GUARANTEED RIDE HOME RESEARCH
STUDY
(QUANTITATIVE)
SPONSOR:
Virginia
Department of Rail and Public Transportation
Contact:
Charlene “Gus” Robey, TDM and Marketing Section
RESEARCH VENDOR:
THE MARKETING SOURCE, INC.,
Chester, VA. Conducted 1994
Contact: Joni Carter
Telephone: 804-438-6091
Email: marksorc@crosslink.net
OVERALL PURPOSE:
Focus groups were conducted
earlier in 1994 to help refine the model for the Guaranteed Ride Home
service. The purpose of the current
research was to test a program which would be perceived as an enabling device
to convert a substantial number of single-occupant vehicle (SOV) drivers into
Non-SOV commuters. The long range goal
is to design a program that will be self-sustaining in order to become
privatized in a 5-year period or less.
The program was implemented in 1995 to regional Washington DC area
commuters. The program continues to
operate today.
Quantitative objectives:
OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH:
Ž To
measure the level of interest of a Guaranteed Ride Home service among commuters
who live and work in the proposed service area.
Ž To
identify the “Primary Target Audience”; those who would most likely purchase
the service.
Ž To
determine the extent to which this service would convert SOV commuters to a
rideshare commute alternative.
Ž To
refine the various components of the Guaranteed Ride Home service.
METHODOLOGY:
|
Mode of Data Collection |
Telephone survey |
|
Completed Surveys |
800 |
|
Survey Population |
Commuters in Metropolitan
Washington, DC 631 --“20-49 minute commuters” 169 --“50+ minute commuters” |
|
Survey Instrument |
Questionnaire. |
|
Criteria for Participation |
– Live in the Metropolitan Washington, DC, area or in the outlying towns surrounding this area (Fredericksburg to Front Royal to Baltimore) – Work in the Metro DC area. – Have a daily commute of at least 20 minutes to their jobs. |
SELECTED KEY FINDINGS
Ž General
description of GRH service:
– Service area (Fredericksburg to Front Royal to Baltimore)
– Operate between the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
– Would arrive within 20 minutes of their call
– To be used for unexpected midday emergencies/unscheduled overtime
– Annual premium with a small co-pay amount per ride
– Ability to carry over unused rides
Ž Commuters
rated overall how likely they would be to rideshare more often if the GRH
service were available to them. (1 to 5
scale where “1” is “Not at all Inclined” and “5” is “Very Inclined”)
Ž Among
all commuters, 17% report they would be “very inclined” to rideshare more often
if a GRH service were available to them.
Ž When
compared to SOVers, Non-SOV commuters are more likely to be influenced by a GRH
service.
Ž Long
distance commuters are more likely to increase their ridesharing if a GRH service
were available.
Ž Regression analysis was used to
determine correlation between behavior and reaction to the general concept of a
GRH service (without price, number of rides, etc.).
Ž Dependent
Factor: Extent to which the respondent is inclined to rideshare more often with
a GRH service.
Ž Other
Factors analyzed:
Ž Method
of transportation currently used most often to get to work.
– Convenience of the following to home/work:
– Bus stop
– VRE
– Metro Station
– Park and Ride
– Minutes it takes to get to work
– Type of job of the respondent
– Gender, Age, and Income of the respondent
– Company-sponsored incentives for ridesharing, etc.
Ž Persons
are more likely to be interested in a GRH service if they are younger, or use a
carpool or vanpool as their primary transportation mode to work, or have
alternate modes of transportation that are convenient to home/work, or have
longer commute times to work.
Ž Persons
are less likely to express interest in a GRH service if they are older, or
report Metro (rail) as their primary transportation mode to work, or drive
alone to work, or have professional/managerial occupations.
Ž Multivariate
Analysis was used to classify similar groups of respondents.
Ž Commuters
were classified together based on the way they responded to the question, “On a
scale of 1 to 5, where “1” means “not at all inclined” and “5” means “very
inclined,” how inclined would you be to RIDESHARE more often (if a GRH service
were available)?”.
Ž Results
from this analysis show that those persons who were “Not at all inclined” to
rideshare more often with a GRH (rating “1”) were significantly different from
those who answered otherwise.
Ž Similarly,
those persons who responded “2”, “3”, or “4” were significantly different from
those persons reporting to be “Very inclined” to rideshare more often with a
GRH (rating “5”).
Ž Thus, 3
groups were identified through the analysis.
Group SOV NON-SOV
Primary Target 41% 59%
Secondary Target 66 34
Non-Target 65
35
Among the different travel modes examined, Car/Van Pool and Bus riders express the most interest in a GRH service.
Ž The Primary Target Audience is more likely to have
alternate modes of transportation that are convenient to their home/work. Type of employer is not a
distinguishing characteristic in identifying the Primary Target
Commuters who live in Maryland and work in DC appear to express more interest in a GRH service.
Ž GRH is particularly appealing to
commuters who:
– Are Non-SOV commuters, particularly those who commute by car/van pools or by bus
– Have access to rideshare commute alternatives
– Have clerical/office support or warehouse/craftsman/laborer occupations
– Report lower household incomes
– Have longer commuting times
– Have children between the ages of 6-18 years of age
Ž
MOST PREFERRED PLAN LEAST
PREFERRED PLAN
Annual fee of $25 per year Annual
fee of $50 per year
7 rides per year 5
rides per year
Co-payment of $3 per ride Sliding
co-payment of $2-$15
No additional surcharges for rides $5 surcharge of rides over 30 miles
over 30 miles
Up to 4
rides carried over to next yr. Up
to 2 rides carried over to next yr.
Ž PRICE is
the most important feature to Primary Target Audience
AVAILABLE DOCUMENTS:
|
Questionnaire |
|
Data Tables |
|
PowerPoint Presentation |
Key Words:
Guaranteed Ride Home, GRH, Northern Virginia Guaranteed Ride Home, Rideshare,
VDRPT