Peninsula Mobility CEE224X Final Report

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Final Fall Quarter Report The Traffic Annoyance Effect and Other Predictors for Shuttle Ridership S Lee​a☨​, K Phan​b☨​, J Zhao​c☨​, D Ouyang​c​, and G Katz​c a​

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University b​ Department of Computer Science, Stanford University c​ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University d​ ​Department of Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University ☨​ ​ These authors contributed equally to this report Abstract This report to the Managers’ Mobility Partnership explores ways to reduce single occupancy vehicle rates for commuters living three to ten miles from major employers. In interviews, partners were concerned about a “traffic annoyance effect”, where commuters may be discouraged from taking shuttles if those shuttles would be stuck in the same traffic as single occupancy vehicles. We found no significant statistical correlation between traffic delay, either absolute or as a percentage of journey time, with ridership in the Palo Alto Crosstown, Marguerite AE-F, or Marguerite U lines for all departure times and just peak hour departure times. This suggests that for intra regional shuttles, the traffic annoyance effect is not a significant determinant of ridership, so right of way lanes for local shuttles may not substantially increase ridership by decreasing the traffic annoyance deterrent. Keywords local congestion, municipal shuttles, ridership, traffic delay, mid distance commuting, commuter behavior

1. Motivation and Scope In our midterm report, we presented to three options domain areas to the partners to consider for our project: linking intercity traffic data, analyzing best practices for partner run shuttle services, and exploring mobility access for communities at risk. Multiple partners expressed an interest in the intersection of the traffic and shuttle domain areas, and also expressed an interest in intra-regional commuting. In that vein, our research questions is to investigate ways to reduce single occupancy vehicle for commutes of less than 10 miles from a large employer. For longer distances, employer operated shuttles, CalTrains, and the state highway system are all outside the jurisdiction of the

municipalities in the Managers’ Mobility Partnership, and for shorter distances, the Stanford Public Policy Practicum is focusing more on bicycle routes and policy. So we are focusing on shuttle ridership vs. single occupancy vehicles because the decision between these two options is most relevant for commuters who live between 3-10 miles of their employer, and contribute most significantly to local municipal road congestion. Commute Distance

Relevant Modes

Relevant Partners

Study Groups

< 3 miles

Walking, Biking

Major Employers , Municipal ities

Public Policy Practicum


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