to work. In addition, of the people responding to the 1998 survey, 85% said they no longer brought their car to work because the shuttle bus allowed them to travel between sites.

 

 

Hope for Healthy Transport Website (www.hop.man.ac.uk/transport)

This website near Manchester, UK, provides comprehensive travel planning information to encourage employees and visitors to the Hope Hospital to use alternative forms of transportation.

 

 

Commuter Connections (www.commuterconnections.org)

Commuter Connections is a network of Washington DC metropolitan commuter transportation organizations coordinated by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG). Commuter. It is the main commuter information resource for Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. It helps businesses identify opportunities for voluntarily complying with the Clean Air Act guidelines to reduce vehicle emissions, and provides the following services:

·         Promoting telework programs and other pollution reduction activities.

·         Using Geographic Information System software to match commuters for ridesharing.

·         Offers a regional Guaranteed Ride Home program.

·         Operates a regional system of Traveler Information kiosks, InfoExpress.

 

 

Montreal Allego (www.voyagezfute.ca/allego.asp?lng=1)

This program is delivered by Agence Metropolitaine de Transport (AMT) and sponsored by the Quebec Department of Transportation.  The program is directed at the 5,000 businesses with more than 50 employees and the 35 post-secondary institutions in the region, and the purpose is to promote alternatives to automobile travel.  It offers incentives to take public transit and encourage other sustainable modes. These include:

 

 

BWI Business Partnership (www.bwipartner.org)

The BWI Business Partnership is a non-profit, member-run organization established in 1985 to promote sound transportation policies and economic development in and around Baltimore/Washington International Airport. It promotes ridesharing, flextime, preferential parking, telecommuting, guaranteed ride home services, and other traffic management techniques.

 

Wit and Humor

It’s the wee early hours of Sunday morning when the last bar is about to close. Bill and Bob are drinking late. “How’s about one more drink,” Bill suggests as he waves his last dollar bill. Bob agrees, and having no bills left, pulls the coins from his pockets. Carefully counting the money the two friends find they have just enough for one pint of beer.

 

“We’ll each drink half,” Bob proposes. Bill agrees, then he grabs the mug and begins drinking, slow and steady, glug, glug, glug, as his buddy watches in eager anticipation. Glug, glug, glug, Bill tips the glass up higher and higher. Glug, glug, glug, Bob stares as the level of beer slowly declines until there is nothing more than foam. Bill finally removes his lips from the glass, takes a deep breath like a man recovering from exertion, and puts the mug onto the bar.

 

Bob gazes forlornly at the now empty glass. A tear rolls down his cheek thinking of this beer he will never know. Looking at his friend he asks in a bewildered voice, “I thought we agreed to each drink half.”

 

“We did,” replied Bill. “But my half was at the bottom of the glass, so I had to drink yours to reach it.”

 

 

References and Resources for More Information

 

Association for Commuter Transportation (www.actweb.org) is a non-profit organization supporting TDM programs.

 

ACT (2001), TMA Handbook, Association for Commuter Transportation (www.actweb.org); at http://actweb.org/publications/tma-handbook.

 

Best Workplaces for Commuters (www.bestworkplaces.org) is a program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation to recognize employers and worksites that provide outstanding commuter benefits. The website has a variety of support resources.

 

CDOT (2015), Transportation Management Associations (TMA's) or Organizations (TMO's), Colorado Department of Transportation (www.codot.gov); at www.codot.gov/programs/commuterchoices/tma-tmo.html.

 

Dr. Marcus Enoch, Lian Zhang and David Morris (2005), Organisational Structures for Implementing Travel Plans: A Review, Loughborough University, OPTIMUM 2, (www.lboro.ac.uk); at http://bit.ly/1YusBZF.

 

Erik Ferguson (2007), “Transportation Management Associations: A Reappraisal,” Journal of Public Transportation, Vol. 10, No. 4, (www.nctr.usf.edu/jpt/pdf/JPT%2010-4.pdf), pp. 1-26.

 

Rich Kuzmyak, Jay Evans, and Dick Pratt (2010), “Employer and Institutional TDM Strategies,” Chapter 19, Traveler Response to Transportation System Changes, Report 95 series, Transit Cooperative Research Program, Transportation Research Board (www.trb.org); at www.trb.org/Publications/Blurbs/162432.aspx and to the B-12A website at http://144.171.11.40/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=1034.

 

Lisa Margonelli (2011), “How to Create a Culture of Public Transit: The 'Marci Option',” The Atlantic (www.theatlantic.com), 12 April 2011; at www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/04/how-to-create-a-culture-of-public-transit-the-marci-option/237183.

 

National TDM and Telework Clearinghouse (www.nctr.usf.edu/programs/clearinghouse) provides current information and resources on Transportation Demand Management and Telework programs. 

 

POLIS (2007), Innovative Demand Management Strategies: Transportation Management Associations (TMAs), NICHES consortium (www.niches-transport.org), POLIS (www.polisnetwork.eu); at www.polisnetwork.eu/uploads/Modules/PublicDocuments/14689_pn12_TMAs_ok_low.pdf.

 

Don Shoup (2016), “The ACCESS Almanac: Parking Benefit Districts,” Access Magazine 49 (www.accessmagazine.org); at www.accessmagazine.org/articles/fall-2016/the-access-almanac-parking-benefit-districts.

 

Joseph D. Tario and Ellwood Hanrahan (2013), Advancing Transportation Demand Management Strategies at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (www.bnmc.org), New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and New York State Department of Transportation; www.bnmc.org/wp-content/uploads/BNMC-NYSERDA-Agreement-25730-Final-Report-11-14-13.pdf

 

TAMU (2012), Transportation Management Associations, Mobility Investment Priorities (http://mobility.tamu.edu/mip/strategies.php), Texas DOT; at https://bit.ly/2Fsqt5l.

 

Westside Transportation Alliance (www.wta-tma.org) is a Portland, Oregon Transportation Management Association.

 

WRI (2019), Reducing Demand for Vehicle Trips in Cities – Learning Guide, The City Fix (https://thecityfixlearn.org); at https://thecityfixlearn.org/en/learning-guide/reducing-demand-vehicle-trips-cities. This short guide describes why and how cities can implement transportation demand management policies and programs.

 

WRI (2019), The Role of Companies in Improving Urban Mobility – Learning Guide, The City Fix (https://thecityfixlearn.org); at https://thecityfixlearn.org/en/learning-guide/how-develop-trip-reduction-ordinance.


This Encyclopedia is produced by the Victoria Transport Policy Institute to help improve understanding of Transportation Demand Management. It is an ongoing project. Please send us your comments and suggestions for improvement.

 

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