Trvel Effects of Suburbn Commuter Crshring Service CrLink Cse Study Susn A. Shheen nd Croline J. Rodier Since 1998, crshring orgniztions in the United Sttes hve experienced exponentil membership growth, but to dte there hve been only few evlutions of their effects on trvel. Using the results of focus groups, interviews, nd surveys, this pper exmines the chnge in trvel mong members of CrLink crshring model in the Sn Frncisco By Are, Cliforni, with explicit links to trnsit nd suburbn employment fter pproximtely 1 yer of prticiption. The demogrphic nd ttitudinl nlyses of CrLink members indicted tht the typicl member () ws more likely thn n verge By Are resident to be highly educted, in n upper income brcket, nd professionlly employed nd (b) displyed sensitivity to congestion, willingness to try new experiences, nd environmentl concern. Some of the more importnt commuter trvel effects of the CrLink progrms included n increse in ril trnsit use by 23 percentge points in CrLink I nd II; reduction in driving without pssengers by 44 nd 23 percentge points in CrLink I nd II, respectively; reduction in verge vehicle miles trveled by 23 mi in CrLink II nd by 18 mi in CrLink I; n increse in trvel time nd reduction in trvel stress; reduction in vehicle ownership by lmost 6% in CrLink II; nd reduced prking demnd t prticipting trin sttions nd mong member businesses. The CrLink trvel results re compred with those of neighborhood crshring models in the United Sttes nd Europe. Automobiles hve profoundly influenced trvel nd lnd use in the United Sttes by providing unprecedented flexibility, convenience, nd speed. Despite the myrid benefits offered by privte vehicles, there is recognition of the negtive socil nd environmentl effects of uto dependence (1, 2), for exmple, trfficrelted deths, congestion, ir nd wter pollution, nd suburbn sprwl. To dte, implemented strtegies to reduce uto use nd dependency hve focused lrgely on public trnsit. Crshring progrms (or short-term uto rentls) represent n intermedite strtegy between public trnsit nd privte vehicle ownership for ddressing severl uto-relted concerns. Crshring vehicles lso my hve the potentil to enhnce the existing trnsporttion infrstructure, improving trnsit ccess nd reducing prking demnd t lower cost thn trditionl cpcity-expnsion projects. Cliforni Prtners for Advnced Trnsit nd Highwys, University of Cliforni Berkeley, 1357 South 46th Street, Building 452, Richmond, CA 94804-4648. Trnsporttion Reserch Record: Journl of the Trnsporttion Reserch Bord, No. 1927, Trnsporttion Reserch Bord of the Ntionl Acdemies, Wshington, D.C., 2005, pp. 182 188. Crshring ws conceived in Europe but hs gined populrity in the United Sttes over the pst 7 yers. Generlly, members subscribe to crshring orgniztion nd py fee, which covers the cost of vehicle use, insurnce, mintennce, nd fuel, ech time they use the vehicle. As result, members incur vrible costs of uto use, rther thn the lrgely fixed costs of uto ownership, fctor tht my led to lower uto ownership, incresed trnsit use, nd reduced uto trvel. In Europe nd the United Sttes, the most common crshring model is neighborhood crshring. In this model, the crshring orgniztion mintins fleet of crs distributed mong network of neighborhood loctions for convenient member ccess. This form of crshring typiclly is locted in urbn res with high-qulity trnsit. Idelly, members use trnsit for most of their trips nd crshre only when trveling outside the trnsit network, when trvel times do not coincide with trnsit schedules, or for trnsporting hevy or bulky items. CrLink, the crshring model evluted in this study, differs from neighborhood crshring by providing forml link to trnsit nd employers in suburbn loction. Despite the recent increse in demnd for crshring services, not much evidence exists of their potentil trvel benefits. Most reserch hs focused on the Europen neighborhood crshring experience nd shows lrge reductions in uto trvel (30% to 70%) nd uto ownership (10% to 60%) (3 6). The methods used in these studies re limited, however, nd results my not be ble to be generlized to the United Sttes. Only few studies hve been conducted on neighborhood crshring in the United Sttes, nd these suggest more modest trvel benefits (7 9). However, evlutions of U.S. crshring progrms with explicit trnsit links (lso known s sttion crs) consistently suggest lrger reductions in uto trvel (10 12). Using the results of focus groups, interviews, nd surveys, this pper exmines the chnge in trvel mong members of CrLink I nd II pilot progrms fter pproximtely 1 yer of prticiption. The CrLink results re lso compred to those of neighborhood crshring models in the United Sttes nd Europe to gin insight into user ttributes nd the influence of progrm elements (e.g., loction nd design) on trvel effects. OVERVIEW OF CARLINK I AND II The CrLink I field test lunched on Jnury 20, 1999, nd ended on November 15, 1999. Enrollment ws 54 people; they shred 12 nturl gs powered Hond Civics. The prticipnts were from Sn Frncisco, Oklnd, nd Est By, Cliforni, communities. The crs were bsed in conveniently locted prking spces t the Dublin Plesnton By Are Rpid Trnsit (BART) sttion. The CrLink I 182
Shheen nd Rodier 183 TABLE 1 Key Differences Between CrLink I nd CrLink II Chrcter CrLink I CrLink II Community ccess Time frme Vehicles Technology Trnsit prtner Loction Limited primrily to employees of ntionl lbortory nd 10 households 54 users 10-month field test 12 Hond Civics fueled with compressed nturl gs Smrt key mnger Mnul key boxes Onbord vehicle computers Vehicle trcking units Mnul reservtion system (fcilitted through web pge) BART District Dublin Plesnton nd Livermore (est of Sn Frncisco) Incresed network of users, with severl businesses 107 users 12-month pilot project, before trnsitioning to third-prty opertor (Flexcr) 19 internl combustion engine Hond vehicles Smrt key fob remote ccess system (i.e., no key boxes) Onbord vehicle computers Globl Positioning System (GPS) vehicle trcking units In-vehicle nvigtion system Computerized reservtion system for dy use Cltrin Plo Alto nd Silicon Vlley (south of Sn Frncisco) model ccommodted trditionl nd reverse commute trvel ptterns s well s the dytime trvel needs of employees t the Lwrence Livermore Ntionl Lbortory (LLNL). The CrLink II pilot progrm lunched on July 1, 2001, nd ended on June 30, 2002. Enrollment ws 107 individuls, nd the fleet consisted of 19 ultr low-emission vehicle Hond Civics of model yer 2001. CrLink II ws locted in the Plo Alto region, south of Sn Frncisco, nd its chief trnsit prtner ws Cltrin, commuter ril system tht runs for pproximtely 75 mi between Gilroy nd Sn Frncisco. This progrm fcilitted ccess to ril trnsit for commuter trvel nd provided dy-use services to mny compnies. The prticiption of multiple employers nd employees required the development of integrted crshring technologies, which coordinted vehicle trcking, dt collection, nd reservtions. Smrt key fobs llowed for instnt vehicle ccess nd eliminted the need for multiple key boxes t trnsit sttions nd work loctions. The mjor differences between CrLink I nd CrLink II re summrized in Tble 1. The six employer prticipnts in CrLink II were locted in nd round the Stnford Reserch Prk, which hs more thn 700 cres nd 10 million squre feet of developed fcilities, 162 buildings, 150 compnies, nd 23,000 employees. The Stnford Reserch Prk primrily houses reserch compnies whose type nd size vries widely, including high-tech lw firms, softwre compnies, phrmceuticl reserch compnies, nd severl dot-coms. The prticipting compnies tended to hve employees with regulr work schedules (in contrst to dot-coms) nd rnged in size from 100 to 600 employees. CrLink II (like CrLink I) included three distinct ctegories of shred vehicle users. Home-bsed users hd ccess to vehicles on evenings nd weekends nd pid $300 per month. These members lived in or ner Plo Alto nd drove CrLink vehicle to the Cltrin Cliforni Avenue sttion ech weekdy morning, before tking trin to work, nd then home gin t night. Work-bsed commuters were employees of prticipnt compnies nd used the CrLink vehicles tht home-bsed users prked t Cltrin in the morning, to commute from the Cliforni Avenue sttion to their work sites nd bck. Employers pid pproximtely $50 per month per vehicle for their employees to ccess these vehicles nd were encourged to promote crpooling mong work-bsed commuters. Work-bsed dy users were lso employees of prticipnt compnies nd used the vehicles for personl nd business trips throughout the dy. Dy use ws provided s subscription pckge to employers for $300 per vehicle per month. Employers pid totl of $350 per month per cr for the dy-use nd work-bsed commuter components. All user fees included mintennce, insurnce, fuel costs, rodside ssistnce, nd emergency txi services. RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION METHODOLOGY The CrLink II evlution ws built on the CrLink I longitudinl survey nd field test reserch (12, 13). As in the CrLink I field test, the CrLink II reserch investigted the use ttributes nd chnges in trvel ptterns through focus groups, questionnires, household interviews, 3-dy trvel diries, nd utomticlly collected vehicle dt. The response rtes for the before-nd-fter questionnires nd diries by gender nd user groups re presented in Tble 2. The totl response rte for the CrLink II questionnires nd diries ws 59.8%. Some surveys were returned 2 to 6 months fter the end of the progrm nd fter Flexcr the third-prty opertor took over the progrm. Prticipnts were contcted by telephone to remind them TABLE 2 CrLink II Response Rtes by Gender nd User Group User Group Mle Femle Averge Home-bsed users (N=9) 62.5% 50.0% 56.3% Work-bsed commuters (N=21) 64.3% 85.7% 75.0% Work-bsed dy users (N=34) 50.0% 57.1% 54.0% Totl verge (N=64) 56.0% 63.2% 59.8%
184 Trnsporttion Reserch Record 1927 to complete the surveys. The totl femle response rte ws seven percentge points higher thn the mle response rte. The distribution of progrm members nd survey respondents by user group re presented in Tble 3. The distribution of home-bsed users is close to equl. However, it ppers tht work-bsed commuter respondents re somewht underrepresented nd work-bsed dy user respondents re somewht overrepresented reltive to totl user group proportions. The CrLink in-vehicle technology provided cr usge dt, including user identifiction, strt nd end time, nd loction by trip. These dt could be viewed in rel time by fleet mngers nd were rchived to provide usge histories. USER PROFILES In this section, demogrphic nd ttitudinl chrcteristics of Cr- Link members re identified to gin insight into its potentil mrket. The demnd for crshring services my depend not only on the popultion density nd qulity of trnsit in region, but lso on the ttributes of its popultion. Demogrphic Attributes Men nd women were eqully represented in CrLink II, but in Cr- Link I, twice s mny prticipnts were mle thn femle. Studies of Europen crshring orgniztions hve lso found tht men tend to prticipte more frequently thn women (13). The difference in gender distribution between CrLink I nd CrLink II my be explined by differences in employees t the respective worksites. The worksite in CrLink I (LLNL) my employ more men thn women or the femle employees my hve been less likely to possess ttitudes common to members, s discussed lter. CrLink II prticipnts tended to be younger thn the generl By Are popultion s reported in the 2000 U.S. census (by pproximtely 15 percentge points), s were CrLink I prticipnts (by pproximtely 38 percentge points). The loction of CrLink II in the Silicon Vlley, which tends to hve reltively young employee bse, my explin the lower reltive ge of prticipnts in CrLink II. Similrly, the LLNL worksite in CrLink I my explin the higher reltive ge of prticipnts (e.g., employment t LLNL my require more dvnced degrees). Prticipnts in both CrLink I nd II possessed higher levels of eduction thn the generl By Are popultion s reported in the 2000 U.S. census. A bchelor s degree or higher ws held by 57% of CrLink I users, 48% of CrLink II users, nd 14% of By Are residents. The household income levels of CrLink prticipnts were lso reltively high. Of CrLink I members, 30% hd household incomes rnging from $80,000 to $99,999, nd 16% hd household income greter thn $100,000. CrLink II members hd fewer prticipnts in the $80,000 to $99,999 rnge (19%), but more prticipnts erning over $100,000 (47%). In CrLink II, the gretest portion of ll user groups ws in the $100,000+ income ctegory. Home-bsed users tended to hve reltively lrge percentge of members in lower income groups; the reverse ws true for work-bsed commuters; nd work-bsed dy users tended to hve reltively even distribution cross the income ctegories. CrLink members were lso primrily employed in the professionl nd technicl fields (68.2% in CrLink I nd 64.7% in Cr- Link II). This is high reltive to By Are residents (pproximtely 18%). The distribution of occuption types did not vry substntilly mong user groups in CrLink II reltive to CrLink I. CrLink II members owned or lesed n verge of 1.75 vehicles per household t the strt of the progrm. Overll, the number of vehicles per CrLink II member household ws similr to the By Are popultion. Figure 1 presents comprison of the household vehicle distribution of CrLink II members nd the By Are popultion. Figure 2 shows the number of vehicles per household by CrLink II user groups. Members who belonged to household without ccess to vehicle should hve been ble to improve their mobility significntly. More thn one-fourth of home-bsed users nd one-tenth of workbsed commuters hd no vehicle in their household. One-third of home-bsed users hd household incomes of less thn $50,000 (compred to 11% of work-bsed commuters). The lower reltive incomes of home-bsed members help explin their lower cr ownership levels nd their prticiption in CrLink II. Attitudinl Chrcteristics In this section, ttitudinl chrcteristics of CrLink II users re identified bsed on the results of questionnires completed by people before joining the progrm. Respondents were first sked to rte, on five-point scle, how much they greed or disgreed with 10 sttements describing ttitudes bout their primry trnsporttion mode. As group, home-bsed users expressed neutrl ttitudes nd workbsed commuters nd dy users expressed somewht more stisfied ttitudes. Similrly, the CrLink I study found tht 77% were stisfied with their current mode. These results suggest tht members were not likely to join CrLink becuse of generl disstisfction with their current mode. Respondents next were sked to rnk list of negtive ttributes for their current primry trnsporttion mode. The top four choices for ll prticipnts were spend too much time in trffic, it tkes too long to get plces, it is not flexible enough, nd it is too expensive. 40% TABLE 3 Distribution of CrLink II Prticipnts nd Survey Respondents by User Group User Group Prticipnts (N=107) Respondents (N=64) Home-bsed users 15.0% 14.1% Work-bsed commuters 26.2% 32.8% Work-bsed dy users 58.9% 53.1% 30% 20% 10% 0% 0 1 2 3+ Number of Vehicles CrLink II By Are All prticipnts completed the initil surveys, but respondents completed both the initil nd finl surveys. FIGURE 1 Percentge of households by number of vehicles vilble for CrLink II prticipnts nd By Are residents.
Shheen nd Rodier 185 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Home-bsed Users (N=15) Work-bsed Commuters (N=63) Work-bsed Dy Users (N=29) 0 1 2 3 4 5 >5 FIGURE 2 Percentge of CrLink II user group prticipnts by number of vehicles vilble to their household. Prticipnts lest fvorite ttribute ws spend too much time in trffic. CrLink I results lso suggested tht prticipnts my be sensitive to congestion. Thus, trffic congestion my be n importnt fctor in joining the CrLink crshring model. Interestingly, however, commute time (or it tkes too long to get plces ) ws not improved through CrLink II prticiption dditionl time ws required to link to trnsit with CrLink vehicle. Averge CrLink commute times were longer thn non-crlink I nd II commutes. However, there is evidence tht CrLink I nd II trvel times were higher in qulity, less stressful, or both, thn non-crlink trvel times. A set of psychogrphic questions ws lso included in the questionnire. Responses to these questions were pooled to three scles experimentl, vehicle hssle, nd environment which were found to be significnt (Cronbch s lph score) in Shheen s (13) nlysis of lrger longitudinl crshring survey (207 respondents). The experimentl scle indictes willingness to try new experiences. The vehicle hssle scle suggests the degree of difficulty experienced by respondents in mintining their privte vehicle. The environmentl scle indictes how strongly respondents believe tht it is importnt to chnge behvior to help the environment. Responses were evluted on five-point scle (rnging from Strongly Disgree to Strongly Agree ), which were ssigned point vlue ( 2 to +2, with 0 being neutrl) nd verged over relted questions. The psychogrphic results re presented in Tble 4. A tendency to experiment ws exhibited by CrLink II prticipnts (the verge score ws 0.68) nd ws most pronounced mong home-bsed users. A similr inclintion towrd experimenttion ws found mong CrLink I TABLE 4 Psychogrphic Scle Scores from CrLink II nd I Vehicle Experimentl Hssle Environment CrLink II Home-bsed 0.94 0.38 0.98 users (N=15) Work-bsed 0.64 0.40 1.03 commuters (N=63) Work-bsed 0.62 0.50 1.01 dy users (N=29) Totl users (N=107) 0.68 0.43 1.10 CrLink I Totl users (N=44) 0.51 0.40 1.04 users. All user groups in CrLink II tended to disgree tht vehicles re hssle. The verge totl score ws 0.43 in CrLink II nd +0.40 for CrLink I. Thus, CrLink II prticipnts my hve been motivted less by vehicle hssle nd more by desire to get out of trffic, reltive to CrLink I prticipnts. Concern for the environment yielded the highest verge score, 1.04 for CrLink II nd 1.35 for Cr- Link I, mking reducing utomobile effects on the environment n importnt motivting fctor in both CrLink progrms. TRAVEL EFFECTS Commute Trvel The commute trvel results from CrLink II re presented in Tble 5. The comprison of the mode use before nd fter joining the progrm indictes tht Cltrin use incresed by 23.1 percentge points nd driving lone decresed by 22.9 percentge points, despite the fct tht over one-third of prticipnts (39.6%) used Cltrin prior to joining the progrm. Similr mode shifts were obtined for Cr- Link I, with 23.2-percentge-point increse in BART use nd 43.5-percentge-point reduction in driving lone for the commute trvel. The shift from driving lone to trnsit reduced verge commute vehicle trvel distnce by 23 mi mong ll users. An verge 18.5-mi reduction ws found in CrLink I. Among home-bsed users, however, verge commute vehicle trvel distnce incresed by 1.2 mi. The results of interviews nd focus groups indicted tht this increse in VMT typiclly occurred when n individul joined the progrm nd switched from wlk, bike, or shuttle modes to CrLink vehicle to ccess Cltrin. More thn hlf of home-bsed users used Cltrin regulrly to commute prior to joining CrLink II. Work-bsed commuters nd dy users reported 27.2-mi decrese in verge commute vehicle trvel, even though some CrLink II employers hd previously operted shuttle service, nd one ws within wlking distnce of the sttion (less thn 1 mi). In interviews, prticipnts stted tht the hssle of getting from the sttion to the worksite (especilly by shuttles) cused them to drive to work more frequently thn they would hve liked. After joining the progrm, prticipnts typiclly experienced n increse in commute trvel time by more thn 30 min. Most prticipnts did not previously use Cltrin, nd witing for trnsit cn increse totl commute time reltive to trveling by uto. On the other hnd, commute stress mong prticipnts generlly decresed, s indicted in Tble 6. Some members, however, did mention some
186 Trnsporttion Reserch Record 1927 TABLE 5 Chnge in Commute Trvel for CrLink II Before After Chnge Mode HB b (N=15) WB c (N=92) All (N=107) HB (N=8) WB (N=51) All (N=59) HB WB All Drive lone 37.5% 64.1% 60.2% 12.5% 41.2% 37.3% 25.0% d 22.9% 22.9% Crpool 12.5% 10.9% 11.1% 0.0% 11.8% 10.2% 12.5% 0.9% 0.9% Bus, shuttle 25.1% 22.8% 23.2% 37.5% 13.7% 15.3% 12.4% 9.1% 7.9% Cltrin 56.3% 35.9% 39.6% 100.0% 56.9% 62.7% 43.7% 21.0% 23.1% Bike 12.5% 5.4% 6.5% 0.0% 3.9% 3.4% 12.5% 1.5% 3.1% Wlk 43.8% 22.8% 25.9% 50.0% 52.9% 52.5% 6.2% 30.1% 26.6% Other 6.3% 2.2% 3.7% 12.5% 11.8% 11.9% 6.2% 9.6% 8.2% CrLink 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 56.9% 62.7% 100.0% 56.9% 62.7% HB (N=15) WB (N=92) All (N=107) HB (N=9) WB (N=55) All (N=64) HB WB All VMT e 10.4 34.4 30.8 11.6 7.2 7.8 1.2 27.2 23 Trvel time (minutes) 71.8 90.2 87.4 108.3 120.8 118.9 36.5 30.6 31.5 Totl percentges sum to over 100% becuse mny prticipnts took more thn one mode to commute. b HB is home-bsed user. c WB is work-bsed commuter nd dy user. d Figures re percentge point chnge. e VMT includes ll miles trveled in privte utomobile or in CrLink II vehicle. Crpool trvel ws djusted to void double counting. difficulty in rrnging their schedules with other crpool members in the finl CrLink II interviews nd focus groups. The results of focus groups nd in-person interviews with prticipnts in CrLink I lso indicted n increse in verge commute trvel times nd reduction in verge commute stress. Work-bsed users stted tht relxing during their BART commute ws significnt progrm benefit. All Trvel This section explores the effect of CrLink II on noncommute nd commute trvel for prticipnts nd their households. For exmple, it is possible tht exposure to trnsit in CrLink II my hve encourged its greter use for noncommute trvel. In ddition, the vilbility of n extr cr in prticipnt household my hve incresed overll uto use. The issue of totl uto nd trnsit use ws explored by sking prticipnts to ssess how their personl nd household trvel behvior chnged fter joining CrLink II. The results re presented in Tble 7. More thn hlf of the totl prticipnts stted tht their drive-lone trvel decresed or gretly decresed, most likely becuse of incresed commuting by Cltrin. Not surprisingly, one-fourth of the homebsed users indicted tht their drive-lone trvel gretly incresed, TABLE 6 Prticiption nd Commute Stress for CrLink II Home-Bsed Users Work-Bsed Users All (N=9) (N=55) (N=64) Gretly 0.0% 1.8% 1.6% incresed Incresed 12.5% 7.1% 7.8% No chnge 25.0% 44.6% 42.2% Decresed 62.5% 39.3% 42.2% Gretly 0.0% 7.1% 6.3% decresed Work-bsed includes both work-bsed commuters nd dy users. most likely becuse of incresed ccess to the CrLink vehicles on evenings nd weekends. At the household level, 6.3% of ll prticipnts indicted tht vehicle use incresed, 64.6% stted tht it remined the sme, nd 27.1% sid tht it decresed. Totl prticipnt trnsit use tended to increse (36.1% incresed nd 11.5% gretly incresed) or sty the sme (42.6%). Most of the prticipnts indicted tht their trnsit use for noncommute trips did not chnge (71.2%), wheres 15.3% indicted tht it incresed or gretly incresed, nd 13.6% indicted tht it decresed. The uto use for ll trvel ws lso reduced in CrLink I, but unlike CrLink II, bus use decresed while wlk nd bike use incresed. In sum, these results suggest tht the CrLink II progrm hd positive overll effect on prticipnt trnsit use including noncommute trvel, nd tended to reduce drive-lone nd vehicle trvel by both the prticipnts nd their households. Household Personl Vehicle Use The finl CrLink II questionnire sked prticipnts bout the sttus of their personl vehicles fter joining the progrm. As shown in Tble 8, more thn hlf (52.2%) of the respondents reported no chnge in personl vehicle use, nd 11% of home-bsed users nd 5% of work-bsed commuters nd dy users sold personl vehicle or put it in storge. No one purchsed or lesed personl vehicle. The low rte of new cr purchses my hve resulted from progrm prticiption or from the economic downturn during this period. In the finl CrLink II questionnire, 44.4% of home-bsed users nd 11.7% of work-bsed commuters nd dy users reported tht postponing or voiding the purchse of cr ws mjor benefit of joining the progrm. These findings my hve no direct environmentl or vehicle miles trveled (VMT) benefits, since households my keep their crs longer, but postponing or eliminting the costly purchse of new cr my hve significnt finncil benefits to households. Crpooling nd Prking The design of CrLink progrms encourged (CrLink II) or required (CrLink I) crpooling. Crpooling cn be n effective strtegy to
Shheen nd Rodier 187 TABLE 7 Chnge in Noncommute nd Commute Trvel for CrLink II Drive Alone Totl Trnsit Noncommute Trnsit Totl Household Vehicle Use HB WB All HB WB All HB WB All HB WB All Chnge (N=8) (N=48) (N=56) (N=8) (N=53) (N=61) (N=8) (N=51) (N=59) (N=6) (N=42) (N=48) Gretly 25.0% 2.1% 5.4% 25.0% 9.4% 11.5% 12.5% 0.0% 1.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% incresed Incresed 12.5% 2.1% 3.6% 25.0% 37.7% 36.1% 12.5% 13.7% 13.6% 16.7% 4.8% 6.3% Sme 25.0% 39.6% 37.5% 25.0% 45.3% 42.6% 37.5% 76.5% 71.2% 33.3% 69.0% 64.6% Decresed 25.0% 50.0% 46.4% 12.5% 7.5% 8.2% 37.5% 9.8% 13.6% 33.3% 26.2% 27.1% Gretly 12.5% 6.3% 7.1% 12.5% 0.0% 1.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 16.7% 0.0% 2.1% decresed Work-bsed includes both work-bsed commuters nd dy users. TABLE 8 Chnge in Use of Household Personl Vehicles for CrLink II HB (N=9) WB (N=55) All (N=64) No chnge in use of household personl vehicles 22.2% 56.7% 52.2% Fmily member drives cr more frequently 11.1% 6.7% 7.3% Loned vehicle to someone outside immedite fmily 0.0% 3.3% 2.9% Sold or stored one or more of our personl vehicles 11.1% 5.0% 5.8% Purchsed or lesed personl vehicle 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Did not hve vehicle when I joined CrLink 44.4% 8.3% 13.0% Other 11.1% 15.0% 14.5% No response 0.0% 5.0% 4.4% Work-bsed includes both work-bsed commuters nd dy users. reduce the demnd for nd costs of employee prking. Preferentil crpool prking cn lso help reduce employee frustrtion when onsite prking is limited. For some CrLink II employer subscribers, encourging CrLink crpooling to reduce prking demnd ws stted gol. CrLink II progrm did not require members to crpool, leving this decision to the businesses. Including drivers, the overll verge number of work-bsed commuters in CrLink II vehicle during commutes between the trin sttion nd the work sites ws 1.48 in both mornings nd evenings. During the finl CrLink II interviews nd focus groups, reserchers lerned tht the composition of individul crpools (i.e., specific persons in ech cr) vried between morning nd evening. Overll the prking benefit to employers resulted in pproximtely one prking spce serving two CrLink II vehicles on verge. The impct on individul businesses vried. In focus groups with employees of businesses with more restricted prking, respondents sid tht they tended to crpool every dy, mening ech CrLink II vehicle freed up t lest one spce. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS This pper exmined the user chrcteristics nd the trvel effects of the CrLink I nd II progrms, crshring model with explicit links to trnsit nd suburbn employment. Wht follows is summry of key study conclusions with discussion of relevnt findings from crshring studies in the United Sttes nd Europe. Demogrphic Attributes The typicl CrLink II member ws similr to the verge Sn Frncisco By Are resident with respect to gender nd household vehicle ownership distribution. On the other hnd, CrLink II prticipnts were more likely to be highly educted, in higher income brcket, professionlly employed, nd younger thn the verge By Are resident. Demogrphic ttributes of CrLink I prticipnts vried similrly from the By Are verge with respect to eduction, income, nd employment. However, men nd older individuls were represented more frequently in CrLink I reltive to CrLink II nd the By Are popultion. The progrm loction nd type of prticipting compny my explin the vrition in ge nd gender distribution between CrLink I nd II. However, studies in Europe hve found tht men were more likely to prticipte in crshring progrms (13). Studies of neighborhood crshring in Portlnd nd Sn Frncisco hve lso found tht members tended to be highly educted nd professionlly employed (8, 9). Attitudinl Chrcteristics Similr ttitudes were shred by members of CrLink I nd II, including sensitivity to congestion, willingness to experiment, nd concern for the environment. However, CrLink II members did not typiclly view vehicle mintennce s hssle, wheres CrLink I members did. Mode Choice The chnge in mode choice for ll trvel mong CrLink II members indicted reltively lrge reductions in driving lone nd increses in
188 Trnsporttion Reserch Record 1927 trnsit use. This chnge ws most pronounced for commute trvel, however, in which driving lone ws reduced by 22.9 percentge points nd use of the trnsit (Cltrin) incresed by 23.1 percentge points. Similr mode shifts were obtined for CrLink I, with 23.2-percentge-point increse in BART use nd 43.5-percentgepoint reduction in driving lone for the commute trvel. In contrst, results of neighborhood crshring studies indicte smll but conflicting results with respect to mode shifts. The CrShring Portlnd study (8) showed smll shift from the uto mode to trnsit, wlking, nd cycling modes, while the City CrShre study (9) indicted smll decline in trnsit, wlking, nd cycling. Vehicle Trvel Commute vehicle trvel distnce ws reduced by n verge of 23 mi per dy in CrLink II nd by 18.5 mi in Crlink I (11). In CrLink I nd II, reductions in commute VMT were not offset by increses in non-commute trvel. For exmple, more thn 50% of CrLink II members stted tht their vehicle use decresed or gretly decresed, while lmost hlf indicted tht their trnsit use incresed. Across their entire households, nerly 30% of member households reported n overll decrese in vehicle use. During interviews, prticipnts sid tht CrLink led to more trip-chining during their commutes nd the elimintion of some unnecessry trips, nd thus it ppers tht the CrLink model encourged members to pln trips more crefully. Reductions in VMT for CrLink I nd II re comprble to the low end of the VMT reductions found in Europen neighborhood crshring studies, which rnged from 30% to 70% (3 6). Household Vehicle Avilbility CrLink II results indicte tht reltively modest number of members (5.8%) sold or stored their vehicle fter joining the progrm. Some CrLink I members lso indicted tht they sold vehicle fter joining CrLink. The Portlnd nd Sn Frncisco neighborhood crshring studies (7 9) suggest tht 12% to 30% of members sold vehicle fter joining the orgniztion. In Europe, neighborhood crshring studies indicte tht 10% to 60% of members sold vehicle fter joining service (3 6). Erly U.S. results indicte tht neighborhood crshring in urbn environments tends to increse uto trvel mong members without prior ccess to household vehicle nd reduce uto trvel mong those with prior ccess to household vehicle. The chnges in vehicle vilbility in the CrLink progrms re t lest hlf of those found in the neighborhood crshring orgniztions in Portlnd nd Sn Frncisco. The higher-qulity trnsit nd pedestrin environment in the urbn loctions of neighborhood crshring services my fcilitte reductions in the number of vilble household vehicles. However, the reduction in uto trvel mong members of the CrLink nd sttion cr progrms were lrger thn those found in U.S. neighborhood crshring studies. Together, these results suggest tht chnges in household vehicle vilbility my be the key vrible ffecting reduction in uto trvel in neighborhood crshring progrms, nd the strong trnsit link my be the vrible ffecting uto trvel reduction in the CrLink progrms. It is uncler, however, whether the mrket potentil for the suburbn commuter crshring model could be s extensive s tht of neighborhood crshring. Thus, totl systemwide trvel effects re uncler nd require future reserch. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The uthors thnk Cliforni Prtners for Advnced Trnsit nd Highwys (PATH), the Cliforni Deprtment of Trnsporttion (Cltrns), Americn Hond Motor Compny, Cltrin, the By Are Rpid Trnsit (BART) District, Lwrence Livermore Ntionl Lbortory (LLNL), Teletrc, nd INVERS for their generous contributions to the CrLink I nd II progrms. The uthors lso thnk Lind Novick, Rchel Finson, Amnd Eken, John Wright, Oliver Burke, nd Brin Hueng. Ech helped to mke CrLink I nd II testing nd reserch possible. REFERENCES 1. Cervero, R. Prtrnsit in Americ. Preger, Westport, Conn., 1997. 2. Shheen, S., D. Sperling, nd C. Wgner. Crshring in Europe nd North Americ: Pst, Present, nd Future. Trnsporttion Qurterly, Vol. 52, No. 3, 1998, pp. 35 52. 3. Ktzev, R. Cr Shring: A New Approch to Urbn Trnsporttion Problems. Anlyses of Socil Issues nd Public Policy, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2003. 4. Bum, H., nd S. Pesch. Untersuchung der Eignung von Cr-Shring im Hinblick uf die Reduzierung von Stdtverkehrsproblemen (in Germn). Federl Ministry for Trffic, Bonn, Germny, 1994. 5. Hrms, S., nd B. Truffer. The Emergence of Ntion-wide Crshring Co-opertive in Switzerlnd. Swiss Federl Institute of Aqutic Science nd Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerlnd, 1998. 6. Meijkmp, R., nd R. Theunissen. Crshring: Consumer Acceptnce nd Chnges in Mobility Behvior. Delft University of Technology Report, Delft, Netherlnds, 1996. 7. Ktzev, R. CrShring Portlnd: Review nd Anlysis of Its First Yer. Deprtment of Environmentl Qulity, Portlnd, Ore., 1999. 8. Cooper, G., D. Howes, nd P. Mye. The Missing Link: An Evlution of CrShring Portlnd Inc. Oregon Deprtment of Environmentl Qulity, Portlnd, Ore., 2000. 9. Cervero, R., nd Y. Tsi. City Crshre in Sn Frncisco, Cliforni: Second-Yer Trvel Demnd nd Cr Ownership Impcts. In Trnsporttion Reserch Record: Journl of the Trnsporttion Reserch Bord, No. 1887, Trnsporttion Reserch Bord of the Ntionl Acdemies, Wshington, D.C., 2004, pp. 117 127. 10. Nerenberg, V., M. J. Bernrd III, nd N. E. Collins. Evlution Results of Sn Frncisco By Are Sttion-Cr Demonstrtion. In Trnsporttion Reserch Record: Journl of the Trnsporttion Reserch Bord, No. 1666, TRB, Ntionl Reserch Council, Wshington, D.C., 1999, pp. 110 117. 11. Shheen, S., J. Wright, D. Dick, nd L. Novick. CrLink A Smrt Crshring System Field Test Report. UCD-ITS-RR-00-4, University of Cliforni, Dvis, Clif., 2000. 12. Shheen, S., nd J. Wright. The CrLink II Pilot Progrm: Testing Commuter-Bsed Crshring Model. In Proc., 2001 Institute of Electricl nd Electronics Engineers Intelligent Trnsporttion Systems, 2001, pp. 1067 1072. 13. Shheen, S. Dynmics in Behviorl Adpttion to Trnsporttion Innovtion: A Cse Study of CrLink A Smrt Crshring System. UCD-ITS-RR-99-16, Institute of Trnsporttion Studies, University of Cliforni, Dvis, 1999. The contents of this report reflect the views of the uthors, who re responsible for the fcts nd the ccurcy of the dt presented here. The Public Trnsporttion Group Executive Bord sponsored publiction of this pper.