Principal Investigator(s):
Yingling Fan, Associate Dean for Faculty, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
Co-Investigators:
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Frank Douma, Director, State & Local Policy, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
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Chen-Fu Liao, Former Researcher, Mechanical Engineering
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Julian Wolfson, Associate Professor, School of Public Health
Project summary:
Previous research has found that ABC Ramps contract holders were interested in taking transit more frequently; however, Minneapolis lacked a flexible commuter program for these commuters. The current project aimed to develop and implement a commuter program named FlexPass to manage parking demand, promote public transit, and provide a cost scenario that incentivized commuters to drive less. Multiple data collection efforts were conducted over the course of the FlexPass study to assess the viability of this alternative parking contract design, including: (1) Two Phase 1 program evaluation efforts, including the first one in September-December 2020 and the second one in August-December 2021; and (2) Phase 2 program evaluation in February-August 2022. Due to the COVID impacts, this study did not yield sufficient data to generate conclusive findings. Nonetheless, the data provided rich insights into the viability of alternative parking contracts designed to limit the amount of driving. Participants indicated that FlexPass made positive impacts on their travel decisions for more than two-thirds of their work-related trips. Seventy percent of the participants were very satisfied with the FlexPass contracts, and the remaining thirty percent were somewhat satisfied.