PORT AUTHORITY CARPOOL PROGRAM

In the summer of 1975, The port Authority of New York and New Jersey introduced a carpooling program by inviting motorists using its six tunnels and bridges to participate in a matching program simple by completing a short questionnaire (attached). The program was designed to encourage the use of high-occupancy vehicles in order to increase the efficiency of the Port Authority facilities and the highways they serve, and also to assist motorists in forming carpools so they could take advatage of cost savings including a reduced toll rate for autos with three or more people. More than 150,000 questionnaires were given out to motorists; 4,100 were returned. The computer program--a modified version of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Carpool Program--was able to match 1,400 respondents, while the remaining 2,700 were informed that they could not be matched at that time with anyone making a similar work trip. In order to ascertain the success of the matching program, the Port Authority conducted a telephone follow-up survey in which a 25 percent sample of the 1,400 people matched were polled. The respondents were stratified by residence so that a geographically representative sample was obtained. Results indicated that 36 percent of those matched did make an effort to form a carpool by calling someone on their list (or being called by someone), and that 10 percent were successful in joining or forming carpools. This follow-up survey also elicited the respondents' reasons for failing to form a carpool after contacting someone on their list, as well as the reasons given by the 64 percent of respondents who made no effort to form a carpool after receiving a list. /Author/

• Corporate Authors:

  Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

  225 Park Avenue South, 18th Floor
  New York, NY  United States  10003-1604
• Publication Date: 1977-4

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Tables;
• Pagination: 30 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Carpools; Commuting; Costs; Questionnaires; Surveys; Toll booths; Vehicle occupancy
• Uncontrolled Terms: Matching
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00165550
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 30 1981 12:00AM