What Happened?
Palo Alto is building a Transportation Management Association to oversee new initiatives aimed at making navigation throughout the city easier and more energy efficient. The nonprofit would build out policies that align with changing demands from residents and businesses.
Goal
Palo Alto, California, is building its first Transportation Management Association to oversee a variety of new transit initiatives including:
- Launching new shuttles
- Imposing downtown parking restrictions
- Offering incentives to commuters who go carless
The nonprofit association would market and oversee the city’s transportation-demand management effort. The Palo Alto City Council wants to reduce the number of solo commuters to its downtown area by 30 percent within the first three years from the nonprofit’s launch, Palo Alto Online reported.
The city has approved a $500,000 contract with consultants to help identify potential members to launch the nonprofit agency. The consultants are looking to attract downtown employers and businesses to participate in the formation of the agency and help manage the projects.
Because businesses want to be located in cities with efficient transportation systems that are appealing to potential employees, these members of the community have a stake in how transit initiatives perform moving forward – making them ideal members of the nonprofit management association, Palo Alto Online reported.
What’s The Big Deal
According to a recent study from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the Millennial generation - those born between 1982 and 2003 - is highly reliant on technology and prefers to live in settings that offer multimodal transit options with mobile tech integrations. Because this demographic represents much of the new workforce, businesses are interested in operating out of municipalities that cater to these transit demands.
The study found Millennials choose the best transportation model based on the trip they are planning to take – whether it’s bike, car, train, bus or walk. Millennials are therefore attracted to communities that offer a plethora of transit options to get around.
Public transit is an obvious preference for Millennials as it allows riders to socialize digitally or get work done while commuting. But Millennials also consider a number of other factors when selecting a mode of transit including:
- Cost
- Convenience
- Exercise
- Time
The Millennial generation want to use real-time transit applications to guide their decision making, as well as other mobile technologies to connect them to community amenities. In the next 10 years, the demographic also wants:
- More reliable transit systems
- Real-time updates for all modes
- Wi-Fi or 3G/4G accessibility everywhere
- A more intuitive travel experience
Rather than having to plan a trip in advance, Millennials want to have options for spontaneous navigation.
Furthermore, Census data revealed the share of national commuters using personal vehicles is declining as more younger workers opt for public transportation options. The American Public Transportation Association reported 10.7 billion trips were taken on public transportation in the United States in 2013, which is the highest annual ridership number in the past 57 years. People bicycling and walking now represent almost 4 percent of all commuters, while ridership on buses and rail have steadily increased over the past several years.
Next Generation Transit
Gov1 has reported on several cities facing congestion issues that are looking to pedestrian-friendly developments to attract a less car-reliant population.