Document Type

Technical Report

Publication Date

7-1-2002

Keywords

new parking facilities, commuting programk, transportation across peak hours, reducing traffic congestion, local transportation

Abstract

Transportation Demand Management strategies are those methods of reducing demand on the transportation system through behavioral change: either by reducing the distance traveled by the commuter, or by adjusting the time of travel outside peak hours of congestion. These techniques are distinguished from supply-side tactics that seek to increase the transportation system capacity by building new roads, widening existing roads, or constructing new parking facilities.

There are various strategies aimed at reducing transportation demand, whether redistributing traffic across peak hours of travel, or shifting mode away from single-occupant vehicle (SOV) trip making. By spreading the demand for transportation across peak hours and across days, the time and distance commuters spend in the system can be minimized. Telecommuting, for example, enables an employee who works from home to minimize both time and distance required to commute to work. Alternately, ridesharing maximizes the capacity of vehicles - increasing the number of riders in a private vehicle or increasing bus or rail ridership - resulting in fewer individual vehicles on the road at a given moment.

While these methotls for reducing traffic congestion frequently are the primary focus of local transportation management organizations or regional commuter assistance programs, they often conflict with the common American affinity for driving alone in one's personal vehicle. A proximate commuting program is an alternate TDM strategy that enables commuters to retain use of their private automobile, while still reducing the demand on the transportation system. An employer-sponsored proximate commuting program seeks to match eligible employees with the job-site location closest to their home, thereby reducing the time and distance spent commuting to work.

This project was intended to explore the potential benefits and potential obstacles to implementation of a proximate commuting program within a multi-site employer. By securing the participation of a selected employer in Hillsborough County, Florida, the project sought to utilize realtime data to explore this strategy and assess the impacts of the program on transporation behavior. If the research and early feasibility assessment proved positive, the further intention of the research was to provide operational and marketing recommendations on howto develop and implement a proximate commuting program.

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Proximate Commuting: Potential Benefits and Obstacles, Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida, 59 p.

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