This is part three of a three-part series on Mobility Lab’s new infographics and report, the 2015 Arlington Resident Travel Survey. Part 1, with all the major findings, is here, and Part 2, focused on active commuting, is here.
Mobility Lab’s latest study for Arlington, Va., is the second that we know of to find that a commuter’s work location matters more than their home location as an indicator of whether or not they’ll take transit.
According to Mobility Lab’s 2015 Arlington Residents Travel Survey – performed at the request of Arlington County Commuter Services and released this week alongside a set of infographics to easily explain some of the key findings – and a University of Denver study (PDF), the decision to forego driving has more to do with transit’s proximity to commuters’ workplaces than to their residences.
People who live in Arlington and commute within the county or to bordering Washington D.C., are the most likely residents to not commute by car, with 53 percent commuting car-less in the county and 61 percent to the District. Half of Arlingtonians who commute to D.C. take the train, while almost a quarter walk or bike to their jobs in Arlington.
Meanwhile, most Arlington residents who work in Maryland or Fairfax County, Va., drive alone to work, with 74 percent driving alone to Maryland and 78 percent to Fairfax. Businesses in these jurisdictions also provide the least incentives for employees to use other modes, according to the survey.
Primary commute mode shares by work area in D.C. region
Denver seeing the same pattern
In Denver, researchers found that those who worked near transit were even more apt to use it than those who only lived near it. For commuters who either live and work a mile or less from transit – or just work a mile or less from transit – non-drive-alone commuting becomes significantly more attractive. Thirty-five percent of people who both live and work within a mile of transit don’t use their cars to commute, and 26 percent don’t use their cars if only their work is within a mile of transit, but their home is further than a mile. Of those who work more than a mile from transit but live a mile or less from transit, only 11 percent commute without their cars.
Those non-car numbers continue to increase as commuters get closer to transit at their workplaces and at home.
In the end, the Denver study shows that having a workplace within a mile of transit is a strong factor influencing decisions on whether to commute some way other than driving alone.
Denver worker commute mode, by transit relationship and threshold
Commute mode as a gateway to using transportation options for leisure trips
Another interesting aspect of both the Arlington and Denver reports: commuting by public transit or active transportation may be the gateway to using these modes for non-work leisure trips or errands.
In Arlington, six in 10 respondents who rode a train, bus, or bike to work reported driving alone for non-work trips. And interestingly, those commuting primarily by train are slightly more likely to take non-work trips by walking. In Denver, non-car commuters were also likely to conduct most of their non-work trips without a car. Denver workers who worked within a mile of a transit station and commuted to their jobs via a non-car commute mode also made 55 percent of their personal trips via non-car mode.
Although the proximity of workplaces to transit is a strong indicator of whether commuters will use transit, their homes being close to transit can also still be a powerful influence. The Rossyln/Ballston and Jefferson Davis/Crystal City neighborhoods of Arlington are each transit-rich and thus have the greatest share of residents commuting by public and active transportation.
So why does work location matter more?
Employers situated near transit and the incentives they provide to commute to work through non-car options may be the answer. Incentives offered by employers include: transit subsidies, secure bicycle parking and carpool/vanpool matching, to name a few.
In the case of Arlington, there are a wealth of benefits that many employers offer their workers in order for them to take non-car commutes. Driving alone was much less common for residents who had access to incentives and support services than for those who did not.
Only 37 percent of respondents whose employers provided these services drove alone to work, compared with 61 percent of respondents whose employers did not offer them. Respondents who did not have free parking at work also used non-car modes at much higher rates. A quarter (24 percent) of the respondents who did not have free parking drove alone, compared with 67 percent of respondents who had free parking.
Both studies make it pretty clear that locating workplaces nearer to transit would make non-car options more feasible to a lot more people. As for planning and policy, these findings make a case for reducing zoning constraints in employment areas near transit – allowing for more retail in these areas.
Percentage of modes taken by Arlington residents for non-work trips