Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox Demonstration: Fair Value Commuting, Final Report

Rupert, Hillary M. · 2020 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Transit Administration

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Summary

The Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox Demonstration: Fair Value Commuting (FVC) Final Report documents a research and demonstration project conducted by the City of Palo Alto from 2017 to 2020. Sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the project addressed the persistent issue of single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) commuting in Silicon Valley, where traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, and housing market distortions have created significant systemic barriers to alternative transportation. The study aimed to determine if a five-component framework could effectively reduce SOV usage and create a sustainable, scalable model for commute behavior change. The project implemented five specific components: Enterprise Commute Trip Reduction (ECTR) software to automate employer programs; a Commuter Wallet for multimodal trip planning and payment; a Feebate/Cashout mechanism to financially incentivize non-SOV modes; Gap Filling initiatives to improve first/last-mile connectivity; and an analysis of Systemic Obstacles such as fragmented payment systems. The demonstration involved a consortium of public and private partners, with four municipal governments—Cupertino, Menlo Park, Mountain View, and Palo Alto—serving as pilot employers. Over a six-month period, the project team utilized a high-touch approach, providing tailored educational materials, software integration, and employee engagement strategies to these pilot sites. The results indicated that while the project successfully reduced SOV trips, vehicle miles traveled, and fossil fuel use, it failed to implement the full "feebate" model due to geographic and policy limitations regarding parking infrastructure. Instead, the project utilized a "parking cashout" incentive. Despite this limitation, the four pilots engaged 56 employees who logged 4,918 alternative trips. These trips resulted in 84,072 non-SOV miles traveled, a savings of 41,186 pounds of CO2, and $21,046 in avoided auto-related expenses. The mode split for alternative trips was 42% transit, 26% bike, 25% carpool, and 7% walking. The study found that even small incentives, when combined with effective software platforms and employee engagement, significantly impacted commuting behavior. The report concludes that while systemic barriers remain a challenge for large-scale, self-sustaining funding models, the FVC framework provides a viable starting point for reducing SOV commuting. The findings suggest that employers and policymakers can achieve mode shift by leveraging technology for universal trip planning, addressing first/last-mile gaps, and implementing targeted incentives. The project offers specific recommendations and lessons learned for stakeholders seeking to replicate these strategies in other jurisdictions, emphasizing the importance of managing public-private partnerships and customizing programs to local employer contexts.

Key finding

Participating employees logged 4,918 alternative trips, resulting in 84,072 non-SOV miles traveled and a 41,186-pound reduction in CO2 emissions over the six-month pilot.

Methodology

field_study

Sample size: 56

Provenance

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