BENEFITS AND COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE WSDOT CTR PROGRAM

Washington has sought to reduce commute trips to the workplace in 9 of the state's most populous counties. Such a reduction is sought to ameliorate congestion on the roadway, improve air quality, conserve fossil fuels, and promote environmental quality. Legislation has been in place since 1991 requiring both private and public employers of 100+ employees in those 9 counties to formulate plans for the implementation of varied incentives to encourage alternatives to single occupancy vehicle (SOV) travel. This legislation requires the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to monitor (by means of a biennial employee survey) progress toward a quite ambitious goal of a 35% reduction in SOV travel by 2005. This goal remains quite far from being met; the most recent survey-based estimate is that a 7% reduction has been achieved thus far. This final report sets forth the results of the employee survey, set against a fairly thorough reading of the research literature in this area. Over 900 employees in 16 diverse (public and private, large and small, western, central, and eastern region) organizations participating in the program returned completed surveys. The majority of these surveys were accompanied by length comments, signifying that the survey did indeed touch the deeper roots of employee decision-making in this area of individual choice. Preliminary analysis revealed that the range of variation in organizations, in the several attitudinal scales and indices employed, and in the extent of non-SOV commuting reported would permit a fruitful analysis on the questions posed in the questionnaire developed for this study. Of 902 respondents, 372 indicate that they are "switchers" to alternatives to SOV commuting. A profile of the switcher does emerge from this study based on both bivariate and multivariate (multiple regression and discriminant analysis) analyses. Switchers tend to value "commute trip reduction" (CRT) incentives, come from organizations where the CTR program is strongly supported, engage in other environment-protective activities, perceive the presence of reasonably convenient alternatives to SOV travel, and be less concerned with the "convenience and flexibility" benefits of SOV commuting than SOV commuters. While there is clearly not a majority sentiment favoring SOV pricing, there is indeed evidence that a significant minority of employees are willing to experiment with some type of market-oriented pollution/congestion costing policy directed to the urban transportation gridlock phenomenon.

• Record URL:
  http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/468.1.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/22000/22100/22167/PB99166274.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Washington State University, Pullman

  Washington State Transportation Center
  Pullman, WA  United States  99164

  Washington State Department of Transportation

  Transportation Building, 310 Maple Park Avenue SE, P.O. Box 47300
  Olympia, WA  United States  98504-7300

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Lovrich, N
  • Nice, D
  • Weber, E
• Publication Date: 1999-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 73 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air quality; Attitudes; Benefits; Commuters; Congestion pricing; Costs; Decision making; Discriminant analysis; Employers; Environmental protection; Fuel conservation; Incentives; Legislation; Multiple regression analysis; Questionnaires; Single occupant vehicles; Surveys; Traffic congestion; Travel demand management
• Geographic Terms: Washington (State)
• Subject Areas: Energy; Environment; Finance; Highways; Law; Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00778841
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: WA-RD 468.1,, Final Report
• Contract Numbers: T9902-24
• Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Nov 4 1999 12:00AM