ARLINGTON’S COMMUTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (CAP)

Traces its roots back to 1989 with the introduction of the Ballston Transit Store and the 1990 launch of the Ballston Area Transportation Association (BATA). In 1990, BATA was dissolved and the Arlington Department of Public Works formally instituted a “Commuter Assistance Program” (CAP), which was responsible for coordinating and directing TDM/rideshare/transit promotional activities across the County.

ARLINGTON COUNTY COMMUTER SERVICES (ACCS).

CAP rebranded to ACCS in 2002 and is active to the present day. Arlington County Commuter Services is the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) provider for Arlington County, Virginia. Through innovative TDM programs, Arlington County has been able to change travel behavior by making it easy for residents, employees, and visitors to use all available transportation options to meet their travel needs. TDM strategies and programs correspond with a decrease in the percentage of drive alone trips, which in turn helps maximize the overall efficiency of transportation systems, thereby reducing congestion, improving air quality, and leading to a healthier, better quality of life.

ARLINGTON TRANSPORTATION PARTNERS (ATP).

A division of ACCS and was established in 1998 and is active to the resent day. ATP business development managers provide TDM expertise to the Arlington business community to bring about meaningful and sustainable travel behavior change by encouraging wide-spread utilization of non-single occupant vehicle choices such as public transit, biking, walking, teleworking, and ridesharing for the commute to work. ATP facilitates the IRS Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit program regulated under Section 132(f) of the IRS Tax Code which allows employers and employees in the business, commercial property, hotel, and schools communities to subsidize their transportation on local transit systems to and from their places of employment. The QTFB is an important Transportation Demand Management strategy that allows both employers and employees to receive tax benefits through the pre-tax purchasing of public transit fare media including vanpool fares. ATP facilitates additional TDM strategies, services, and incentives to the multi-family residential community in their desire to gain a competitive edge through transportation amenities and commuter benefits improvements at residential sites.

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION (ACTIVE COMMUTING).

Human-powered travel, primarily walking and cycling but also bikesharing, scootering, in-line skating, skateboarding, wheel chairing and other methods.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE. Identifying the public’s decision-making process for mode choice of a trip and attempting to modify this process to encourage the use of different modes such as bike, walk, transit, and carpool/vanpool.

BEST WORKPLACES FOR COMMUTERS.

A TDM benchmark that demonstrates that options for commuting, such as transit, carpools, vanpools, and teleworking are economically and environmentally beneficial, yielding value to workers, employers, and communities. Originally modeled after the Arlington Transportation Partners business model, the U.S. EPA collaborated with ATP and piloted a national campaign that recognized employers who provided a high standard of TDM offerings for their workforces. Today, Best Workplaces for Commuters is managed by the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida.

BIKE ARLINGTON.

A division of ACCS devoted to bike education and encouragement in Arlington County. BikeArlington’s mission is to make it easier and safer to get around Arlington by bike.

BICYCLE FRIENDLY BUSINESS.

A program of the League of American Bicyclists, provides a national recognition to business, building properties, and universities who play an active role in incorporating biking into corporate and community culture leading to healthier active lifestyles for employees, university students, residents, visitors, and tenants.

BIKE TRAIN.

A line of students (usually in elementary and middle school) biking to and from their school with one adult leading in the front and one following in the back. Bike trains can be a great way to instill a love of bicycling in children and help them develop life-long safety skills.

BIKE SHARING.

Programs that offer free or low-cost bike rentals, intended for short periods of use and a large number of daily users per bicycle. Public bike sharing initiatives are open to all users, while private bike sharing initiatives are restricted to employees or clients of a particular business or institution.

CAPITAL BIKESHARE.

A division of ACCS. September 2010-Present.

CARPOOLING.

A group of people traveling together in a car usually to work or to school.

CARSHARING.

Services that offer short-term pay per-use car rentals, typically open to the public and sometimes also to businesses as a complement or replacement to corporate fleet ownership.

COMMUTER SURVEY.

An electronic, paper-based, or face-to-face tool for gathering information about employee commuting habits and attitudes in a workplace.

COMPRESSED WORK WEEK.

An alternative schedule where full-time employees work longer hours and receive the equivalent hours in days off.

CONFIDENT CITY CYCLING.

Training for individuals about safe bicycle operation, addressing subjects such as riding in traffic, darkness and inclement weather, and roadside bike repair. Washington Area Bicycle Association program includes courses for children, learner adults, women, rural cyclists, and urban commuters.

CONGESTION MITIGATION AIR QUALITY FUNDING (CMAQ).

A federal funding source for transportation projects related to reducing traffic and improving air quality. This funding program was established to meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act.

DENSITY PLOT MAP.

A map in which each pixel relates to the density of study objects within a defined area. These maps can be used to show where data is concentrated. For example, ATP uses a density plot map to identify employee addresses in reference to a client’s office location so they can provide transportation advice and options customized to the client.

DYNAMIC PRICING.

A strategy to implement congestion pricing. This system uses variable toll roads that factor real-time data into prices to reflect changing road demand.

FIRST MILE LAST MILE.

A problem that begins with a ¼ mile. Most people in the United States are “comfortable” walking less than a ¼ mile to or from public transit stops. The problem arises when a potential rider is further than a “comfortable distance” to the necessary fixed-route stop. This ¼ mile could be a deterrent to whether a person chooses to ride transit vs driving alone to their destination.

GUARANTEED RIDE HOME. (GRH)

A service offered by an employer or third party that provides commuters who regularly (twice a week) carpool, vanpool, bike, walk or take transit to work with a reliable ride home in case of family emergency, dependent sickness, or other unforeseen event. Transportation is typically by free or reimbursable taxi or car rental. Commuters can take advantage of GRH up to four times per year or for unscheduled overtime when your employer mandates that you must stay late.

HOTELING.

A system where employees schedule their use of spaces in-office, as opposed to the traditional assigned desks.

HOV/HOT LANE.

High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) and High Occupancy Toll (HOT) refer to roadway lanes that are restricted to use by vehicles with one or more occupants. These lanes can help encourage ride sharing, carpooling, and vanpooling.

END-OF-TRIP FACILITIES.

Bicycle parking, shower and change facilities in workplaces for use by cycling or walking commuters.

INDIVIDUALIZED MARKETING.

Initiatives that use targeted, customized communication and incentives to motivate sustainable transportation choices by individuals who self-identify as being interested in adopting new behaviors. Individualized marketing is most commonly applied at a household level and can also be used in workplaces.

MARKET SEGMENTATION.

Division of a larger market into groups that possess common characteristics, as the basis for marketing activities that differ among groups.

MICROMOBILITY.

The use of lightweight vehicles such as bicycles, scooters, e-bikes, and e-scooters for short-distance travel.

MOBILITY LAB.

A division of ACCS, launched in 2010 as a library archive for Arlington County’s extensive TDM research. The county sought to showcase TDM’s ability to improve the quality of life in Arlington and help Arlington’s employers and grant funding partners understand the value of TDM in creating customers and frequent users for its multi-modal transportation systems. Mobility Lab’s primary role is to measure the impacts of TDM strategies and programming as well as measure the comprehensive performance outcomes the ACCS Bureau has on transportation in Arlington County and throughout the Washington, DC region.

MULTIMODAL.

A type of trip where multiple modes of travel are used. For example, a commuter that uses an e-scooter to connect to a Metro station, then rides Metrorail to a specified area, and finally walks a short distance to their office building.

OPEN STREET or SHARED STREET EVENTS.

Special events that involve temporary closure of one or more streets to motor vehicles, enabling use of the street space for walking, cycling, scootering, transportation options education and promotion, safety training, demonstrations, entertainment, and other activities.

PARKING CASH OUT.

When an employer provides a cash allowance in lieu of a parking space that is equal to the amount they would pay to provide the employee with parking.

PARKING MANAGEMENT.

A program that helps integrate transportation and land-use objectives, allowing for more compact, accessible, and multi-modal communities.

PREFERENTIAL PARKING.

Parking spaces that are designated for commuters who are carpooling and vanpooling. These spaces are usually more convenient than spaces offered to single occupancy vehicles.

QUALIFIED TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFIT.

These benefits are tax incentives provided to employees who are commuting to work by means of mass transit.

RIDEMATCHING.

A service to help commuters find partners for carpooling, typically through automated Internet-based services.

SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL (SRTS).

A comprehensive, community-based initiative that encourages walking and cycling to school through education, training, promotion, safety improvements, and incentives.

SHARED USE MOBILITY DEVICE.

A transportation device such as a dockless e-bike or e-scooter used for short-distance travel that is publicly available for rent through a shared mobility system.

SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLE (SOV).

The use of a privately operated vehicle for the transport of one person, the driver.

SMARTBENEFITS.

An online portal for employers, employees, and commuters alike, allowing you to set aside pre-tax dollars from your paycheck and apply it to your Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority SmarTrip card to pay for work-related commuting expenses including Metrorail, Metrobus, and Metro parking and on other regional transit systems including vanpooling.

SMARTRIP CARD.

A SmarTrip card is a payment method for Metrorail, Metrobus and parking and can be used in all Metrorail stations in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, Metro parking garages and lots, Metrobus routes, MTA, and partner regional bus providers. In addition to Metro trains, buses, and garages, SmarTrip is also accepted on ART (Arlington Transit), DASH, Fairfax Connector, Cue, RideON, TheBus, DC Circulator, Loudon Country Transit, and Potomac and Rappahannock Transit/PRTC.

TELEWORK (TELECOMMUTING, HYBRID WORK, REMOTE WORKING).

An arrangement allowing workers to reduce their commuting by performing some or all of their work away from their normal office or workplace location.

TRANSIT BENEFITS.

A Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit (QTFB) regulated under Section 132(f) of the IRS Tax Code allows employers and employees to subsidize their transportation to and from work. The QTFB is an important TDM strategy that allows both employers and employees to receive tax benefits through the pre-tax purchasing of public transit fare media including vanpool fares. In 2023, the monthly allowance will rise from $280 to $300 per month. Transit benefits are one of the most effective TDM measures that benefits millions of commuters and businesses and moves us towards a more equitable future.

TRANSIT PASS PROGRAM.

The sale of discounted transit passes to the general public by subscription, typically for a minimum term of one year.

TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT.

Form of development offering a land use density, mix and design that makes transit use attractive and efficient; typically involves mixed-use, pedestrian, bike and scooter friendly developments around transit stations and corridors.

TRANSPORTATION AMENITIES.

The facilities and services provided to the public for supporting commute and travel needs such as bike parking, covered bike parking, bus shelters, and pedestrian walkways.

TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT (TDM).

The use of policies, programs, services, and products to influence whether, why, when, where, and how people travel. TDM measures help shape the economic and social factors behind personal travel decisions, reducing solo vehicle travel, traffic congestion and making a community or city a more livable and healthier place to live, work, and play.

TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.

A collection of TDM strategies, initiatives and incentives delivered through or in partnership with local government operations, typically with dedicated staff and financial resources. TDM programs are usually considered to be ongoing, low-cost and long-term productive endeavors rather than short projects.

TRANSPORTATION FAIR.

A special event at workplaces or educational institutions to build awareness of sustainable travel options by offering a range of information and services.

TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (TMA).

A community based or non-profit organization usually guided by a Board of Directors that promotes and supports workplace travel plans among employers in the community; may offer services such as commuter surveys, analysis, consultation, special events and carpool ridematching services.

TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT PLAN (TMP).

A set of coordinated transportation management strategies describing how they will be used to manage travel behavior by mode, frequency, time, or trip length in a work zone or road project.

TRIP PLANNING.

Internet-based, phone-based, or face-to-face help for individuals to plan optimal routes for trips, usually by transit but sometimes by cycling or walking.

UNIVERSAL TRANSIT PASS (U-PASS) PROGRAM.

Common initiative at post-secondary institutions, whereby all students or members of a sub-group (e.g., full-time undergraduates) pay a fee that gives them unlimited access to transit for the entire semester, school year or calendar year. U-Pass fees are typically much lower than the cost of buying regular passes or tickets, because the cost of transit fares is redistributed from a smaller group to a larger one.

WALK ARLINGTON.

A division of ACCS, WalkArlington promotes walkability for all ages in Arlington County and helps people see the benefit of walking on safe and complete streets. Walking is the gateway to transit use for commuting to work or to school.

WALKING SCHOOL BUS.

An arrangement whereby a group of children walks to school with one or more adults, typically involving set meeting points, schedules, and rotating volunteer schedules.

WORKPLACE TDM PLAN.

A package of coordinated initiatives to encourage efficient and sustainable commuting among employees.

VANPOOLING.

Shared use by multiple commuters of a van that is typically owned by a third party such as a non-profit organization, for-profit business, or employer.