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ically the chapters identified above. In general, where individual TDM measures are the subject of
other chapters or chapter subsections, the material assigned to this "Employer and Institutional TDM
Strategies" chapter is only that which pertains to how a measure relates to overall TDM programs
and works in conjunction with other measures within TDM program packages. However, for most
TDM measures, the more recent twenty-first century findings are presented only here in Chapter 19,
which serves as a limited update for TDM-related Handbook chapters published earlier.
Objectives of TDM Strategies
TDM strategies are used as an important component in the mix of improvements and policies needed
to address congestion and provide more options than driving alone. They include incentives and dis-
incentives which are designed to encourage automobile drivers to travel in less congested times or
to find an alternative mode which does not lead to the same peak-hour congestion. Among the objec-
tives of TDM actions are: congestion mitigation, improved air quality, reduced energy consumption,
reduced carbon emissions, land development support, and employee benefits.
Actions to mitigate congestion may include as objectives increasing vehicle occupancy and reduc-
ing vehicle miles of travel. Such actions tend to have benefits in reducing emissions and energy
usage. Actions oriented to spreading peak-period travel may target overcrowding of both transit
and highway facilities.
Some TDM strategies are used with the objective of supporting more development or density than
might otherwise be possible because of either regulations or physical constraints. TDM actions can
improve the access to or utilization of particular sites. Parking needs or requirements may also be
reduced, potentially freeing up space for additional development.
Finally, some TDM actions may have as their objective to ease travel burdens for employees or cus-
tomers, or to address employer worksite issues, such as benefits, recruitment, retention, produc-
tivity, or absenteeism.
Types of TDM Strategies
TDM can stand for transportation demand management or travel demand management. The terms
are interchangeable. It is a process that can encompass a variety of measures intended to influence
travel choices. TDM is used to manage heavy traffic demand and parking requirements, and to
enhance the effectiveness of transit services. Employer and institutional TDM actions within the
scope of this chapter can be classified into four major categories: employer or institutional support
actions, provision of transportation "services," financial incentives or disincentives, and alterna-
tive work arrangements. Each is described in more detail in the subsections that follow.
Employer or Institutional Support Actions
This broad category of actions includes measures taken by employers or institutions to support the
use of alternatives to single occupancy vehicles during peak hours by employees and others. These
measures, which serve to raise awareness, provide information, remove impediments, and encour-
age use of travel alternatives, generally do not involve any financial inducement or physical ser-
vice offerings. Examples include: transportation coordinators; on-site transit information and/or
pass sales; rideshare matching services; preferential parking for carpools or vanpools; provision
of bike lockers, showers, and/or changing facilities; and guaranteed ride home.
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Many TDM employers also offer flexible work hours, in order to allow employees to accommodate
transit or ridesharing scheduling constraints. While this is an important support action, it is dis-
cussed in more detail later in conjunction with alternative work arrangements. Employers in a
large employment center may also belong to a transportation management association (TMA),
which avails them and their employees of a wider array of travel opportunities and incentives.
Support actions include:
Transportation Coordinators. Transportation coordinators are professionals located at a trans-
portation management association or at an employment site who provide personalized trip plan-
ning and assistance to commuters. The presence of an on-site coordinator can make it easier to
obtain information about alternatives to single occupancy vehicle commutes.
Transportation Management Association (TMA). TMAs are an association of public and private
entities concerned with traffic congestion and transportation issues in a specific geographic area.
TMAs allow businesses to pool their resources in executing commuter support strategies. The
TMA may also act in an advocacy role with local government on behalf of its membership.
On-Site Transit Information and Pass Sales. Providing transit information on-site can lower the
barriers that may prevent people from trying transit. Convenient purchase of transit passes may
also facilitate trying out transit use. In addition, on-site sales may support introduction of site-
specific transit pass discounts.
Rideshare Matching Services. Rideshare matching services put compatible commuters in touch
with one another to enable carpooling. Employers can facilitate formation of ridesharing arrange-
ments by employees in a number of ways, ranging from simple in-house employee match listings
to computerized matching programs. These services may be unique to the given employer or can
pool matching candidates from a larger area ranging from multiple employers in a building or
complex to large regional matching systems.
Guaranteed Ride Home. Guaranteed ride home programs provide backup transportation to
employees who rideshare or use transit if they need to return home suddenly for an emergency,
or if they must work late and therefore cannot connect with the mode they used to travel to the site
on that day. Generally, these programs provide vouchers for the person to travel home by taxi,
although some employers permit use of company vehicles as well. Guaranteed ride home may be
provided by the individual employer or through a broader local or regional program. While a
guaranteed ride home may be seldom used, it is felt to be important in reducing reliance on a per-
sonal vehicle at the workplace and thus lessening the need to drive alone.
Preferential Parking. Employers may set aside reserved parking spaces as an incentive to carpool
or vanpool. This is a non-monetary benefit that can be an important incentive if parking is tight,
or if the parking lot is large and the reserved spaces are near the building entrance. Reserved spaces
may also be sheltered versus outdoors, lessening the impact of severe weather.
Bicycle Storage, Lockers, and Changing Facilities. Changing facilities and showers and secure
bicycle parking are key features for an employer or institution interested in encouraging bicycle
use. Such facilities may be combined with an exercise facility and may encourage healthy habits.
Some employers provide a transportation allowance that may be used by bicycle commuters.
Chapter 16, "Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities," discusses these in more detail, but this chapter
discusses employer and institutional support for bicycles in the context of TDM programs.
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Provision of Transportation Services
A small number of employers choose to become directly involved in providing attractive trans-
portation alternatives to their employees. They do this either by contracting for special services,
operating their own services, or taking a lead role in the purchasing, leasing, or maintenance of
transportation vehicles. Most often this occurs because the work site is poorly located in relation
to public transit access. On other occasions, the employer feels a need or desire to become active
in employee transportation, or has a preference for a particular type of mode or service.
Shuttle Bus Services. Some employers choose to operate shuttle bus services to provide easy con-
nections with nearby rapid transit services or other important facilities. Shuttle services may be an
individual employer effort or a collective effort of a few sites. In some instances, shuttles are also used
for local circulation during the midday, lessening the need to bring a personal vehicle to the job site.
Contract Transit Service. In some cases, employers will contract with a private bus operator or
with a public transit agency to either operate special transit routes or to supplement service to their
particular site. Urban hospitals or medical centers with limited parking for staff and visitors fre-
quently make arrangements for additional bus service, often through financial assurances that a
given level of ridership will occur.
Vanpool Formation Assistance/Cost Sharing. Since a vanpool carries between 7 and 12 passengers,
large employers may find that vanpools provide an effective commute alternative for their employ-
ees, particularly when a large percentage live a substantial distance from the site and when transit
service to the site is limited. Employers can support vanpooling through a variety of ways, from
purchase or leasing of vehicles, to underwriting insurance or maintenance costs, or even providing
and maintaining the vehicles themselves. Fare subsidies are a particular type of vanpool assis-
tance measure, and these are discussed under "Financial Incentives or Disincentives" below. While
this chapter discusses the role of vanpools in travel demand management programs, Chapter 5,
"Vanpools and Buspools," provides detailed information on vanpools as a travel alternative.
Use of Company Vehicles. Employers who maintain fleet vehicles (which may include employee
vanpools) will sometimes offer those vehicles for midday business travel, and sometimes for per-
sonal errands or emergencies. Some employers allow use of company vehicles for commuting by
a registered carpool. (The phrase "company vehicles" is often used within this chapter as short-
hand for these types of activities.)
Bicycle Loan Programs. While bicycling may or may not be suitable in current workplace loca-
tions as an alternative mode for commuting, making bicycles available for employees on site can
help reduce the need to use a car for certain midday trips. Particularly on large suburban cam-
puses, easy access to a bicycle can aid in trips to other functions on the site or nearby commercial/
retail opportunities. Bicycles can also facilitate access to transit from the employment site.
Financial Incentives or Disincentives
Financial incentives or disincentives are actions of tangible monetary value which either encourage
employees/commuters to make use of a particular alternative, or discourage them from some other
course of action. These actions may have an obvious monetary value, such as a subsidy or parking
fee. Alternatively, they may be of such a nature that a monetary value can be imputed, an example
being the earning of points toward a tangible reward. There are many variations on how "money"
can be used to influence behavior.
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Transit Subsidies. Employers can reduce the cost of taking transit by offering prepaid or dis-
counted transit passes to employees who agree to commute by transit. This benefit can vary from
a modest share of the actual cost to full absorption of the cost, and instances have been observed
where employees have been subsidized more than the actual fare being charged. Federal tax law
allows employees to receive a transit subsidy of up to $230 per month without incurring tax liabil-
ity for that benefit, while some states offer the employer a tax credit for paying such subsidies.
Governments or transit agencies can supplement these subsidies through their own special pro-
grams that reward large customers or employers who provide substantial subsidies.
Vanpool Subsidies. Employers may subsidize the cost of vanpooling in a variety of ways. Federal
tax law now extends the tax-free subsidy provision to vanpool as well as transit user fees. Employers
can also offer start-up (empty seat) subsidies to support a vanpool during its formative stage (keep-
ing the cost down for initial riders), short-term promotional fare subsidies, or driver subsidies.
Vanpools can also be subsidized through a variety of indirect methods, the monetary value of
which can be quantified. Employers can help procure or arrange financing for the vehicle, they can
provide fuel or maintenance, and they can pay for or underwrite insurance.
In-Kind Incentives. Instead of cash, direct support for alternative transportation may be pro-
vided in other ways. Free or discounted products or services may be provided in lieu of cash.
Relating the in-kind incentives to the transportation mode can provide synergism. For example,
carpoolers and vanpoolers might receive gasoline or oil changes, transit riders might receive tran-
sit passes, walkers might receive shoes, and bicyclists might receive bike accessories or mechan-
ical services.
Parking Supply and Pricing. Perhaps the biggest lever available to employers and institutions
interested in reducing single occupancy vehicle use for access to their facility is the imposition of
parking supply constraints or parking pricing. Because parking is itself such a powerful determi-
nant of travel behavior, it has been given separate coverage in Chapter 13, "Parking Pricing and
Fees," and Chapter 18, "Parking Management and Supply." An effort has been made not to dupli-
cate that coverage in this chapter. The reader should be aware that many employer and institu-
tional TDM programs include a parking component.
Alternative Work Arrangements
Alternative work arrangement actions are strategies that modify the time of travel or frequency
of travel. They include flexible or staggered work hours, compressed work weeks (CWW), and
telecommuting.
Flexible Work Hours. Flexible work hours are programs allowing employees a degree of freedom
in choosing their starting and quitting times. Employees must be at work during core periods
(typically 9:30 to 11:30 AM and 1:30 to 3:30 PM) and must observe earliest allowed starting time
and latest allowed quitting time limitations. Employers may restrict how much daily flexibility
workers have in scheduling their work day.
Staggered Work Hours. Staggered work hours are a fixed scheduling of work that normally spreads
the employee starting and quitting times over a 1- to 3-hour period, with individual groups of
employees designated to report and leave at 15 to 30 minute intervals. Staggered work hours are
generally employed in large facilities, especially manufacturing, where work schedules are other-
wise regular.
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