Transportation Demand Management
CHS is an industry leader in Transportation Demand Management (TDM), creating programs that help employers inform their employees about and incentivize them to reduce single occupancy vehicle trips using transit, ridesharing, walking, biking, and telework. For more than 20 years, we’ve been developing, implementing, and monitoring the effectiveness of TDM programs for government agencies, corporations, institutions, and development projects.
Our recent experience includes developing an agency-wide TDM program for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), including a pilot project for carpools and micro-mobility. Other TDM projects include the Sutter Health (California Pacific Medical Center) TDM Program for all five campuses in San Francisco, the Academy of Art University, and TDM programs for numerous office, residential, and mixed-use development projects.
CHS is currently administering a public-facing TDM program for the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) that includes managing a year-round mode shift incentive program, including deeper data analysis and evaluation services for Marin Commutes.
Areas of Expertise
Corporate TDM Programs
TDM Programs for Government Agencies
Public-Facing TDM Programs
Mode Shift Incentive Programs
Micromobility Options
California Pacific Medical Center TDM Program
Project Overview
California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) initiated a master plan for each of its existing four campuses as well as for a new fifth campus, all in San Francisco. CHS Consulting Group worked with the project architectural team and project sponsor on the assessment of site access issues, opportunities, and constraints for the Pacific, California, Davies, St Luke’s, and new Cathedral Hill campuses.
CHS Role
CHS Consulting Group led two rounds of Institutional Master Plans and a TDM Program for CMPC (now Sutter Health) over a 15-year period. The TDM program included detailed employee and visitor travel behavior surveys. It was initially developed for three CPMC medical campuses and later included two additional campuses.
The TDM program for the newly constructed Cathedral Hill campus includes a TDM Coordinator, expanded shuttle bus service to BART and Caltrain, using this new campus as the shuttle bus hub with connections to the other four campuses, an innovative parking management program with progressive pricing that uses the funds to subsidize free transit passes for employees, a bicycle storage and shower facility, and widened sidewalks and enhanced crosswalks to enhance pedestrian safety. The TDM program was accepted both by CMPC and SF Planning.
SFMTA TDM Program
Project Overview
This purpose of this project was to develop an agency-wide TDM program to encourage San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) employees to commute to work using non-automotive transportation. The focus is on employees working in bus and LRT yards, especially the first and last shift drivers who have no access to transit to get to and from work.
CHS Role
CHS’s developed and completed an extremely successful pilot project for carpools and micro-mobility that includes using a software platform to disseminate financial incentives, collect user data, track non-auto usage, and change employee travel behavior.
The project began with an assessment of current conditions and needs at each SFMTA facility and compilation of a best practices report. The COVID pandemic created a major disruption to conducting employee travel surveys and stakeholder outreach and the project scope was modified to create a pilot project.
CHS subsequently developed a list of potential carpool and micro-mobility projects based on where SFMTA employees live and their travel modes, as well as financial incentives to entice SFMTA employees to use non-auto modes to work. The CHS team also used online tools and site visits to engage employee participation. The pilot was a major success with more than 200 active participants (10 percent of targeted employees) and five percent change in modal split. The pilot project also generated significant staff support and raised employee morale.
Marin Commutes Public Facing TDM Program
Project Overview
In 2019, the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) unified its diverse transportation demand management (TDM) programs under one umbrella called Marin Commutes. Through Marin Commutes, TAM offers incentives to residents and workers throughout Marin County to take vanpools, subsidies for first/last-mile transit access, emergency ride home (ERH), and two mode shift campaigns per year. As part of that effort, TAM adopted the RideAmigos TDM software management platform.
In early 2022, the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) selected a consulting team consisting of Convey, Civic Edge Consulting, and CHS Consulting Group for a three-year contract to expand the Marin Commutes program’s outreach efforts, initiate a year-round mode shift incentive program, and provide deeper data analysis and evaluation services for Marin Commutes.
CHS Role
Within first two months after contract initiation, CHS developed the draft ongoing incentive program, now including both trip-based incentives and a points program for monthly and annual prize drawings. To determine the optimal balance between incentives and drawings, CHS produced a budget estimator to test many incentive/drawing permutations, calibrated to TAM’s previous campaign participation rates. CHS also programmed the RideAmigos platform with all the proposed program features and workflows.
The Marin Commutes Rewards program was launched in November 2022 and allows anyone living or working in Marin County to earn up to $500 per year for logging eligible green trips, including walking, biking, taking transit, carpooling, and vanpooling. CHS is also providing incentives management and participant support for a separate pilot program focused on commuters using the State Route 37 corridor between Solano and Marin counties.