Research

Arlington, Va., residents find ways to get to work other than driving alone nearly 60 percent of the time.

That’s one of many key findings in Mobility Lab’s latest research – which includes a series of infographics and a full report titled the 2015 Arlington Resident Travel Survey (PDF).

The infographics look at:

• How Arlington residents get to work by modeshare
• How satisfied they are with their commute modes
• The average miles and time of commutes, based on different modes
• Which other areas they are commuting to throughout the Washington D.C., region
• Commuting modes for different neighborhoods, and
• How Arlingtonians would improve transportation if they each had $100 to divvy up for it.

Key findings on commute patterns include:

• As mentioned above, employed residents made nearly six in 10 commute trips using a non-drive-alone mode.
• Nearly two-thirds of Arlington commuters teleworked at least occasionally. About 17 percent teleworked one or more days per week.
• Many commuters were long-time users of their mode, but commuters continued to shift among modes.
• County-wide, commuters traveled an average of 7.9 miles and 31 minutes one-way to work.
• About half of Arlington commuters were satisfied with their commutes.

Key findings on non-work travel patterns include:

• Nearly all (97 percent) respondents made a recent non-work trip. Shopping, errands, and restaurant/meal trips were made most frequently.
• About half of respondents made a non-work trip by walking and three in 10 made a non-work trip by transit.
• Respondents who did not use transit for non-work trips gave reasons related to perceived disadvantages of transit service and trip characteristics that made transit an unfeasible choice for that trip.

Key findings on availability of public transportation include:

• Six in 10 respondents lived within one mile of a Metrorail station.
• Use of transit for both commuting and non-work travel declined with increasing distance to a bus stop.
• Eight in 10 respondents said that at least one transit service improvement would encourage them to use transit more often. The most valued improvements would shorten transit wait time and travel time.

Key findings on quality of life, transportation satisfaction, and transportation needs include:

• Nine in 10 commuters gave a high rating for quality of life. Two-thirds were satisfied with Arlington’s transportation system.
• Seven in 10 (69 percent) of respondents were satisfied with transportation services in their home neighborhood, but satisfaction varied by home area.
• Respondents gave approximately equal weight to the need to invest in transit enhancements and in road maintenance.
• The most important features in respondents’ mode-choice decisions were total travel time and travel-time reliability or predictability.

Key findings on awareness and influence of marketing campaigns include:

• One-third of all respondents recalled seeing or hearing an informational message related to transportation in Arlington.

Key findings on
 awareness and use of Arlington County travel-assistance resources include:

• Awareness and use of travel information and assistance resources was quite high across the county.
• More than six in 10 respondents who lived in a multi-family building or complex said their building or complex offered travel information and assistance services.

Key findings on commuter-assistance services provided by employers include:

• Nearly eight in 10 (78 percent) employed respondents reported having at least one worksite commute-assistance service available. Two-thirds (65 percent) of those who had services available had used them.
• Less than half (46 percent) of employed respondents had free worksite parking.
• Worksite commuter-assistance services and parking charges appeared to encourage use of alternative modes.

For methodology, the survey was conducted in 2015 in two components. One part was a telephone survey of 400 adult residents. A second survey was undertaken online, with 4,008 Arlington residents participating, and it asked many of the same questions as the telephone survey, but included additional ones primarily about non-work travel. The Internet portion will serve as a baseline for future follow-up resident studies.

The study was conducted by Mobility Lab in partnership with the Southeastern Institute for Research, LDA Consulting, and CIC Research, and was prepared for Arlington County Commuter Services.

Photo on cover of report by Sam Kittner for MobilityLab.