COMMUTER SERVICES PROGRAM

PROGRAM MISSION: To support the use and performance of Arlington's investment in transit, high occupancy vehicle (HOV) and other modes of travel and commuting (i.e., mass transit, carpool, vanpool, walking, bicycling, and telecommuting) through customer services, promotions and market development programs.

The goal of Arlington County Commuter Services (ACCS) is to maximize use of existing public transit and HOV infrastructure thereby reducing traffic congestion, demand for parking in Metrorail corridors, and improving air quality through numerous market development, communications, and customer service strategies to encourage alternatives to driving alone such as taking public transit, carpooling, vanpooling, biking, walking, carsharing and telework. ACCS accomplishes this through contracts with a number of private sector vendors to perform the following programs and services:

• The Commuter Store® Operations provides for operation of retail stores located in Ballston, Rosslyn, Crystal City and a back office that supports and fulfills inventory requests to the other ACCS programs. It also includes a Mobile Commuter Store operation with regular stops in Pentagon City and Court House among other places. Both the Mobile and retail Commuter Stores provide full service for all transit and commuter fare media and information to support persons living and working in Arlington including: travel advice; bus and rail passes; bus tokens; train tickets; maps; timetables; carpool and vanpool ride-matching services; Smart Cards; information about bicycling and elderly and disabled services; and more. Other contract duties include operation of the 703.228.RIDE call center (Arlington Transit) and fulfillment of CommuterDirect.com fare media sales, brochure distribution, and bus stop map and schedule information updates for over 500 Arlington Transit and Pike Ride bus stop signs.

• Employer, Residential and Visitor Commuting Services – Arlington Transportation Partners (ATP). ATP's Employer, Residential and Visitor services efforts are intended to increase transit and alternative mode shares among the employees of Arlington businesses, multi-tenant residential condominium and apartment complexes and hotels through targeted promotions, commuter benefit program development and supporting services. ATP provides over 500 Arlington employers with guidance on starting and sustaining Metrochek assistance, assisting employees with commute options associated with relocation, awareness of commute related tax information, and education on such topics as starting telework programs and bicycle friendly workplaces. Access to other information and services provided by County, regional and state agencies are also provided to ATP clients, which includes transit maps and schedules, car/vanpool matching and guaranteed ride home services, bicycle information, individual trip planning, and more.

• Internet Programs and Services – CommuterPage.com®, CommuterDirect.com®, ArlingtonTransit.com®, ArlingtonSTAR.com, WALKArlington.com and BIKEArlington.com websites and /Pike Ride, /ATP and /Urban Village WebPages and more. ACCS's nationally recognized Internet web sites provide information and online services for all of the ACCS and Arlington Transit programs. Special features include daily Commuter News, online schedules and maps, carpool matching, and purchase of transit fares with credit cards, automatic transfer from checking accounts, and Metrocheks. More recently CommuterPage.com has led and hosts the regional effort for adding transit schedules for buses tailored for use on PDAs, smartphones and other mobile devices such as cell phones. An E-alert system for Arlington Transit buses was launched on ArlingtonTransit.com last winter. Six electronic bus stop information stanchions are managed at the Rosslyn Metrobus station to provide enhanced customer information

• ACCS Marketing and Communications includes several segments: The first is umbrella or county-wide efforts that promote general transit, HOV and bike/walk usage. Second are targeted Metrobus and Metrorail marketing efforts with neighborhood or route specific promotional campaigns and services to increase ridership and resulting system revenues to fulfill service budget and planning objectives. This includes a major emphasis on the family of Metrobus and ART services in the Columbia Pike Corridor known as Pike Ride. Third is responsibility for all marketing and promotion of Arlington Transit bus service, including printing timetables and map and schedule information signs at the bus stops. Fourth is responsibility for promoting the ACCS services described above and ad hoc promotion opportunities such as carsharing, WALKArlington and bicycling events. All of these marketing and communications efforts are coordinated with the other ACCS programs and services to provide for a comprehensive program of product awareness, information, user advice, safety tips and promotions intended to replace the annual 25% turnover of transit customers in Arlington and increase transit's travel market share.

• ACCS Administration, Site Plans and Regional Coordination. In addition to administering the five basic contracts necessary to accomplish the programs described above, much coordination takes place with other local and regional transit and rideshare agencies. On behalf of the County, ACCS staff participates in the development of regional work plans addressing clean-air measures, transit promotions, employer commute services, ozone reduction, and bicycle and pedestrian advocacy. A contract employee serves as Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program manager to enhance review and enforcement of a comprehensive set of conditions for both residential and commercial TDM plans supportive of the County's smart growth principles.

SIGNIFICANT BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS:

• The change in non-personnel and revenue budgets reflects an increase in projected federal and state funding which will be used to advance the County's commuter service goal to maximize use of existing public transit.

• County staff positions designated for ACCS are budgeted in Transit Planning. The increase in intra-county charges is due to an additional FTE charged to this program. This replaces a contract employee paid from this program in FY 2004.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES:

• Fare media sales are expected to decline beginning at the end of FY 2005 and accelerate in FY 2006 as the region moves towards implementing SmarTrip cards (currently used on Metrorail and Metrobus) for payment on Metrobuses, local buses and commuter rail and the need for paper tickets, passes and tokens declines.

• "ATP member companies" are companies in Arlington that are providing a TDM program to their employees with ATP's assistance. "ATP member employees" is the number of employees working at the member companies. "ATP residential members" is the number of apartment and condominium complex managers participating in the program.

FUTURE BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS:

• As Arlington County Commuter Services is funded almost entirely from federal, state and regional transportation sources, the annual scale of ACCS' operations corresponds directly to the ability to obtain such funding.