Whatcom Smart Trips
Make a difference anywhere you go
Whatcom Smart Trips: A model for other urban areas Last Updated: May 6, 2011
All urban areas, whether small or large, can help community members reduce their vehicle trips.
Long-term Strategies • Provide more transit service • Provide better walking and cycling infrastructure • Create greater density in land use
Ready to Do Now Find people who: • Want to drive less • Have opportunity to drive less Give them encouragement, assistance and a supportive environment
Make a difference anywhere you go
What is Whatcom Smart Trips? Program that encourages and helps people to: – Walk – Bicycle – Share rides – Ride the bus
instead of driving alone.
Make a difference anywhere you go
Whatcom Smart Trips includes: • Online trip diaries • Incentives • Emergency Ride Home • Smart Trips Employer Partners • Targeted Outreach • EverybodyBIKE • Public Awareness Campaign • Neighborhood Smart Trips
Make a difference anywhere you go
Promotional Campaign • • • • • •
Print advertising Radio advertising Television advertising Posters Bus interiors and exteriors Community Relations
Make a difference anywhere you go
Neighborhood Smart Trips • Educational campaign that takes Smart Trips to the doorstep • Creates a dialogue with people interested in reducing their vehicle trips • Gives personal attention and individualized assistance
2008 Project
Target Area Response
Are these programs working? •Online trip diaries •Incentives •Emergency Ride Home •Smart Trips Employer Partners •Targeted Outreach •EverybodyBIKE •Public Awareness Campaign •Neighborhood Smart Trips
Make a difference anywhere you go
New Participants in Online Trip Diaries (by year) 4,000 3,500
3,188
3,000
2,963 2,675
2,500
1,995
2,000 1,500
1,178
1,000 500 0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Make a difference anywhere you go
Miles Not Driven (by year) 8,000,000
7,20 9 ,5 98
7 ,0 3 9,98 7
7,000,000
6 ,5 60 ,1 9 7
6,000,000
5 ,2 12 ,5 0 4
5,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000
2 ,23 2,65 1
2,000,000 1,000,000 0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Make a difference anywhere you go
May 6, 2011 • 12,729 total registrants • 3,911,968 trips • 30,755,618 miles 12,498.7 tons Carbon Dioxide 46.07 tons Hydrocarbons 420.01 tons Carbon Monoxide 32.18 tons Nitrogen Oxides 0.18 tons Particulate Matter (PM10)
Make a difference anywhere you go
What are we hoping to achieve? • • • • • • •
8 – 12% decrease in SOV trips More pedestrians and cyclists More walking and bicycling trips More bus riders More bus trips Significant reductions in greenhouse gases Community prepared for future transportation system and land use
Bellingham Mode Use City-wide Mode Shift 2004 – 2009
Neighborhood Smart Trips 2008 Project – Target Area Mode Shift
Neighborhood Smart Trips Mode Shift by Smart Trips Diary Participants
Neighborhood Smart Trips Increase in Physical Activity
Neighborhood Smart Trips Reduction in Vehicle Miles Traveled
Neighborhood Smart Trips Reductions in Greenhouse Gases
Program Costs •Where do you get the funding? •What do the individual programs cost?
Make a difference anywhere you go
Revenue Sources Revenue Whatcom County City of Bellingham NW Clean Air Agency Conoco Phillips Puget Sound Energy FHWA - STP Enhancement funds Whatcom Transportation Authority WSDOT CTR Office Washington State Legislature Washington State Legislature North Region EMS & Trauma Care (non-profit) Total Revenue Whatcom Transportation Authority (in-kind) Total Available Source: WCOG
2006
2007
20,000 100,000 30,000 35,000 24,041 80,000 75,000 1,500 365,541 75,000 440,541
20,000 100,000 10,000 27,326 50,000 80,000 150,000 300 437,626 75,000 512,626
2008
3 Yr Totals
20,000 100,000 25,633 80,000 150,000 500,000 1,900 877,533 75,000 952,533
60,000 300,000 10,000 30,000 35,000 77,000 50,000 240,000 375,000 500,000 3,700 1,680,700 225,000 1,905,700
Make a difference anywhere you go
Expenses 2006
2007
2008
Expenditures by Program Component Administration Website Incentives Smart Trips Employer Partners
59,385 65,787 16,820
8,959 50,156 48,758 45,181
6,823 30,749 60,933 96,683
15,782 140,290 175,478 158,684
Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) - Required Activities Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) - Promotion & Marketing Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) - Employer Training School Program Bicycle Education (EverybodyBike) Public Awareness Campaign (administered by WTA)
8,740 61,420 8,811 3,615 53,091 75,000
17,041 68,394 7,867 6,607 101,076 73,100
9,055 60,763 903 7,022 108,547 73,500
34,836 190,577 17,581 17,244 262,714 221,600
30,000
1,900 110,000
1,500 525,656
3,400 665,656
382,669
539,039
982,134
1,903,842
Emergency Ride Home (administered by WTA) Neighborhood Smart Trips Total Expenditures Cost per County Resident
2.01
2.84
5.17
3 Yr Totals
Ave = 3.34
Make a difference anywhere you go
Level of Investment • $2 – 3 per year per resident • $5 – 6 per resident in years with Individualized Marketing • 3+ FTEs – – – – –
program manager employer program coordinator bicycle program coordinator bicycle program assistant clerical
How do other communities create programs similar to Whatcom Smart Trips? •What are the essential preconditions? •What are the important design factors? •What are the essential program elements?
Make a difference anywhere you go
Essential Preconditions • • • • • • •
Accessible community destinations Community-oriented and supportive transit Receptive community members Local Champions – elected officials, staff and activists Partnerships with serious financial commitment Organizational home for the program Implementers with skills and passion
Make a difference anywhere you go
Important Design Factors • Target audience is entire community • No targeted trips • Design for the community’s needs • Goals are positive, not negative • Positive messaging only, no guilt • Contemporary, mainstream, attractive, professional
Make a difference anywhere you go
Essential Program Elements • Baseline and follow-up measurements • Trip tracking • Incentives • Mode-specific educational materials • Bicycle education programs • Public Awareness campaign • Neighborhood education campaigns
Make a difference anywhere you go
Whatcom Smart Trips 314 E. Champion Street, Bellingham, WA 98225 Phone: 360-756-TRIP (8747) Fax: 360-738-6232 [email protected]
Program Coordinators Susan Horst Smart Trips Program Manager Whatcom Council of Governments Phone: 360-676-6974 [email protected]
Ellen Barton EverybodyBike Program Coordinator Whatcom Council of Governments Phone: 360-676-6974 [email protected]
Kirsten Wert Smart Trips Employer Program Coordinator Whatcom Council of Governments Phone: 360-756-TRIP (8747) [email protected]
Maureen McCarthy Manager of Community Relations and Marketing Whatcom Transportation Authority Phone: 360-676-6843 [email protected]
Whatcom Smart Trips: A model for other urban areas Last Updated: May 6, 2011
All urban areas, whether small or large, can help community members reduce their vehicle trips.
Long-term Strategies • Provide more transit service • Provide better walking and cycling infrastructure • Create greater density in land use
Ready to Do Now Find people who: • Want to drive less • Have opportunity to drive less Give them encouragement, assistance and a supportive environment
Make a difference anywhere you go
What is Whatcom Smart Trips? Program that encourages and helps people to: – Walk – Bicycle – Share rides – Ride the bus
instead of driving alone.
Make a difference anywhere you go
Whatcom Smart Trips includes: • Online trip diaries • Incentives • Emergency Ride Home • Smart Trips Employer Partners • Targeted Outreach • EverybodyBIKE • Public Awareness Campaign • Neighborhood Smart Trips
Make a difference anywhere you go
Promotional Campaign • • • • • •
Print advertising Radio advertising Television advertising Posters Bus interiors and exteriors Community Relations
Make a difference anywhere you go
Neighborhood Smart Trips • Educational campaign that takes Smart Trips to the doorstep • Creates a dialogue with people interested in reducing their vehicle trips • Gives personal attention and individualized assistance
2008 Project
Target Area Response
Are these programs working? •Online trip diaries •Incentives •Emergency Ride Home •Smart Trips Employer Partners •Targeted Outreach •EverybodyBIKE •Public Awareness Campaign •Neighborhood Smart Trips
Make a difference anywhere you go
New Participants in Online Trip Diaries (by year) 4,000 3,500
3,188
3,000
2,963 2,675
2,500
1,995
2,000 1,500
1,178
1,000 500 0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Make a difference anywhere you go
Miles Not Driven (by year) 8,000,000
7,20 9 ,5 98
7 ,0 3 9,98 7
7,000,000
6 ,5 60 ,1 9 7
6,000,000
5 ,2 12 ,5 0 4
5,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000
2 ,23 2,65 1
2,000,000 1,000,000 0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Make a difference anywhere you go
May 6, 2011 • 12,729 total registrants • 3,911,968 trips • 30,755,618 miles 12,498.7 tons Carbon Dioxide 46.07 tons Hydrocarbons 420.01 tons Carbon Monoxide 32.18 tons Nitrogen Oxides 0.18 tons Particulate Matter (PM10)
Make a difference anywhere you go
What are we hoping to achieve? • • • • • • •
8 – 12% decrease in SOV trips More pedestrians and cyclists More walking and bicycling trips More bus riders More bus trips Significant reductions in greenhouse gases Community prepared for future transportation system and land use
Bellingham Mode Use City-wide Mode Shift 2004 – 2009
Neighborhood Smart Trips 2008 Project – Target Area Mode Shift
Neighborhood Smart Trips Mode Shift by Smart Trips Diary Participants
Neighborhood Smart Trips Increase in Physical Activity
Neighborhood Smart Trips Reduction in Vehicle Miles Traveled
Neighborhood Smart Trips Reductions in Greenhouse Gases
Program Costs •Where do you get the funding? •What do the individual programs cost?
Make a difference anywhere you go
Revenue Sources Revenue Whatcom County City of Bellingham NW Clean Air Agency Conoco Phillips Puget Sound Energy FHWA - STP Enhancement funds Whatcom Transportation Authority WSDOT CTR Office Washington State Legislature Washington State Legislature North Region EMS & Trauma Care (non-profit) Total Revenue Whatcom Transportation Authority (in-kind) Total Available Source: WCOG
2006
2007
20,000 100,000 30,000 35,000 24,041 80,000 75,000 1,500 365,541 75,000 440,541
20,000 100,000 10,000 27,326 50,000 80,000 150,000 300 437,626 75,000 512,626
2008
3 Yr Totals
20,000 100,000 25,633 80,000 150,000 500,000 1,900 877,533 75,000 952,533
60,000 300,000 10,000 30,000 35,000 77,000 50,000 240,000 375,000 500,000 3,700 1,680,700 225,000 1,905,700
Make a difference anywhere you go
Expenses 2006
2007
2008
Expenditures by Program Component Administration Website Incentives Smart Trips Employer Partners
59,385 65,787 16,820
8,959 50,156 48,758 45,181
6,823 30,749 60,933 96,683
15,782 140,290 175,478 158,684
Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) - Required Activities Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) - Promotion & Marketing Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) - Employer Training School Program Bicycle Education (EverybodyBike) Public Awareness Campaign (administered by WTA)
8,740 61,420 8,811 3,615 53,091 75,000
17,041 68,394 7,867 6,607 101,076 73,100
9,055 60,763 903 7,022 108,547 73,500
34,836 190,577 17,581 17,244 262,714 221,600
30,000
1,900 110,000
1,500 525,656
3,400 665,656
382,669
539,039
982,134
1,903,842
Emergency Ride Home (administered by WTA) Neighborhood Smart Trips Total Expenditures Cost per County Resident
2.01
2.84
5.17
3 Yr Totals
Ave = 3.34
Make a difference anywhere you go
Level of Investment • $2 – 3 per year per resident • $5 – 6 per resident in years with Individualized Marketing • 3+ FTEs – – – – –
program manager employer program coordinator bicycle program coordinator bicycle program assistant clerical
How do other communities create programs similar to Whatcom Smart Trips? •What are the essential preconditions? •What are the important design factors? •What are the essential program elements?
Make a difference anywhere you go
Essential Preconditions • • • • • • •
Accessible community destinations Community-oriented and supportive transit Receptive community members Local Champions – elected officials, staff and activists Partnerships with serious financial commitment Organizational home for the program Implementers with skills and passion
Make a difference anywhere you go
Important Design Factors • Target audience is entire community • No targeted trips • Design for the community’s needs • Goals are positive, not negative • Positive messaging only, no guilt • Contemporary, mainstream, attractive, professional
Make a difference anywhere you go
Essential Program Elements • Baseline and follow-up measurements • Trip tracking • Incentives • Mode-specific educational materials • Bicycle education programs • Public Awareness campaign • Neighborhood education campaigns
Make a difference anywhere you go
Whatcom Smart Trips 314 E. Champion Street, Bellingham, WA 98225 Phone: 360-756-TRIP (8747) Fax: 360-738-6232 [email protected]
Program Coordinators Susan Horst Smart Trips Program Manager Whatcom Council of Governments Phone: 360-676-6974 [email protected]
Ellen Barton EverybodyBike Program Coordinator Whatcom Council of Governments Phone: 360-676-6974 [email protected]
Kirsten Wert Smart Trips Employer Program Coordinator Whatcom Council of Governments Phone: 360-756-TRIP (8747) [email protected]
Maureen McCarthy Manager of Community Relations and Marketing Whatcom Transportation Authority Phone: 360-676-6843 [email protected]
