Chapter 5, Part 2, ACCS Strategic Plan

This text-only version is offered as a more accessible alternative to this PDF document: Arlington County Commuter Services Transportation Demand Management Plan (PDF, 2.6 MB).

Text-Only Table of Contents

7.  Utilize New Electronic Information to Foster Transportation Behavior Change

Identify and utilize new technologies and communication tools to expand the use of ACCS services.

Rationale: ACCS has been successful in engaging a large customer base over the years through its sales, marketing and information services. However, due to a growing reliance on technologies such as smartphone applications, there have been significant changes in how our customers and the public consume information and interact with businesses. These changes have also altered the expectations of the public as to which information should be available and how quickly needs should be fulfilled. To continue to provide convenient and ready access to its services and to expand its market, ACCS will undertake market research to understand how best to reach our customers, what technologies are most effective, what types of communication and information services are expected, and the most effective service delivery mechanisms. Table 32 summarizes the expansion program associated with this Priority Strategy.

Table 32: Priority Strategy 7 Expansion Programs

8.  Update TDM County Policies

Update the TDM element of Arlington County’s Master Transportation Plan to respond to the transformation in the delivery and use of new types of transportation services and the information technologies that support them.

Rationale: The TDM element of the Master Transportation Plan (MTP) has not been updated since 2008. In the intervening years, TDM has played a larger role in the support and promotion of transit services – particularly, ART – as the use of transit has grown. Many new services and programs have been implemented. Bikesharing was not developed in Arlington until 2010 and now provides an important first mile/last mile connection to several major transit stations. Carsharing is now prevalent throughout the county. Many transit stops also utilize digital real-time information screens is being implemented around the County.

The last three years, in particular, have been a time of rapid adaptation of new technologies and services to the mobility needs of the public. New types of on-demand private services are developing and attracting a growing ridership. In addition, there has been a rapid change in the way the public accesses travel information and the types of information available with the growing use of smartphone applications that offer real-time information for virtually all modes of transportation.

For these reasons, the TDM element of the MTP no longer reflects a comprehensive picture of how vital TDM is to the use of transit nor does it identify the role of new technologies and on-demand services in the County’s transportation system and vision for the future.  ACCS will develop an update to the TDM element of the MTP to bring the County’s goals and objectives in line with developments since the MTP’s most recent publication.

Further, Arlington’s TDM Policy that was adopted in 1990 based on a prescriptive approach to TDM for major site developments.  It requires developers to implement physical infrastructural features, such as bike parking facilities and van-accessible garages, into new or renovated developments at the time of construction. It also lays out a range of activities to help reduce SOV use, from promoting participation in carpool and vanpool programs to offering transit subsidies to employees; from managing showers and lockers for bike commuters to distributing brochures about bus routes and schedules, the bikeway system, and other local transportation options.  Like the TDM Element of the MTP, it is necessary to revisit this 1990 TDM Policy to bring it into alignment with current thinking about TDM services and to a more outcome based approach to TDM Site Plans so that they become more performance based.

Table 33 shows the expansion programs associated with this Priority Strategy.

Table 33: Priority Strategy 8 Expansion Programs

9.  Strengthen Capital Bikeshare as a Transportation Service

Address the financial and institutional challenges resulting from the rapid expansion of Capital Bikeshare in Arlington and throughout the metropolitan area to ensure continued long-term success of the system.

Rationale: ACCS founded Capital Bikeshare in partnership with the District of Columbia in 2010 with 14 stations in Arlington and over 100 stations in DC.  Since then, Capital Bikeshare, or CaBi, has expanded to over 428 stations with close to 3,700 bicycles, and serves over 3.4 million annual riders. Arlington alone accounts for about 16 percent of the system with 88 stations, 650 bicycles and approximately 3,600 users as of the end of 2016. CaBi is also a growing regional partnership with five jurisdictions: Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, the District of Columbia, Fairfax County, and Montgomery County. Two other jurisdictions, the City of Falls Church and Prince George’s County, have recently indicated their intent to join the system within the next two years.

As a result of this growth, Capital Bikeshare has become an important part of the County’s transportation system.  As such, it is vital that the system continue to b supported and operated in the most cost-effective way possible so that it can continue expanding to serve the County’s needs while remaining financially viable.  Currently, only about 63% of the operating costs of Arlington’s portion of the system is covered by operating revenues, primarily the fees paid by users.  Several other large bikeshare systems around the country have looked to sponsors to make up some or all of their operating needs.  These opportunities should be pursued as well as special events and even the revisions to the user fee structure to ensure that the system can remain a vital part of the County’s transportation system. Table 34 shows the expansion programs associated with this Priority Strategy.

Table 34: Priority Strategy 9 Expansion Programs

10.  Utilize Return on Investment Measures for TDM

The development of a robust TDM impact model will help stakeholders and funders make better localized assessments of the impact of ACCS’s TDM services.

Rationale: Day in and day out, ACCS assists Arlington employees, residents and visitors to get where they need to go easier, for lower cost, and with less traffic on our roadways. Our TDM efforts add up to big benefits for the Arlington community and the surrounding region. Research shows that on a typical weekday, we help people shift 43,000 trips from driving alone to other modes of travel, more than you see on I-66 during a typical rush period. These efforts prevent roughly 320 tons of greenhouse gases from going into our air each day which is better for our health and save about 8 million gallons of fuel each year, which helps ease our nation’s energy needs.  

Performance measurement standards are becoming increasingly important for funding requirements and evaluating the return on investment for TDM services. To date, the value and benefits of TDM are only marginally understood and mainly in terms of awareness of services, and frequency of use. Congestion management, roadway maintenance, and vehicles emissions reductions based on vehicle trip and vehicle miles traveled are the determined successful outcomes for most evaluators of transportation effectiveness, but not for TDM. Measures that influence why, when, how, and where, people travel by managing the demand for car use by changing traveler behavior are difficult to quantify and can be subjective. The development of a robust TDM impact model will help stakeholders and funders make a better, more localized assessment of the impact of TDM services on specific travel corridors in and around Arlington County. Currently underway is a USDOT, Federal Highway Administration (FWHA) funded research program to develop tools and methodologies to determine the impact of TDM services in congested corridors. The outcome of this work will allow for improved assessment of the benefits of TDM and allow for better decisionmaking in the use of scarce resources to improve corridor congestion. Table 35 summarizes the expansion programs associated with this Priority Strategy.

Table 35: Priority Strategy 10 Expansion Programs

11.  Conduct Research Activities to Advance the Effectiveness and Use of TDM

Grow ACCS’ research program to improve TDM services.

Rationale: ACCS has benefitted from its research programs over the years, which have resulted in the development of tools measure the impact of its services on auto use to the gauging of customer satisfaction to garner a better understanding of the needs of the market. As the disruption in the provision of transportation services continues and with the fast paced development of new technologies and services, it is important to ensure that ACCS continues to track the impact of these developments on customers’ expectations of service delivery and tracks satisfaction with existing services. Thus, periodic surveys of existing customers to measure satisfaction and unmet needs are important.
As ACCS looks to expand its services to those for whom affordable transportation options would provide greater access to jobs, services and social activities, it is important that the needs of these customers, such as seniors, minorities, and the mobility-challenged, be understood so that barriers to use can be overcome. For example, seniors currently represent 9 percent of Arlington’s population; 22 percent of the County’s population is between the ages of 45 and 64. It is vital that this growing and important segment of Arlington’s population have access to affordable transportation options to allow for a good quality of life as they age in place. ACCS will work with the Department of Human Services and senior citizen organizations to conduct research to assess ways in which ACCS can make its services effective for this age group.

Finally, Arlington is a destination for many visitors from around the region and nation. Tourism is an important economic activity for the County. In order to accommodate the transportation needs of this important sector so that visitors are afforded a variety of convenient and accessible travel choices while in Arlington, ACCS will work with the Virginia Tourism Corporation to study the trip making patterns of tourists in order to provide them with the best transportation experience possible. Table 36 shows the expansion programs associated with this Priority Strategy.

Table 36: Priority Strategy 11 Expansion Programs

This text-only version is offered as a more accessible alternative to this PDF document: Arlington County Commuter Services Transportation Demand Management Plan (PDF, 2.6 MB).

Text-Only Table of Contents