Transit benefits have continued to be a key plank of the Silicon Valley based Sun Microsystems, even as the company was acquired by Oracle. Sun’s SMART Commute Program, or Sun Microsystems Alternative Resources for Transportation, provides employees with up-to-date commuter information, participation incentives and shuttles connecting public transportation to Sun campuses.

More than 2,900 employees have participated in U.S. commuter incentive programs at campuses in Massachusetts, Colorado, California and Oregon. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the company operates the Sunway Shuttle program, which links public transit stations and company campuses. Launched in 2005, the service provides thousands of rides to Sun employees each year on average. With six vehicles operating seven different shuttle routes  each workday, the service is one of the largest employer-operated transit shuttle programs in the entire Bay Area. In the first eight months of 2005, the number of employees riding shuttles rose 15 percent, from 7,700 employees to 8,700. Real-time information about the service is updated online and employees can elect to receive text messages about changes to services or delays.

Nearly 15,000 Sun Microsystems employees participate in Sun’s iWork program, which enables employees to work from home, drop-in centers, or at campuses throughout the country. Employees at Sun’s major campuses around the country also receive transit subsidies and/or prepaid transit passes to encourage and facilitate the use of public transit.

“The nightmares of commuting here lent itself to a positive environment for alternative transportation efforts,” said Jordan Boyd, manager for workplace services at Oracle. Sun’s comprehensive Commute Benefit program has reduced the commute trips of Sun employees, while reducing costs and pollution.

Sun actually has targeted goals that need to be met regarding usage of the transit benefit,
targeting a five percent per employee increase for 2008 and 2009, a goal that was exceeded.
In FY09, the company took the first step toward estimating greenhouse gas emissions from operations, calculating the emissions resulting from the direct and indirect supply chain of Sun’s products.

For More Information: Sun Microsystems; San Francisco Chronicle

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Editor’s Note: Our new report on smarter mobility demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies can squeeze more capacity from over-burdened highways, help commuters avoid traffic delays and expand and improve transportation options, all while saving money and creating jobs. Many of these smart transportation solutions are already fueling innovation throughout the country, through both the public and private sector. These 14 case studies from around the U.S. and the world demonstrate the community benefits smart mobility solutions are giving regions, cities, and businesses.

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Increased congestion and greenhouse gas emission from transportation compelled Oakland city officials to act. In 2008, the City Council passed a law requiring new building development to take the transportation and infrastructure implications of the project into account. Today, all new residential developments of more than 50 units and/or 50,000 square feet of non-residential space are required to submit a transportation demand management plan detailing strategies to increase bicycle, transit, pedestrian and car-share use. A similar policy in San Francisco inspired the law.

“GreenTRIP” is an innovative certification program used for new residential and mixed-use developments. Depending on the type of development, developers must meet between one and three traffic reduction strategies, including: separating the cost of parking from the cost of the unit; providing discount transit passes; or providing free car-share membership. The program is currently in its second pilot phase.

Transportation is responsible for 50 percent of greenhouse gases in the San Francisco Bay Area — due in part to long distances between work, housing and recreation — so linking housing and transportation makes a lot of sense.

Kate White, executive director of the San Francisco-based Urban Land Institute, hailed GreenTRIP as “the next frontier of green-building,” while Pamela Toliatt, mayor of nearby Petaluma, praised GreenTRIP as “a tool to prove to our residents that a developer is committed to reducing traffic and greenhouse gases.”

GreenTRIP receives funding from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Climate Protection Grant Program, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. An advisory committee guides the development of the program  along with TransForm, a Bay Area transportation and land use planning coalition.

For More Information: TransForm

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Editor’s Note: Our new report on smarter mobility demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies can squeeze more capacity from over-burdened highways, help commuters avoid traffic delays and expand and improve transportation options, all while saving money and creating jobs. Many of these smart transportation solutions are already fueling innovation throughout the country, through both the public and private sector. These 14 case studies from around the U.S. and the world demonstrate the community benefits smart mobility solutions are giving regions, cities, and businesses.

Read the ITS Case Study Series

The Washington State Legislature passed a law in 1991 aimed at encouraging employer-based programs that promote alternatives to driving alone, with the hopes that this step would relieve roadways and clear the air. By 2009, the Commute Trip Reduction Law had resulted in new programs at more than 1,000 worksites statewide, with commuters joining a carpool or vanpool, riding the bus, bicycling, walking or working from home.

Updates to the law in 2006 expanded responsibility for the program to local governments, directing jurisdictions to establish new goals and policies for reducing drive-alone trips and
vehicle miles traveled. The roles of participants in the program are as follows:

• Major employers implement their programs based on locally adopted goals for reducing vehicle trips and VMT as established by the city or county in which they do their business. Groups of employers, such as transportation management associations or chambers of commerce, may also partner to provide services and support to commuters.
• Local governments provide technical assistance and services to employers to help them achieve the goals and may also run their own service.
• Transit agencies operate services such as bus and vanpools and coordinate services and support with local governments.
• Regional transportation planning organizations provide planning support and coordination across jurisdictions.
• Washington Department of Transportation administers funding, guides the program with policies and procedures and coordinates measurement and evaluation of the program.
• The Governor-appointed Reduction Board sets the overall policy direction and funding levels for the program and reports to the legislature every two years on the effectiveness of the program.

As part of the new program focus in 2007, Growth and Transportation Efficiency Centers were located within some of the densest and most congested employment centers in the state, but also in smaller worksites, schools and neighborhoods and established worksites. Between, 2007 to 2009, these dense employment centers have demonstrated the greatest performance — about nine times more successful than all other Commute Trip Reduction sites — driving the overall progress of the program towards its statewide goals.

Many employers have praised the program.

“Technology enables flexible work arrangements, and EDS is a technology company. It is natural for us to provide our employees with work options,” said Guyanna Young, Communications Director at Electronic Data Systems. “Alternative work arrangements are the norm rather than the exception at EDS.”

And Bill Ross, President of Ross and Associates Environmental Consulting, LTD, said: “Telework and flextime put more fuel in the engine of our business by allowing people to take care of personal issues.”

In 2009, the program succeeded at removing nearly 28,000 vehicles from Washington roadways every weekday morning. The Commute Trip Reduction program reduced 12,900 hours of delay in the region in 2009, saving $99 million for the region in congestion costs due to lost time and wasted fuel. Each traveler in morning peak traffic in the Central Puget Sound saved $59 in 2009 due to the increased system efficiency provided through the program.

For More Information: Washington State Department of Transportation; Commuter Challenger

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Editor’s Note: Our new report on smarter mobility demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies can squeeze more capacity from over-burdened highways, help commuters avoid traffic delays and expand and improve transportation options, all while saving money and creating jobs. Many of these smart transportation solutions are already fueling innovation throughout the country, through both the public and private sector. These 14 case studies from around the U.S. and the world demonstrate the community benefits smart mobility solutions are giving regions, cities, and businesses.

Read the ITS Case Study Series

Getaround Inc. is a California-based company that enables sharing of the 280 million  personal vehicles in the U.S. that sit unused 93 percent of the time. By enlisting the  underutilized cars in countless driveways and parking spaces, Getaround enables a fleet of millions of shared and rentable cars, without adding more vehicles to the road. Getaround’s Corporate Headquarters is based in San Francisco, with a research and development office in nearby Moffett Field, California. The company launched this fall.

Getaround uses in-vehicle hardware and native smartphone applications to ensure a seamless carsharing experience. These applications allow renters to quickly locate available cars within walking distance, browse car profiles and make reservations.

The company’s iPhone application garnered industry recognition by winning the “Best Money Making Application” award from iPhoneDevCamp, hosted by Yahoo. Popular Science, CNET and the New York Times have also covered Getaround’s progress.

“Since the transportation industry hasn’t really changed much in the past 50 years,” said Jessica Scorpio, Business Development Director for Getaround, “we thought it was pretty ripe for some innovation.”

Getaround’s system works with existing communities, enabling friends, family, co-workers and neighbors who already share cars to do so in a safe and efficient manner. A switch to carsharing has the potential to reduce vehicle miles traveled by 44 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 40, as well as induce increased walking and biking.

“Other car rental companies have huge overhead expenses related to purchasing vehicles and have issues related to fixed locations,” Scorpio said. “But we can very quickly have inventory on every street corner without having to shell out a fortune.”

Carsharing has grown exponentially in the U.S. since 1998, more than doubling every year from 1998 to 2005. Social carsharing is the next logical extension to this rapidly growing market and is predicted to increase from 400,000 members today to 4.4 million members in 2016.

Getaround is honing in on cities, campuses and suburban areas initially. Due to the low overhead model employed, the system is highly scalable and will quickly expand outside of the limited areas covered by traditional carsharing models.

For More Information: Getaround, Inc.; Entrepreneur Magazine

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Editor’s Note: Our new report on smarter mobility demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies can squeeze more capacity from over-burdened highways, help commuters avoid traffic delays and expand and improve transportation options, all while saving money and creating jobs. Many of these smart transportation solutions are already fueling innovation throughout the country, through both the public and private sector. These 14 case studies from around the U.S. and the world demonstrate the community benefits smart mobility solutions are giving regions, cities, and businesses.

Read the ITS Case Study Series

Many communities have attempted dynamic ridesharing projects over the past 15 years, with limited success. The Avego Project at University College Cork in Ireland has got- ten real results by creating a marketplace for drivers to offer their empty seats to riders in real time, without the need to arrange drop- off or pick-up locations beforehand. Pricing seats based on mileage creates an incentive for drivers to carpool and increases options for passengers.

The Avego Project began in July 2009 as a pilot project at the University to address a lack of parking spaces and affordable commute options for the university’s 19,000 staff and students. The goal was to create a seamless transportation network in which private cars would effectively broaden the public transit system.

Drivers in the pilot program use GPS-enabled iPhones running Avego’s Shared Transport iPhone application, while riders may request rides via the iPhone application or online. The system automatically calculates the cost to the rider and manages the transaction via an electronic wallet at the end of the journey.

A driver running the iPhone app is matched in real time with anyone searching for a ride along the same route.

“You put the iPhone on the dashboard, and it records the entire trip and sends the route to our network,” Sean O’Sullivan, managing director for Avego Limited, told the New York Times. Based on the user feedback from Phase I and an examination of shortcomings of earlier dynamic ridesharing projects, Avego has identified five critical success factors for dynamic ridesharing to become a viable option for connecting communities.

• Adequate numbers of participants – Dynamic ridesharing requires a critical mass of travelers targeted within a specific corridor or in a defined catchment area (such as a college campus).
• An appropriate incentive program – Self-sustaining dynamic ridesharing requires a pricing mechanism that allows drivers to recoup commute costs. The pilot determined that pricing seats at 20 cents per kilometer is a powerful incentive for drivers, while riders receive an affordable transportation option that is less expensive than owning a car.
• Minimal complexity – Even the most non-technical travelers must be able to understand and conveniently use the system. Verification of ridesharing and distribution of incentives should be automated, minimizing the need for administrative oversight.
• Demonstrated security and privacy – Travelers must be able to filter ridematches (e.g., by gender, community, smoking, etc), authenticate travelers before they enter the vehicle, rate and report other travelers and protect the privacy of their personal and commuting information.
• Stakeholder engagement – Continuous and effective communication with project stakeholders enables key information to guide pilot implementation, overcome challenges and promote community advocacy for the project.

Preliminary results of Phase I revealed that 20 participating drivers had been matched with a total of 3,922 simulated riders on their commute to and from UCC. Of these simulated riders, 1,545 were picked-up by drivers and driven to their destination along the driver’s route. More than 500 people have now registered their interest in participating in Phase II of the pilot, providing detailed summaries of their commuting behavior.

For More Information: Avego Blog; The New York Times

Photo courtesy of the New York Times

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Editor’s Note: Our new report on smarter mobility demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies can squeeze more capacity from over-burdened highways, help commuters avoid traffic delays and expand and improve transportation options, all while saving money and creating jobs. Many of these smart transportation solutions are already fueling innovation throughout the country, through both the public and private sector. These 14 case studies from around the U.S. and the world demonstrate the community benefits smart mobility solutions are giving regions, cities, and businesses.

Read the ITS Case Study Series

The number of vehicles in greater Chennai increased from 90,000 in 1990 to almost 10 million in 2008, an average annual growth rate of 13 percent, in this rapidly urbanizing city of about 6 million people along India’s southeast coast.

This rapid growth prompted the Comprehensive Study for Transport System for Greater Kochi Area. City Connect, a partnership of the Confederation of Indian Industry, and Janaagraha, a respected Indian NGO, shepherded the study.

The major recommendation involved integrating an existing bus stand and the Kaloor Private Bus Terminal into a hub accessible using a variety of travel options. For instance, passengers would be able to exit the bus terminal at the hub and then use inter-city buses, auto, taxi or metro train to enter the city. The site also offers ideal bus parking spots for long and short distance buses. While accommodating 900 cars and 120 auto-rickshaws in its parking lots, the area around the transportation hub also has the potential to host a world-class mega shopping mall, food courts, cultural center and health club and other amenities.

“Providing alternatives to such passengers, in the form of other customer friendly, yet ecologically friendly modes of transportation, will have profound impact on the quality of life, in terms of traffic and transportation, in Chennai,” wrote Susan Zielinksi, who has consulted for the project.

Chennai is also linking the mass transit system online through bus routes listed on Chennai’s website. Passengers can enter their origin and destination into the system and receive a customized trip plan.

For More Information: SMART – University of Michigan; Express Buzz

Chennai road Flickr photo by eyesore9. http://www.flickr.com/photos/eyesore9/4380660002/

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Editor’s Note: Our new report on smarter mobility demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies can squeeze more capacity from over-burdened highways, help commuters avoid traffic delays and expand and improve transportation options, all while saving money and creating jobs. Many of these smart transportation solutions are already fueling innovation throughout the country, through both the public and private sector. These 14 case studies from around the U.S. and the world demonstrate the community benefits smart mobility solutions are giving regions, cities, and businesses.

Read the ITS Case Study Series

A rapidly growing tourism industry, increasing diversity and economic growth in downtown prompted Salt Lake City officials to improve mobility options throughout the region. The Salt Lake City metropolitan area has a population of just over one million people, with roughly 200,000 living in the city proper.

Salt Lake City made infrastructure improvements to connect regional bus routes to existing transportation networks, like the regional light rail system. Designed to mimic the efficiency of light rail, the bus rapid transit system leveraged the city’s transportation network to provide convenient and reliable travel options. The MAX Bus Rapid Transit System began in 2008 by incorporating bus-only lanes and track signal priority for buses along the entirety of the system’s 10.8-mile bus route. Buses have the right-of-way at intersections and track signal detection helps turn lights green as buses arrive. Along the most congested portions of the route, buses run in both directions in a dedicated center lane, allowing them to bypass cars. These innovative technologies keep trip travel time to a minimum and hold fuel costs in check, while maintaining a high standard for safety.

The system utilizes payment centers located on the bus, including user-friendly credit card machines, to allow passengers to quickly board the bus through one of three available doors.

The Utah Transit Authority plans to connect all the cities within the region to the light rail network with up to 80 miles of corridor routes within 20 years; 4,200 riders currently pass through the line’s 29 stops every day.

“This has the potential to become a piece of a future transportation spine,” Provo Mayor Lewis Billings said.

The MAX bus rapid transit line has seen a one-third increase in ridership and a 15 percent reduction in average travel time since 2008. The MAX line achieved a 97 percent on-time reliability rating on its very first day of operation, and now saves riders an average of 20 minutes per trip compared to an equivalent conventional bus driving the same route.

The project was awarded a “Smart Solutions Spotlight” from ITS America in June 2010.

For More Information: Deseret News

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Editor’s Note: Our new report on smarter mobility demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies can squeeze more capacity from over-burdened highways, help commuters avoid traffic delays and expand and improve transportation options, all while saving money and creating jobs. Many of these smart transportation solutions are already fueling innovation throughout the country, through both the public and private sector. These 14 case studies from around the U.S. and the world demonstrate the community benefits smart mobility solutions are giving regions, cities, and businesses.

Read the ITS Case Study Series

Pottstown is a town of just over 20,000 people located about 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The community has struggled to find a new identity and revitalize its economy since the decline of the iron and steel industries. They have found some success leveraging the area’s convenient access to the Schuylkill River Trail, a multi-use trail that connects Philadelphia to nearby communities.

The Bike Pottstown bike sharing program was launched in June of 2008 with 30 beach cruiser bikes all painted yellow and accompanied by a lock and a basket. Managed by Preservation Pottstown, a local non-profit organization within the borough, the program operates six days a week out of Tri-County Bicycles, a local independently owned bike shop. Anyone with a valid ID can rent the bikes and ride anywhere in the Pottstown until the end of the day. The bikes are free of charge and by December 2009 had been shared over 2,000 times.

“Bike Pottstown is a community bike-share program,” said Tom Carroll, president of Preservation Pottstown. “By having it operate out of this location, and eventually out of others as well, it brings the program to more people in the community, and, hopefully, will bring more community support to the program.”

The only free bike sharing program in the greater Philadelphia region, Bike Pottstown has been featured in numerous newspapers, magazines and television news segments. The media attention has been a win-win for the community, bringing needed tourism and renewing local enthusiasm for bicycling as a source of exercise and transportation. Bike Pottstown is removing cars from the road, promoting physical fitness and providing residents with more options for commuting to work, although most use the program recreationally.

Bike Pottstown was able to get off the ground because of a $30,000 grant from the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation. The funding paid for the infrastructure study, bicycles and the first year of operating costs. Subsequent annual operating costs are paid for through promotional items, sponsorships and donations.

Bike Pottstown Facebook Page

Pottstown bike sharing bikes. Photo courtesy of Bike Pottstown.

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Editor’s Note: Our new report on smarter mobility demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies can squeeze more capacity from over-burdened highways, help commuters avoid traffic delays and expand and improve transportation options, all while saving money and creating jobs. Many of these smart transportation solutions are already fueling innovation throughout the country, through both the public and private sector. These 14 case studies from around the U.S. and the world demonstrate the community benefits smart mobility solutions are giving regions, cities, and businesses.

Read the ITS Case Study Series

The Twin Cities Metropolitan Area is using innovative solutions to relieve congestion on major highways in the region, with a particular focus on Interstate 35. The effort, part of a Minnesota Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA), utilizes a suite of intelligent transportation approaches, sometimes known as the 4Ts: Tolling, Transit, Telecommuting/Travel Demand Management and Technology.

The Minnesota UPA involves ITS technologies like real-time traffic and transit information, transit signal priority, and guidance mechanisms for shoulder-running buses. These technologies will significantly reduce travel time for riders.

“Trip time will be about half an hour. We’ll offer six trips in the morning and six trips home in the afternoon,” Bob Gibbons, a spokesman for Metro Transit, told Minnesota Public Radio.

First, the city is converting existing bus-only shoulder lanes and High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes along portions of the Interstate into wider lanes with prices that vary based on occupancy. Cars with only one occupant will have to pay a toll to access the lanes during peak hours, with prices set to ensure free-flowing travel. City officials say this will enable bus speeds to increase to 50 mph from the current bus-only shoulder lane speeds of 35 mph or less.

Second, a portion of the toll revenues from the new lanes will fund significant fare discounts for transit riders taking trips using the new facilities during peak periods. In and around the I-35W corridor, transit services will increase and a bus rapid transit network will be created, utilizing at least 27 newly purchased transit vehicles. There are also plans for six new park-and-ride lots with more than 1,400 additional spaces.

Third, new dynamic message signs and some existing signs will inform travelers about the availability of the lanes for non-bus use, toll rates for when the lanes are available, travel speeds on priced lanes versus on general-purpose lanes and transit alternatives.

The final element of the Minnesota UPA is telecommuting. This locally funded effort will focus on expanding upon the successful Results-Only Work Environment program, in which employers agree to provide employees the flexibility to telecommute or shift their hours to avoid congested commutes. Approximately 75 percent of Best Buy’s 4,500 corporate office employees participate in ROWE. Officials are targeting large employers, including the 20 Fortune 500 companies in the region, for participation, with the goal of reducing 500 daily peak-period trips throughout the corridor.

For More Information: Minnesota Public Radio

The MnPASS or congestion pricing lane on the left will be available at no cost to buses, car pools and to single driver vehicles willing to pay as little as 25 cents or up to $8 a trip depending on traffic levels. Traffic managers adjust the price in order to keep the lane flowing at 50 miles per hour. Photo by Dan Olson, Minnesota Public Radio

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Editor’s Note: Our new report on smarter mobility demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies can squeeze more capacity from over-burdened highways, help commuters avoid traffic delays and expand and improve transportation options, all while saving money and creating jobs. Many of these smart transportation solutions are already fueling innovation throughout the country, through both the public and private sector. These 14 case studies from around the U.S. and the world demonstrate the community benefits smart mobility solutions are giving regions, cities, and businesses.

Read the ITS Case Study Series

In 2002, the Climate Trust, a Portland-based non-profit, contracted with the City of Port- land to buy offsets from a project aimed at improving traffic signals.

Naito at Night Originally uploaded by ahockley to Flickr.

Portland traffic flowing smoothly at night.

The traffic signal optimization project ensures maximum green light times for the heaviest traffic flows and allows signal cycle time to adjust based on changing demands during peak times, such as rush hour. Seventeen major arterials were identified for improved signal timing using studies on optimizing traffic flow and reducing gridlock.

“It’s like having the Internet for our transpor- tation system,” said Peter Koonce, Division Manager of Signals and Street Lighting for the City of Portland.

After the signal timing has been completed, the Climate Trust pays Portland based upon the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that will be avoided.

In the program’s first six years, more than 157,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions were prevented, the equivalent of the emissions generated from burning 17.7 million gallons of gasoline. As a result of this success, city officials extended the partnership contract through 2012 with a goal of reducing an additional 21,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

The project was awarded a ‘Smart Solutions Spotlight’ from ITS America in February 2010.

For More Information: Daily Journal of Commerce, Oregon

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Editor’s Note: Our new report on smarter mobility demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies can squeeze more capacity from over-burdened highways, help commuters avoid traffic delays and expand and improve transportation options, all while saving money and creating jobs. Many of these smart transportation solutions are already fueling innovation throughout the country, through both the public and private sector. These 14 case studies from around the U.S. and the world demonstrate the community benefits smart mobility solutions are giving regions, cities, and businesses.

Read the ITS Case Study Series