Transportation's Role in Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions ...

Transportation’s Role in Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Volume 2
� 5.5 Commute Travel Reduction
Efforts to reduce commute trips by single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) have long been a staple
of transportation demand management (TDM). Commute-focused trip reduction
initiatives have included alternative mode information, transit subsidies, ridesharing/ride
matching programs and incentives, vanpools, parking management (including pricing and
cash-out), telework, and alternative work schedules. This section first discusses general
commute-focused worksite trip reduction programs, which are intended to promote a
variety of alternatives; and then discusses the potential for specific individual measures
such as ridesharing and telework.
Worksite Trip Reduction Programs
Definition
Worksite trip reduction programs may
include either requirements for
employers to reduce single-occupancy
vehicle (SOV) trips by their employees,
or outreach, assistance, and incentive
programs to encourage them to do so.
Transportation agencies began to
implement demand management
programs in the 1970s, with the energy
crisis, and have continued to do so, to
varying degrees, since then. Employer
trip reduction requirements exist in
Oregon and Washington States and in
the Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona
metropolitan areas; they were
introduced in Southern California in the
early 1990s but later rescinded. A few
cities and counties also require
employers to reduce trips or implement
TDM programs. A number of State,
regional, and local transportation
agencies coordinate voluntary demand
management programs, with some of the most active programs in the largest, most
congested regions such as Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Southern California.
A moderately aggressive expansion of worksite trip reduction programs could include the
widespread provision of voluntary/outreach-based programs by MPOs and/or State
DOTs. A more aggressive expansion could include the nationwide imposition of
employer-based trip reduction requirements, combined with supportive programs such as
regional ridematching and vanpooling programs and assistance in developing worksite-
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Worksite Trip Reduction Programs
Benefits: Low-Moderate: 2-14 mmt CO2e in 2030
Direct Costs: Low to Moderate: $30 to $180 per
tonne
• Public sector costs only
Net Included Costs: Net Savings: -$1,000 per
tonne
Confidence in Estimates: Moderate
Key Cobenefits and Impacts: Positive
• Most worksite trip reduction programs will
result in additional mobility options for
commuters
Feasibility: Moderate to High
• Primary barrier is obtaining widespread
employer participation/support
Key Policy Options:
• Targeted funding
• Tax incentives to support commute trip
reduction/alternative mode use