Source: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS submitted to
FINDING EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING VEHICLE-MILES-TRAVELED
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1008475
Grant No.
(N/A)
Project No.
CA-D-ESP-7687-H
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 27, 2016
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2020
Grant Year
(N/A)
Project Director
Handy, SU.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS
410 MRAK HALL
DAVIS,CA 95616-8671
Performing Department
Environmental Science and Policy
Non Technical Summary
Automobile dependence is one of the most pressing issues facing California, given its contribution to social inequities, economic inefficiencies, and environmental impacts such as air pollution and global climate change. California faces continued population growth in the coming decades with even greater growth in travel demand likely. Communities throughout the state are struggling to find effective strategies for reducing vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) as a way to combat congestion and meet state targets for greenhouse gas emissions. However, the knowledge base on which strategies for reducing VMT is limited. The objective of this project is to contribute to an improved understanding of the potential effectiveness of alternative strategies for reducing vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT). This objective will be achieved through an assessment of available tools for estimating the impacts of proposed strategies and through studies of the effectiveness of strategies that aim to increase bicycling as an alternative to driving.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
50%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
6086010206050%
6086050206050%
Knowledge Area
608 - Community Resource Planning and Development;

Subject Of Investigation
6010 - Individuals; 6050 - Communities, areas, and regions;

Field Of Science
2060 - Geography;
Goals / Objectives
The objective of this project is to contribute to an improved understanding of the potential effectiveness of alternative strategies for reducing vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT), focusing on land use strategies and strategies to promote bicycling. Specific objectives are to:1. Review and assess tools available to local governments for quantifying the VMT and GHG impacts of proposed development projects, infrastructure investments, and community plans. 2. Continue a series of studies of bicycling behavior in Northern California that will help to provide a basis for developing effective strategies to increase bicycling as a substitute for driving.
Project Methods
The project involves tasks directed at each of the two project objectives. Both tasks support the implementation of California's SB375 of 2008 that requires metropolitan planning organizations in the state to meet regional targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions through reductions in vehicle travel.First, I will work with the state's Strategic Growth Council (SGC) to review and assess tools available to local governments for quantifying the VMT and GHG impacts of proposed development projects, infrastructure investments, and community plans. The review process will include meetings of modeling experts to discuss available tools. Public workshops will be held to disseminate the findings of the review and provide hands-on assistance to communities. Second, I will continue a series of studies of bicycling behavior in Northern California. The purpose of these studies, which focus on different segments of the population, is to assess the relative importance of individual, social environment, and physical environment factors in explaining bicycling behavior. Building on previously completed work, new studies will focus on the impact of infrastructure improvements on route choice, the use of electric-assist bicycles by parents in the Bay Area, and the impact of the implementation of a bike-share system in Sacramento. The results of these studies will strengthen the basis for developing effective strategies to increase bicycling as a substitute for driving.

Progress 07/27/16 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project includes national, state, regional, and local agencies, professional organizations, and other academic researchers. To reach those audiences, I gave the following presentations during the last year of the project, in addition to presentations reported in previous annual reports: "The Benefits of Reducing Driving," National Center for Sustainable Transportation Webinar, Davis, CA, May 2020. "Sustainable Transportation," Transportation Research Board Webinar, Washington, DC, April 2020. Invited Speaker. "Reducing VMT," testimony at an informational hearing of the Joint Committees on Transportation and Environment Quality, California Senate, March 2020. Invited Speaker. "Roundabouts of a Figurative Kind," University of Texas at Austin, November 2019. Invited Speaker. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The team for this project included two post-doctoral scholars, five PhD students, and several undergraduate students during the 5-year period. These students/scholars had significant responsibility for carrying out project tasks and had the opportunity to interact with state, regional, and local agency staff. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In addition to the presentations and publications listed above, we shared results directly with agency staff in meetings throughout the 5 years of the project, as well as to community organizations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1 of the project is to review and assess tools available to local governments for quantifying the impact of proposed development projects, infrastructure investments, and community plans. Related to this objective, my team completed a project for the California Air Resources Board to review their adopted "quantification methods" used to estimate the impacts on greenhouse gas emissions of projects being proposed for the various funding programs supported by California's Cap and Trade program. We developed the Induced Travel Calculator, a spreadsheet tool for estimating the increase in vehicle miles of travel for projects that expand highway capacity in California; the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) recommends the use of the Calculator in its new guidance for assessing the environmental impacts of highway projects in the environmental review process. We also began a project for Caltrans to develop a tool for evaluating the benefits of proposed bicycle and pedestrian projects that will be used to prioritize funding for such projects. Objective 2 is to continue a series of studies of bicycling behavior in Northern California. My team completed analysis using data from the UC Davis Campus Travel Survey as well as other surveys to explore factors associated with the choice to bicycle and to assess the implications of bicycling for health and well-being. We completed a study of the impacts of the bike-share system implemented in the Sacramento Region.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Volker, J., A. Lee, and S. Handy. 2020. Induced Vehicle Travel in the Environmental Review Process. Transportation Research Record, 2674(7), 468-479.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Handy, S. and A. Lee. 2020. What is it about bicycling? Evidence from Davis, CA. Travel Behavior & Society, 20, 348-357.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Janke, J., C.G. Thigpen, and S. Handy. 2020. Examining the effect of life course events on modality type and the moderating influence of life stage.�Transportation, 1-36.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Fitch, D. T., and S.L. Handy, 2020. Road environments and bicyclist route choice: The cases of Davis and San Francisco, CA.�Journal of Transport Geography,�85, 102705.


Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project includes national, state, regional, and local agencies, professional organizations, and other academic researchers. To reach those audiences, I gave the following presentations during the reporting period: "Stuck in Traffic: Will More Lanes Help?," Environmental Council of Sacramento, Sacramento, CA, September 2019. Invited Speaker. "Gender Differences in Commute Quality: Evidence from UC Davis," 6th International Conference on Women's Issues in Transportation, Irvine, CA, September 2019. "Travel Behavior Research adn the Scooter Safety Question," Lime Scooter Education and Safety Summit, San Francisco, CA, July 2019. Invited Speaker. "Changing Behavior: The Bicycling Fun Factor," Bike Forum 2019, Menlo Park, CA, June 2019. Keynote Speaker. "What will it take to increase active travel in the U.S.? Lessons learned from home and abroad," The Future of Transportation, 5th Annual Public Policy Conference, Chapman University, Orange, CA, February 2019. "The Future of Driving in the Land of Freeways," Center for Transportation Studies Annual Research Conference, University of Minnesota, November 2018. Keynote Speaker. "Planning for Accessibility," Planning Horizons Webinar, Caltrans, Sacramento, October 2018. Invited Speaker. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The team for this project included two post-doctoral scholars, three PhD students, and several undergraduate students during the period. These students/scholars had significant responsibility for carrying out project tasks and had the opportunity to interact with state, regional, and local agency staff. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In addition to the presentations and publications listed above, we shared results directly with agency staff in meetings throughout the year, as well as to community organizations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to work towards both objectives. For objective 1, we will complete the second phase of the project with CARB to examine additional quantification methods. In addition, we will begin a project with Caltrans to develop a benefit/cost method for evaluating proposed bicycle and pedestrian projects. For objective 2, we will continue to analyze data from the UC Davis Campus Travel Survey, as well as the Sacramento Area Travel Survey and the JUMP bike survey. We will develop and implement a survey on bike and scooter share use to implement in selected cities across the U.S.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1 of the project is to review and assess tools available to local governments for quantifying the impact of proposed development projects, infrastructure investments, and community plans. Related to this objective, my team undertook a project for the California Air Resources Board to review their adopted "quantification methods" used to estimate the impacts on greenhouse gas emissions of projects being proposed for the various funding programs supported by California's Cap and Trade program. We complete reviews of methods used to evaluate land development projects, bike infrastructure projects, pedestrian infrastructure projects, and transit improvement projects. CARB will publish these reports in 2020. Objective 2 is to continue a series of studies of bicycling behavior in Northern California. My team completed analysis using data from the UC Davis Campus Travel Survey as well as other surveys to explore factors associated with the choice to bicycle and to assess the implications of bicycling for health and well-being.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Volker, J. and S. Handy. 2019. Projecting Reductions in Vehicle Kilometers Traveled from New Bicycle Facilities. Transport Findings, DOI:10.32866/7766.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Fang, K. and S. Handy. 2019. Skateboarding for transportation: exploring the factors behind an unconventional mode choice among university skateboard commuters.�Transportation,�46(1), 263-283.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Handy, S. 2019. The connection between mode beliefs and mode liking: biking versus driving. Transport Findings, DOI:10.32866/6800.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Janke, J. and S. Handy. 2019. How life course events trigger changes in bicycling attitudes and behavior: Insights into causality.�Travel Behaviour and Society,�16, 31-41.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Alemi, F., G. Circella, P. Mokhtarian and S. Handy. 2019. What drives the use of ridehailing in California? Ordered probit models of the usage frequency of Uber and Lyft.�Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies,�102, 233-248.


Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project includes national, state, regional, and local agencies, professional organizations, and other academic researchers. To reach those audiences, I gave the following presentations during the reporting period: "Commute Quality: Exploring the role of mode and other factors using the UC Davis Campus Travel Survey," Cornell University, September 2018. Invited Speaker. "Urban Planning and the AV Revolution," 2018 Urbanism Next Conference, Portland, OR, March 2018. "Commute Quality: Exploring the role of mode and other factors using the UC Davis Campus Travel Survey," Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley, January 2018. Invited Speaker. "Active Travel and the 3 Revolutions: Policy Consideration," Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center Webinar on Policies to Prepare for an Automated Future Webinar, August 2017. Invited Speaker. http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/training/webinars_PBIC_LC_avs.cfm Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The team for this project included a post-doctoral scholar, two PhD students, two masters students, and two undergraduate students during the period. These students/cholars had significant responsibility for carrying out project tasks and had the opportunity to interact with state, regional, and local agency staff. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In addition to the presentations and publications listed above, we shared results directly with agency staff in meetings throughout the year. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to work towards both objectives. For objective 1, we will complete the first phase of the project with CARB and begin work on a second contract to examine additional quantification methods. In addition, we will begin a project with Caltrans to develop a benefit/cost method for evaluating proposed bicycle and pedestrian projects. For objective 2, we will continue to analyze data from the UC Davis Campus Travel Survey, we will implement and analyze data from the survey of bike share users, and we will administer a second round of the Sacramento Area Travel Survey (the first round of which was conducted in 2016).

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1 of the project is to review and assess tools avialable to local governments for quantifying the impact of proposed development projects, infrastructure investments, and community plans. Related to this objective, my team undertook a project for the California Air Resources Board to review their adopted "quantification methods" used to estimate the impacts on greenhouse gas emissions of projects being proposed for the various funding programs supported by California's Cap and Trade program. We reviewed methods used to evaluate land development projects, bike infrastructure projects, pedestrian infrastructure projects, and transit improvement projects. CARB will publish these reports in 2019. Objective 2 is to continue a series of studies of bicycling behavior in Northern California. My team published several papers using data from the UC Davis Campus Travel Survey as well as other surveys to explore factors associated with the choice to bicycle and to assess the implications of bicycling for health and well-being. We developed a survey on the use of the bike sharing program in the Sacramento region that was implemented in October 2018.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: tch, D. T., and Handy, S. L. 2018. The Relationship between Experienced and Imagined Bicycling Comfort and Safety. Transportation Research Record, DOI 0361198118787635.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Thigpen, C. G., and Handy, S. L. 2018. Effects of Building a Stock of Bicycling Experience in Youth. Transportation Research Record, DOI 0361198118796001.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Handy, S., and C. Thigpen. 2018. Commute quality and its implications for commute satisfaction: Exploring the role of mode, location, and other factors. Travel Behaviour and Society. Forthcoming.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Fitch, D. T., Rhemtulla, M., and Handy, S. L. 2018. The relation of the road environment and bicycling attitudes to usual travel mode to school in teenagers. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice. Forthcoming.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Xing, Y., Volker, J., and Handy, S. 2018. Why do people like bicycling? Modeling affect toward bicycling. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 56, 22-32.


Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project includes national, state, regional, and local agencies, professional organizations, and other academic researchers. To reach those audiences, I gave the following presentations during the reporting period: "Reducing Vehicle Travel: The California Experiment," Institute of Transport Studies, University of Leeds, June 2017. "Reducing Vehicle Travel: The California Experiment," Transport Studies Unit, University of Oxford, June 2017. "Planning for Accessibility," Prioritizing Accessibility in Major Cities, Transportation Research Board webinar, May 2017. "Sustainable Transportation," Transportation and the Triple-Bottom Line Conference, San Jose, CA, April 2017. Keynote Speaker. "The Future of Travel Demand: with reflections on the role of engineering and the importance of science," Engineering Sustainability 2017 Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, April 2017. Keynote Speaker. "Reducing Vehicle Travel: The California Experiment," MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, Cambridge, MA, December 2016. "The Future of Travel Demand," PEEC Sustainable Mobility Seminar, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, November 2016. "Managing Travel Demand in the 21st Century," Sacramento Transportation Management Association, Sacramento, CA, November 2016. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The team for this project included 4 master's students, 2 PhD students, and 2 post-doctoral scholars during the period. These students/scholars had significant responsibility for carrying out project tasks and had the opportunity to interact with state, regional, and local agency staff. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In addition to the presentations and publications listed above, we shared results directly with agency staff in meetings throughout the year. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue working towards both objectives. For objective 1, we will complete in-depth assessment of the California Air Resources Board's GHG quantification methods. For objective 2, we will continue to analyze data from the UC Davis Campus Travel Survey and we will undertake a second round of the Sacramento Area Travel Survey to assess changes in bicycling and bicycling attitudes following the implementation of a regional bike share system.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1 of the project is to review and assess tools available to local governments for quantifying the impact of proposed development projects, infrastructure investments, and community plans. My team completed a review of available tools and applied them in a series of case studies in a project for the California Strategic Growth Council. We shared the projects results in a webinar held in May 2017. We started a new project for the California Air Resources Board to assess their greenhouse gas (GHG) quantification methods in July 2017. In related work, we completed a white paper for the Strategic Growth Council on potential methods for estimating GHG reductions at a state-wide level and a second white paper providing an overview of state-level policies for reducing GHG emissions from transportation. We also developed a glossary of sustainable transportation terms for Caltrans. Objective 2 is to continue a series of studies of bicycling behavior in Northern California. My team completed analysis of the Sacramento Area Travel Survey, conducted in 2016), as well as analysis of data from the UC Davis Campus Travel Survey as to the link between commute mode and commute quality.

Publications

  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Lee, A., K. Fang and S. Handy. 2017. Evaluation of Sketch-Level VMT Quantification Tools. National Center for Sustainable Transportation, University of California, Davis. Available: https://ncst.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/NCST-SGC_Handy-VMT-Quant_Final-Report-AUGUST-2017.pdf
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Milam, R. T., M. Birnbaum, C. Ganson, S. Handy and J. Walters, J. 2017. Closing the induced vehicle travel gap between research and practice.�Transportation Research Record 2653: 10-16.
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Boarnet, M. and S. Handy. 2016. A Framework for Projecting the Potential Statewide VMT Reduction from State-Level Strategies in California. White paper prepared for the Strategic Growth Council, Sacramento, CA. Available: https://ncst.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/State-Level-VMT-Strategies-White-Paper_FINAL-03.2017.pdf
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Handy, S. and D. Heckathorn. 2017. Sacramento Area Travel Survey: Before Bike Share. Research Report UCD-ITS-RR-17-13. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis. https://itspubs.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/themes/ucdavis/pubs/download_pdf.php?id=2769
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Byars, M., A. Wei, and S. Handy. 2017. Sustainable Transportation Terms: A Glossary. Research Report UCD-ITS-RR-17-09. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis. https://itspubs.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/themes/ucdavis/pubs/download_pdf.php?id=2759
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Byars, M., A. Wei, and S. Handy. 2017. State-Level Strategies for Reducing Vehicle Miles of Travel. Research Report UCD-ITS-RR-17-10. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis. https://itspubs.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/themes/ucdavis/pubs/download_pdf.php?id=2760


Progress 07/27/16 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project includes national, state, regional, and local agencies, professional organizations, and other academic researchers. To reach those audiences, I gave the following presentations during the reporting period: "Transportation in Napa: Challenges and Opportunities," Napa Vintners Association Meeting, Napa, CA, October 2015. "SB375 Implementation," Transportation Research Board Workshop on Greenhouse Gas Analysis: Tools and Methodologies in Practice, Washington, DC, January 2016. "The Future of Travel Demand," CITRIS Research Exchange Seminar University of California, Berkeley, March, 2016. "Transportation in Napa: Challenges and Opportunities," Napa Vision 2050, April, 2016. "The Science Behind Sustainable Communities Strategies," Briefing for the California Legislature, April 2016. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The team for this project included 2 master's students and 1 PhD student during the period. These students had significant responsibility for carrying out project tasks and had the opportunity to interact with state, regional, and local agency staff. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In addition to the presentations and publications listed above, we shared results directly with agency staff in meetings throughout the year. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue working towards both objectives. For objective 1, we will complete the case studies and conduct one or more webinars to share projects results with transportation professionals. For objective 2, we will continue to analyze data from the Sacramento region survey while continuing other projects focusing on strategies for increasing bicycling.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1 of the project is to review and assess tools available to local governments for quantifying the impact of proposed development projects, infrastructure investments, and community plans. My team completed a review of available tools and applied them in a series of case studies. Objective 2 is to continue a series of studies of bicycling behavior in Northern California. My team developed a survey instrument designed to measure household travel behavior and administered the survey in Davis, West Sacramento, and Sacramento. This effort will provide baseline data before the implementation of a bike share program in the Sacramento Region.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Fitch, D., C. Thigpen, and S. Handy. 2016. Traffic Stress and Bicycling to Elementary and Junior High School: Evidence from Davis, California. Journal of Transport and Health 3(4): 457-466.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Thigpen, C., H. Li, S. Handy, and J.T. Harvey. 2015. Modeling the Impact of Pavement Roughness on Bicycle Ride Quality. Transportation Research Record 2525: 43-53.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Thigpen, C.G., B.K. Driller, and S. Handy. 2015. Using a stages of change approach to explore opportunities for increasing bicycle commuting. Transportation Research Part D 39: 44-55.