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Handbook to Assess the Impacts of Constrained Parking at Airports (2010)

Chapter: Chapter 9 - Strategies to Address Constrained Employee Parking

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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 9 - Strategies to Address Constrained Employee Parking." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Handbook to Assess the Impacts of Constrained Parking at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14435.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 9 - Strategies to Address Constrained Employee Parking." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Handbook to Assess the Impacts of Constrained Parking at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14435.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 9 - Strategies to Address Constrained Employee Parking." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Handbook to Assess the Impacts of Constrained Parking at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14435.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 9 - Strategies to Address Constrained Employee Parking." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Handbook to Assess the Impacts of Constrained Parking at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14435.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 9 - Strategies to Address Constrained Employee Parking." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Handbook to Assess the Impacts of Constrained Parking at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14435.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 9 - Strategies to Address Constrained Employee Parking." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Handbook to Assess the Impacts of Constrained Parking at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14435.
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Page 95
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 9 - Strategies to Address Constrained Employee Parking." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Handbook to Assess the Impacts of Constrained Parking at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14435.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 9 - Strategies to Address Constrained Employee Parking." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Handbook to Assess the Impacts of Constrained Parking at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14435.
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Page 97
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 9 - Strategies to Address Constrained Employee Parking." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Handbook to Assess the Impacts of Constrained Parking at Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14435.
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89 Through the research conducted under ACRP Project 10-06, few instances of constrained employee parking at an airport were identified. Of the airports that experienced constrained employee parking, the constraints were resolved relatively quickly compared to public parking constraints, and considered easier to resolve by airport operators than were public parking constraints. Employee parking constraints were resolved pri- marily by adding capacity. Airport operators typically have more options available for the accommodation of employee parking and, compared to airline passengers accessing the air- port, airport employees typically have fewer alternative access mode options available to them. The characteristics of the employee commute to an airport, the strategies airport operators may consider adopting to manage or resolve constrained employee parking, and ways to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies are presented in this chapter. Airport Employee Commute Environment Airport employees are defined as employees of the air- port operator, airline tenants, or other businesses located on the airport property. Employee commute trips account for a sizable number of daily vehicle trips generated by a commercial airport. The number of airport employees and their commute patterns are the primary determinants of the demand for employee parking and, therefore, will provide insights into employee parking constraints. For a description of employee customer segments, please refer to Chapter 1. Each employee commuting in a single-occupant automo- bile needs a parking space in the vicinity of the airport for the duration of the work shift. At some commercial airports, parking is offered to employees for a low monthly fee that is often less than the price of a monthly transit pass, or the park- ing is subsidized by employers. Low-cost parking may serve as a disincentive for commuting by transit or ride-sharing by air- port employees. Often, the public transportation system serving an airport does not adequately serve all work shifts. Most medium- and large-hub airports operate on a 24-h per day schedule, 365 days per year; however, public transportation systems often do not operate on a 24-h schedule, and public transportation service schedules are designed to accommodate peak commute times of the traditional office worker (approximately 7 A.M. to 9 A.M. and 5 P.M. to 7 P.M.), which are not the same as the peak times for airport shift workers. Of the access mode choices available to the airline passenger, most are not an option for the airport employee because of the limited service availability to key on-airport employment areas or the prohibitive cost as a routine commute option. Table 30 shows the applicability of potential access modes as employee commute options. Strategies to Address Constrained Employee Parking Strategies to manage or resolve constrained employee park- ing include increasing capacity, improving the use of existing facilities, and offering alternatives to the drive-alone commute. Potential outcomes from each of the strategies to resolve con- strained employee parking are similar to those described for public parking constraints in Chapter 5—an airport operator should consider the financial, vehicle traffic, environmental (vehicle emissions), and customer service implications of each strategy. For example, a strategy may have a financial implica- tion resulting from changes in revenue, capital, or operat- ing costs. Each strategy may result in a change in vehicle trips generated to and from the airport or trip patterns on the airport roadway system, and this may produce related changes in vehi- cle emissions. The customer service implications of each strat- egy should also be considered for both employees and their employers. C H A P T E R 9 Strategies to Address Constrained Employee Parking

90 parking facilities among employees to balance facility demand. For example, employees who use a constrained facility could be reassigned to an unconstrained facility. Alternatively, all employees could be reassigned to balance parking facility use. In reassigning parking facilities, the airport operator may consider the proximity of employee parking to employee work locations to ensure the efficiency of transportation (if shuttle bus service is required) between work locations and parking facilities. Adjust Parking Rates An airport operator may adjust parking rates in an attempt to balance demand among facilities if the airport employee parking supply is provided in more than one location and some facilities are constrained while others have excess capacity. Rates would be adjusted so that the constrained facilities are priced higher than the unconstrained facilities to provide a price differential as a disincentive for parking in the constrained facility. Consideration might be given to how parking rates in each facility relate to the price of a monthly transit pass, if transit is a viable commute option for employees. Table 30. Airline passenger access mode applicability for the employee commute. Access Mode Applicability for Employee Commute Private Automobile: Drive and Park Preferred mode at many airports (typically as a single occupant) Private Automobile: Dropped Off and Picked Up Unlikely Rental Car Cost prohibitive (and requires a parking space) Taxicab Cost prohibitive Single-Party Limousine Cost prohibitive Shared-Ride Van Cost prohibitive Privately Operated Bus Cost prohibitive without employee discounts Public Transportation Use depends on schedules, geographic coverage, and relative cost compared to parking Source: DMR Consulting, November 2009. Increase Capacity An airport operator may increase the employee parking sup- ply to accommodate demand either through the addition of permanent spaces or the temporary reallocation or reassign- ment of another parking facility or available parcel of land to employee parking on an as-needed basis. Consolidate the Parking Supply If an airport’s employee parking supply is provided in more than one location, the airport operator may consolidate some, or all, of its employee parking supply. The purpose of this strat- egy is to improve the use of employee parking facilities and reduce operating costs (e.g., shuttle busing, access control) associated with serving multiple parking facilities. This strategy should be considered if better facility use or cost savings could be achieved by consolidation. Reassign Parking Facilities If an airport’s employee parking supply is provided in more than one location and some facilities are constrained while others have excess capacity, an airport operator can reassign Employee Parking at McCarran International Airport Over 20,300 employees work at McCarran International Airport (LAS), which includes 1,200 employees in the Clark County Department of Aviation (the operator of LAS). The Department of Aviation provides a total of 3,800 parking spaces for employees. The employee parking system is constrained at LAS. Approximately 3,250 of the spaces dedicated for employee parking are pro- vided in Terminal 1 and the remainder of the available employee parking spaces is provided in Ter- minal 2. The Department of Aviation addresses the constraints by making use of its ample passenger economy lot for employees if needed. Employees using the public lots are charged a reduced rate. (3)

91 Offer Alternatives to the Drive-Alone Commute Successful alternative access modes to the drive-alone com- mute mode will reduce the need for employee parking spaces. However, a significant challenge to airport operators who are considering ways to reduce single-occupant employee trips is that they often only have the authority and the ability to set policies for their own employees. Because employees of the air- port operator typically account for a comparatively small share of the total airport employee population, the effectiveness of any policies implemented to encourage the use of other access modes may be limited. Table 31 shows that for the representa- tive airports participating in ACRP Project 10-06, employees of the airport operator typically account for less than 10% of the total employee population at the airport. Table 31. Airport operator employee share of the total airport employee population. Adjusted Employee Parking Rates at Tulsa International Airport Approximately 2,000 employees work at Tulsa International Airport, including 170 Tulsa Airport Authority employees. Airport employee parking is provided in two dedicated lots with a combined inventory of 471 spaces. The A Lot has 248 spaces, and the B Lot has 223 spaces. The B Lot was experiencing constraints because of its proximity to TSA offices, and the A Lot had excess capacity. In 2007, the Authority Board instituted differential pricing for the two lots to balance demand between the two facilities. Employees in the B Lot pay $22.50 per month and employees in the A Lot pay $15.00 per month. The strategy has been effective in shifting demand from the B Lot to the A Lot. (15) Airport Total Airport Employ ee Populatio n Airport Operator Emplo ye es Airport Operator Share of the Total Airport Employee Population Large-Hub Airports Boston Logan International (BOS) 14,000 800–900 6% Chicago O’Hare International (ORD) 50,000 1,500 a 3% McCarran International (LAS) 20,350 1,200 6% Miami International (MIA) 35,000 – – San Diego International (SAN) 5,000–6,000 335 6% Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) 22,000 833 4% Tampa International (TPA) 6,500 625 10% Washington Dulles International (IAD) 18,800 – – Large-Hub Average 5% Medium-Hub Airports Bob Hope (BUR) 1,900 120 6% Oakland International (OAK) 10,000 – – Port Columbus International (CMH) 3,500 360 10% Portland International (PDX) 11,000 300 3% San Antonio International (SAT) 440 – – Medium-Hub Average 5% Small-Hub Airports Huntsville International (HSV) 550 105 19% Tulsa International (TUL) 2,000 170 9% Small-Hub Average 11% Notes: – Data not available. a The number of airport operator employees shown for Chicago O’Hare International Airport includes employees at both O’Hare and Midway International Airports. Source: Ricondo & Associates, Inc., and DMR Consulting, based on airport case studies (November 2008 through February 2009). (1–15)

92 Strategies that may be implemented to influence employee use of alternative access modes are described in the remainder of this section and summarized in Table 32. The strategies may be sponsored by (1) the airport operator for its employees or for a larger population of airport employees, (2) other airport employers for their employees, or (3) a transportation man- agement association (TMA). Transportation Management Association The airport operator or other airport employers may form a TMA, which is an association of employers working together to provide information and offer incentives to employees to encourage the use of an alternative access mode to the single- occupant automobile. The TMA may sell and distribute tran- sit passes, such as at an employee commute store that would also provide information on ride-sharing and HOV com- mute options. The TMA may maintain a website to provide information on the program to its members. Each member employer may pay membership dues to fund the operation of the TMA. TMA operation may include a salary for a trans- portation management coordinator who works with member employers and their employees. Individual employers may also have a transportation management coordinator to serve as a Table 32. Strategies to reduce the drive-alone employee commute. Strategy Description Transportation Management Association Develop an association of employers that provides information and incentives to employees on alternatives to the drive-alone commute. Commute Options Outreach Provide information on a website about transportation program options and information packets or presentations to new employees. Carpool Program Support carpooling by offering discounted parking permits or other incentives, preferential parking, or ride-matching services to pair up commuters from similar origins. Vanpool Program Provide vans or other incentives for employees that form vanpools. Public Transit Subsidies Subsidize public transit fares. Offer additional benefits such as free fares for a defined period for those employees who relinquish their parking passes. Enhanced Transit Service Work with transit operator to provide service that better accommodates employee work schedules or provide subsidy or initiate service. Shuttle Service Provide a shuttle service to communities with significant employment populations or from the point served by public transportation to other airport employment locations. This service could supplement public transit during hours when transit service is not available. Discounts on Private HOV Services Offer discounts on privately operated HOV services. Emergency Ride Home Offer a defined number of taxicab or rental car vouchers for employees who use an alternate mode for emergency use or as a contingency for overtime. Compressed Work Week Provide the option of working a compressed work week to eliminate a commute trip. For example, employees may work 80 h over a 2-week period in 8 or 9 days rather than 10 days. Car Sharing Provide space for a car-sharing program and offer car-share incentives (such as a couple of hours of free use per month) to those employees who use alternative travel modes for their commute. Bicycle Racks Provide bicycle racks to promote bicycling as an alternative mode; however, this is not a viable mode in many airport environments. Source: DMR Consulting, based on airport case studies conducted for ACRP Project 10-06. (24–28) Transportation Management Association, Massachusetts Port Authority The Massachusetts Port Authority founded a transportation management association at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) in 1997. The purpose of the TMA is to reduce single-occupant employee commute trips to BOS, reduce the demand for employee parking, and improve commut- ing options for employees using alternative modes of transportation. Employees of participating employers receive discounts on the Logan Express, a network of regional nonstop express buses sponsored by Massport, and on some of the privately operated scheduled HOV services. These employees also receive ride-matching services and information on alternatives to commuting alone. The TMA introduced a commuter cash program to its members in 2007. Member employees who switch from driving alone to carpooling, bicycling, walk- ing, or using public transportation receive $3 per day. Massport provides a 50% subsidy, up to $100 per month, to its employees who commute using the Logan Express or public transportation. (1)

93 liaison between its employees and the TMA. Membership may be voluntary, or it may be mandatory through lease agreements between the airport operator and its tenants. Commute Options Outreach An airport operator, an individual employer, or a TMA may provide information on a website about transportation program options and information packets or presentations to new employees. Carpool Program An airport operator, an individual employer, or a TMA may provide incentives and information about carpooling to airport employees. Carpool program elements may include preferential parking, free or reduced parking fees, and ride- matching services, as well as information and promotions to encourage employees to try carpooling. The airport operator may extend the benefits of the carpool program to all airport employees. Vanpool Program An airport operator, an individual employer, or a TMA may provide incentives to employees to form vanpools, including the provision of vans, subsidized fuel, free parking, preferential parking, and vanpool matching. Regardless of who sponsors the vanpool program, participation in the Reducing the Single-Occupant Commute at San Diego International Airport San Diego County Regional Airport Authority employees are eligible for a subsidy of half their transit fare. Employees must relinquish their parking passes to receive the subsidy. (5) Reducing the Single-Occupant Commute at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport The Port of Seattle is subject to the state of Washington commute trip reduction law that was enacted in the 1991. Accordingly, the Port offers an employee commute program for its employ- ees. During 2007 and 2008, the Port branded its employee commute program, increased its promotion of the program, and offered a $30 voucher each month to employees who commuted at least 50% of their work days by any HOV mode, including carpools. The voucher was valid for the purchase of goods and services from a variety of merchants in the region, such as retail stores, car washes, and gas stations. As a result, the number of employees buying transit passes doubled, and approximately 70 park- ing spaces that had been used by employees became available for long-term parking by airline passengers. (6) program may be offered to a population of employees that extends beyond those directly employed by the sponsor(s) to ensure a level of participation needed for vanpool formation. Employees not directly employed by the sponsor(s) may pay a higher participation fee than those employed directly by the sponsor(s). Public Transit Subsidies An airport operator, an individual employer, or a TMA may subsidize transit passes for its employees to promote increased use of HOV modes. The employer may also provide information on transit options to its employees or customize trip plans. Enhanced Transit Service An airport operator or a TMA may work with a transit operator to improve the schedule of the public transportation system to better accommodate employee work schedules. Alternatively, the airport operator or a TMA may provide a transportation service that improves the viability of public transportation commuting for employees. Shuttle Service The airport operator or a TMA may provide a shuttle service to communities with significant employee populations that are not served by the public transportation system or that are not

94 Emergency Ride Home For employees who commute to the airport using an HOV alternative to the single-occupant automobile, the airport operator or TMA may offer to reimburse the employee for the cost of a taxicab, public transportation, or a rental car to leave work in an emergency or if the employee must work late unex- pectedly. The number of times an employee is eligible for an emergency ride home may be limited. Compressed Work Hours Airport employers may offer compressed work schedules for employees to reduce the number of commute trips to the airport. Typical schedules involve working 40 h over 4 days or 80 h over 9 days. served for a portion of the employee work schedule. If public transportation serves only the terminal area, and there are air- port work sites that support a significant number of employees but are not within walking distance of the terminal area, the airport operator or TMA may provide a shuttle service between the terminal area and other employment locations to make transit a viable option for employees with work sites outside of the terminal area. Discounts on Private HOV Services The airport operator, TMA, or private HOV operators may offer discounts on privately operated HOV services to airport employees. The discount may be on a per trip basis, or involve the purchase of a monthly pass or multiple trips to receive the discount. Reducing the Single-Occupant Commute at Tampa International Airport The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority is a member of the community initiative that assists employees in locating carpooling alternatives. Scheduled bus service is provided by the Hills- borough Area Regional Transit Authority from Tampa International Airport to the central busi- ness district (with numerous transfer options). Additionally, the authority subsidizes 50% of transit fares for its own employees. (7) Transit Service Enhancements at San Francisco International Airport The City and County of San Francisco Airport Commission subsidizes one bus route serving San Francisco International Airport (SFO), SamTrans 397, to ensure that the airport has 24-h transit ser- vice. The subsidy is based on the rides of customers who board and exit the bus at SFO. The route operates through San Mateo and San Francisco counties and serves downtown San Francisco. It is the only bus route in San Mateo County that operates between 2 A.M. and 5 A.M. The Airport Commis- sion was the catalyst for this route, because SFO is the largest employment center in San Mateo County. (24) Transit Service Enhancements at San Diego International Airport In mid-November 2008, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority initiated free, nonstop bus service between the Old Town Transit Center and San Diego International Airport (SAN) for employees only. The service was operated for a 6-month pilot period, following which funding was extended for another year, through June 2010. Employees traveling from the north using commuter rail, light rail, and public bus service can now travel directly between the Old Town Tran- sit Center and SAN during select hours in the morning and afternoon that are timed with the commuter rail service. Previously, employees had to travel to a train station farther south and farther from the airport to take a public bus that makes multiple stops between the train station and SAN. (5)

95 Car Sharing An airport operator, a TMA, or another large employer may maintain, or contract for the provision of, a fleet of automo- biles for hire by the hour for employees who have a need to leave the airport occasionally. As an incentive, the employer may provide a certain number of rental hours free of charge over a unit of time, such as a quarter, for eligible employees that normally commute using an alternative to the single-occupant automobile. Bicycle Racks An airport operator may provide bicycle racks near airport employment locations to promote the use of bicycles as an alternative commute mode to the airport. Bicycling may not be a viable commute option at some airports because of safety issues related to the configuration of the airport roadway sys- tem or heavy vehicle traffic. Evaluating Strategy Effectiveness Suggested data sources and methods for evaluating the effectiveness of strategies adopted, as well as related impacts, are described in this section. Data Sources The following data sources are helpful in gaining an under- standing of employee commuting activity and in measuring the effectiveness of strategies. To evaluate the effectiveness of strate- gies, data should be collected from periods both before and after strategy implementation so that changes in activity can be eval- uated to determine whether the implemented strategy achieved the intended result. • Employee parking activity—Employee parking activity can be measured using data obtained by an employee park- ing access control system, which may include data pro- vided by a card reader system allowing access into the facility or by gate counts. The card reader system or gate counts may provide information on the distribution of vehicles by time of day, and may also calculate occupancy in the parking facility if vehicle entrance and exit data are captured. • Vehicle traffic counts—Using ATRs in the vicinity of entrances or exits to parking facilities will provide informa- tion on vehicle activity by time of day if the employee park- ing access control information or gate counts are not capable of providing this information. Parking shuttles must be fac- tored out of the counts. • Occupancy counts—Counts of the number of vehicles parked in the parking facilities can be collected during peak times, such as during the overlap period between shift changes. This information should be collected before and after strategy implementation to allow an airport operator to understand whether the number of parked vehicles dur- ing comparable time periods has changed as a result of strat- egy implementation. • Vehicle occupancy counts—The average number of employees per vehicle (i.e., vehicle occupancy) can be deter- mined through manual counts at the entrance or exit to employee parking facilities or through counts of employees using shuttle buses serving remote employee parking lots. The vehicle occupancy data should be directly correlated with vehicle traffic counts collected concurrently with the occupancy counts. The evaluation of changes in vehicle occupancy may provide insight into the reasons for changes in parking activity. • Employee commute characteristics—A survey of the entire airport employee population provides informa- tion on the distribution of employee commuting by time of day and day of week, employee residences within the region, commute mode, vehicle occupancy, demographic information, employer, job type (i.e., shift worker, admin- istrative worker, flight crew), and other information essen- tial to understanding commute patterns. If an employee commute survey is conducted at regular intervals, it can be used to measure before-and-after behavior subsequent to implementation of a strategy, recognizing that other changes may have occurred during the period between surveys that also may have affected travel behavior. It is important for questions and answer choices to be similar each time the survey is administered so that the results from survey to survey can be compared. Individ- ual employers may also conduct such a survey to develop commute strategies for their own employees, but it will not provide the information necessary for the employer to determine if partnering on strategies with other employ- ers is viable. • Parking permits—A database of parking permits issued by the airport operator provides information on the number of employees with parking privileges, by location of the park- ing facility, and perhaps by employer, but does not provide information on how often or when each employee uses the parking facility. • Employee security badges—A database of employee secu- rity badges issued can provide general information on employee residence location by zip code, by employer; how- ever, these data do not provide information on whether or not the employee has a parking permit, or how often or when each employee commutes to the airport. These data are highly confidential, but often can be obtained as a distri- bution of employees by home zip code and employees by employer, without employee identities.

96 Measuring Impacts Using the data sources identified in the previous section, changes in employee parking and commuting behavior follow- ing the implementation of strategies to address constrained parking can be measured. If the airport operator adopts more than one strategy to address employee parking constraints, the resulting changes in behavior will be difficult to attribute to an individual strategy; therefore, it may be sufficient to quantify whether a combination of strategies achieved the desired changes. The airport environment is complex and, as discussed in the previous section, parking and ground access activity is depen- dent on many factors. Changes in activity following the imple- mentation of strategies to address constrained parking may seem to indicate their effectiveness or ineffectiveness when, in reality, other factors also influence the outcome and temper the effects of the strategies. If the airport operator wishes to under- stand cause and effect of strategies rather than just overall changes in activity, information on other factors that may have influenced the changes in activity should be considered, such as local or national economic conditions, expansion or reduc- tion of airport activities that led to changes in employment, changes in pricing or supply of HOV modes, and other factors. Each of the strategies described earlier in this chapter for addressing employee parking constraints will have varying lev- els of effectiveness in balancing demand with supply when applied at a given airport, depending on the circumstance and how the strategy is formulated and applied. The ultimate goal and measure of success of a strategy or strategies is resolution of the parking constraint. But the strategies will have other out- comes that affect airport operations and may not be acceptable to the airport operator, or may be inconsistent with goals and objectives for the ground access program or the airport. In other words, solving one problem (constrained parking) may create another problem. Changes in activity and related effects that are logical consequences of implementation of strategies to address employee parking constraints can occur in the fol- lowing categories: • Employee parking activity, • Financial performance, • Activity by mode, • Vehicle traffic volume, • Vehicle emissions, and • Customer service. Approaches for measuring the changes in activity or effects by category are presented in the rest of this section. The airport operator should consider how changes in each cate- gory relate to the goals and objectives for the employee park- ing program to determine the acceptability of the strategies implemented. Employee Parking Activity The ultimate goal of strategies to address constrained employee parking is to reduce or resolve parking constraints. Changes in parking activity are revealed through analysis of parking activity data. The analysis is conducted through a com- parison of parking activity before and after the implementation of strategies for similar periods for the employee parking sup- ply, paying particular attention to periods that were typically constrained. Airport employee parking demands and peaking patterns are typically more uniform on a day-to-day basis than those of public parking demands, which can change dramatically on a day-to-day and seasonal basis. The airport employee popula- tion typically consists primarily of hourly shift workers, management staff, and airline employees who work a relatively stable schedule. Although the variable schedules of certain employee groups, such as airline crews, can be directly influ- enced by changes in airline activity (e.g., O&D passenger activ- ity), the effects of variations in aviation-related activity patterns on overall employee demands are typically moderated on a day-to-day basis, resulting in a relatively stable employee park- ing demand compared with public parking demand. As a result, employee parking demand is not typically influenced by changes in airline passenger activity to the extent that public parking demand is affected. Therefore, the use of benchmarks equating employee parking demand to changes in airline pas- senger activity are typically less appropriate than for assessing public parking demand. The following benchmarks are useful in evaluating the potential effects of a constrained parking solution; however, all should be evaluated in the context of changes in external influences that could affect employee parking activity, such as the effect of the local economy, changes in tenant employee schedules, changes in airline operations that could affect employment, or other factors that may influence employee parking behavior beyond the specific strategy or strategies an airport operator has implemented. Other factors may include changes in cargo activity, changes in the number and charac- teristics of airlines serving the airport, and other changes in airport tenants. • Vehicle exits—A change in total vehicle parking exits, in specific facilities or between facilities, indicates that the strat- egy implemented may have influenced employee choice of parking facilities. The change in exits should be normalized by the number of parking permits issued by facility. • Parking permits—A change in parking permits per badged employee may provide an indication of shifts to other modes following implementation of a strategy. If the number of parking permits issued per facility has changed, a compari- son of the rate of change in permits to the rate of change in exits and occupancies will help the airport operator under-

97 stand the effectiveness of the strategy, with the understand- ing that airline flight crews will generate fewer exits per badge given their work schedules. • Vehicle length-of-stay distribution—If available, these data can provide insight into shift lengths and the propor- tion of activity generated by flight crews and related changes after a strategy has been adopted. • Facility occupancy—The change in occupancy levels dur- ing constrained periods before and after implementation of the strategy is the ultimate measure of the effectiveness of the strategy. • Vehicles by time of day—An analysis of the number of vehicles entering or exiting an employee parking facility by time of day before and after strategy implementation will provide further information on the specific changes that occurred. For example, increased use of HOV modes may have resulted in a decrease in parking activity dur- ing the work shifts when the HOV mode was available as an alternative access mode. Financial Performance The employee parking operation may be operating at a financial loss to the airport operator. A comparison of finan- cial performance before and after strategy implementation will be important for monitoring changes in financial performance if gross revenue, operating costs, or capital costs have changed. Activity by Mode The airport operator may be concerned about how strate- gies adopted to address constrained employee parking affect the mode-share distribution of employees, particularly if the use of HOV modes is encouraged. Information from an employee commute survey conducted before and after parking strategies were adopted is the best source for keeping track of employee mode-share distribution. Vehicle Traffic Volume Employee access and egress trips affect the flow of vehicle traffic on the airport and regional roadway systems. When employee commute choices shift among the single-occupant private automobile, carpooling, vanpooling, and HOV modes, it affects vehicle traffic volumes. Strategies for the resolution of constrained employee parking could improve vehicle traffic on the airport roadways and in the region if the number of vehi- cle trips decreased. Conversely, vehicle traffic would worsen if strategies increase trip volumes. Trip volumes are measured using data from traffic coun- ters or entry or exit data from the employee parking access control system, because each entry or exit represents one vehicle trip. Trips generated by employees using private automobiles may also be estimated using data from the employee commute survey. The employee commute survey will provide employee mode-share distribution data and numbers of employees per vehicle. These data can be used to estimate the number of vehi- cle trips generated by employees commuting by private auto- mobile. Vanpool trips can be added to the calculation using data maintained by the airport operator, the TMA, or individ- ual employers. Vehicle Emissions The change in emissions generated by airport employee commute vehicles on the airport roadway system, in the vicin- ity of the airport, and in the region as a result of strategies adopted to address constrained parking may be a consideration for the airport operator. VMT can be used along with information about pollutants emitted by vehicles in the airport catchment area to determine the changes in environmental impacts. A data source for estimating vehicle emissions is EDMS, a model approved for use by the FAA and EPA for estimating the air quality impacts of airport emissions sources, including ground access vehicles. (23) In EDMS, vehicle emissions fac- tors are estimated from the latest version of the EPA’s mobile source emissions model. Customer Service The customer service implications of strategies adopted to address constrained employee parking will be of concern to the airport operator. Employees and their employers may be affected by different strategies. Strategies intended to resolve problems for some users may create inconveniences for others. Changes in customer service are more difficult to measure than changes in other categories. One indication of changes in customer service is if the airport operator receives an increased number of complaints following the implementation of strategies. The airport operator could administer a customer satisfaction survey before and after implementation of strategies to measure changes in customer satisfaction. It is suggested that the survey include questions pertaining to the availability of parking, location, pricing, service characteristics of the shuttle service, and questions on other access modes.

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Handbook to Assess the Impacts of Constrained Parking at Airports Get This Book
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TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 34: Handbook to Assess the Impacts of Constrained Parking at Airports explores different types of parking constraints that airports experience and highlights tools to assess the impacts of the constraints and strategies to deal with them.

The handbook includes a predictive modeling tool in a CD-ROM format designed to help determine the effects of implementing various parking strategies. The CD is also available for download from TRB’s website as an ISO image. Links to the ISO image and instructions for burning a CD-ROM from an ISO image are provided below.

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An Executive Summary of ACRP Report 34: A Handbook to Assess the Impacts of Constrained Parking at Airports is available for download.

The contractor's final report on the research that was used to develop ACRP Report 34 is available for download.

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