Commuter Choice Primer

Section 2

How and When to Use This Guide

Two guidance tools are provided to assist in the development of effective worksite Commuter Choice programs: the CCDSS and this Commuter Choice Primer. The following section describes how and when to use each of these tools. Read this document prior to using the CCDSS to gain the full perspective of the system.

WHEN TO USE THE COMMUTER CHOICE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM

The CCDSS is an interactive software program used to identify Commuter Choice strategies that are most effective for a particular worksite. It is a quick start tool designed to help an employer develop an effective program by focusing on the appropriate commute options for the needs of their employees.

The CCDSS is a Windows-based program requiring Windows 95 or higher, a 4 X CD-ROM drive, and a monitor resolution of 800 X 600 at 16 bit color (thousands of colors). A 133 Mhz processor with at least 32 megabytes of random access memory (RAM) is recommended.

Employers that are trying to determine if a commuter program would be worthwhile for their site can use the CCDSS to determine potential benefits of a specific program. The CCDSS is also designed to be used by an employer who has already decided to start a program but is not sure what options to implement. By entering information about the worksite into the CCDSS, employers can obtain recommendations on specific strategies that may work best for their situation.

Because the CCDSS presents brief information for only the recommended strategies, use the Commuter Choice Primer to learn more about all of the Commuter Choice options. This document provides a more complete overview of all commute options, including more details about the strategies recommended by the CCDSS.

WHEN TO USE THE COMMUTER CHOICE PRIMER

This document is provided as a companion to the CCDSS. Although the CCDSS software is a quick start tool to help determine appropriate strategies for a specific worksite, this document provides more details about all options that can be considered for a worksite commute program. Additional information is provided about the Commuter Choice concept, the four option categories, motivators for employers and employees to participate in a commute option program, and situations that enable an employer to provide effective commute options.

It may be helpful to review the information in this document prior to completing the CCDSS tool. The complete overview of all the Commuter Choice options provided in this document will help to demonstrate how the selected strategies work together.

For example, if the CCDSS recommends the Mode Choice option of vanpooling, the user can refer back to this document to see what other Mode Choice options might be considered in addition to vanpooling. This report also provides further details on the vanpool option, such as information about different implementation strategies, known cost effectiveness, examples of how vanpooling has worked at other worksites, and tips for how to make vanpooling more effective. Detailed information is provided for each Commuter Choice option. Therefore, no matter what options are identified by the CCDSS, the user can refer to this Commuter Choice Primer to view additional options that may be considered.

Detailed case studies are also provided in this report that illustrate how various employers have integrated several commute options to create comprehensive and effective programs. These case studies may be used to provide ideas to other employers that may be amended for their specific needs.

Section 10 of this report provides a list of additional resources. Resources are categorized based on topic areas, such as mode, time, location and route choice information, cost effectiveness, and outside agency resources.

The following sections discuss:

• The conceptual framework of Commuter Choice
• Descriptions of the four choices, including mode, time, location, and route
• Summary of choices, including case studies from across the country
• Steps to selecting and implementing Commuter Choice strategies
• Reference guide for additional resources