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What Will It Take to Change Commuters' Behavior in Los Angeles?


April 16, 2012

By Alissa Walker

Read More: http://www.good.is/post/what-will-it...n-los-angeles/

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Angeleno commuters lose about 70 hours per person per year sitting in traffic—that's the equivalent of nearly ten days! It averages to about 485 million wasted hours that cost the region more than $10 billion annually, estimates Vision Los Angeles. Plus, commutes in Los Angeles are a third longer than they should be, according to a study by Texas Transportation Institute. But it wouldn't even take that much change to see an improvement in those numbers, according to a study by RAND. Reducing the number of cars on the road by only 2 or 3 percent could cut congestion delays by 10 to 15 percent.

- Many drivers don't know, for example, that the city can help place commuters in a carpool or vanpool using their Rideshare program. According to April McKay, director of customer programs and services at Metro, drivers can register with their address and place of work confidentially. "There are thousands of interested ridesharers in our database," she says. "We’ll help them find someone close by their home who shares their workplace destination and hours." The motivation to share a ride is often economic: While something like high gas prices might increase the number of calls to their Rideshare hotline, McKay says that what really helps is when employers themselves offer incentives.

- While the economic benefits are obvious, she says aiming for one car per household can help people start to experience a car-lite lifestyle without having to jump right in. "While still having the security of one vehicle, families can incorporate creative transportation trips. For example, the person driving can rotate by day and assist the others with a ride to the bus stop, a pickup to prevent an uphill bike ride, or participate in a carpool group," she says. "And for those times you really need an extra car—and there are these times—depend on your neighborhood car-share vehicle." It's true that people might be more likely to surrender at least one car if they knew they could have one available when they needed it, and that's how car sharing programs could be another big part of the L.A. commuting conundrum.

- Of course, transit-oriented car-sharing found in pockets around the city will only make sense for those who live close to public transportation. For everyone else, there's another, newer option. RelayRides, which recently launched in Los Angeles, is a peer-to-peer sharing service that allows people to "rent" cars owned by other drivers. Unlike Zipcar, there are no membership fees, and renters can buy insurance to cover them while driving a stranger's car. But you don't need a company to share a vehicle, argues Joe Linton, a bicycling advocate and co-organizer of CicLAvia, who lives in L.A.'s Eco Village. His neighbors set up a Google calendar for their car, which functions a lot like the peer-to-peer rental service.

- What Linton would like to see is some city-wide technology that can help groups of people who live near each other connect and create their own car-sharing systems. "We've got a lot of one-car persons, and quite a few zero-car persons like me and not so much in between," he says. "The former can't imagine not having a car for every trip, the later can't imagine having a car for every trip." This way, those without cars can give tips and advice to help wean car owners off their vehicles, while still having a car at their disposal when they need it.

- Even with her Zipcar membership and good friends on speed dial as backup, taking the leap was challenging, says Wong. She hopes to see more stories like hers shared by the city with tips on how to go car-free. "If people aren’t willing to part with their cars altogether, I’d challenge them to designate a 'car free day' each week where no matter where it was they have to go, they had to get there without a car," she advises. Or even better, she says, spend a day exploring your neighborhood and see how many needs could be met within a one-mile walking radius. "I discovered so many businesses there were in my neighborhood that I never thought to support," she says. "Look at it as an adventure."

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