How the ATL Airport Slashed Commute Times, Costs With Their Award-Winning Carpool Program​

How the ATL Airport Slashed Commute Times, Costs With Their Award-Winning Carpool Program

Case Study

As the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (HJAIA) employs over 63,000 people. To support them, UrbanTrans currently manages AERO, a transportation management program dedicated to helping these employees get to and from work every day.

Atlanta, Georgia
Ongoing Project
April 2019 – Present

Upon collecting data on employee commuting behaviors, UrbanTrans uncovered a challenge: employees who earn lower wages pay more out of pocket for commuting and parking than employees who earn higher incomes.

Because of home locations and late night or early morning shift times, these employees often lack access to transit and depend on driving to get to work. To extend a more cost-effective and convenient option to these employees—and reduce airport congestion in the process—AERO partnered with the Parking Operations department to develop the AERO Insiders Carpool Parking Pilot Program.

AERO reserved 30 carpool exclusive spots within the International Hourly Parking Deck and coordinated a discounted parking rate of $15 per day (compared to a $36 daily rate). This parking deck is conveniently located adjacent to the terminal, which provides easier access to the security line and to job sites in all concourses.

 

Thanks to this program, participating employees reduced their commute time by up to 30 minutes while paying less for parking.

The success of this program was realized through a crucial partnership with the ATL Parking Operations department. Though the airport relies on parking revenue, AERO was able to provide a valuable service to employees while still benefiting ATL’s bottom line in the long run. As this program expands, both organizations will realize additional benefits.

This program was recognized nationally by the Association of Commuter Transportation with the Commute Options – Carpool Award in 2020.

During the program's pilot demonstration period (April 2021 to December 2021), the service successfully
0
registered riders and has completed 12,000+ total rides to LAX and back.
0 M
(and counting) fewer drive alone commute miles annually
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discounted transit passes sold per month

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UrbanTrans has made a powerful impact on our district, building strong relationships with our largest employers and serving as a trusted advisor to the thousands of companies that call Perimeter home. Through our partnership, we have made Perimeter a better place to do business for the hundreds of thousands of employees who work here.
Ann HanlonPerimeter Community Improvement Districts

Designing an Equitable, Sustainable Transportation Option for Airport Employees

Designing an Equitable, Sustainable Transportation Option for Airport Employees

Case Study

Over 3,000 Inglewood, CA residents work at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Few options existed for getting to work, though, and many Inglewood residents had to resign themselves to driving to off-airport paid parking facilities.

Iride Inglewood (Inglewood, CA)
Ongoing Project
April 2021 – Present

To support these commuters, UrbanTrans partnered with the City of Inglewood to design, develop, and deliver an innovative service that addresses complex issues surrounding equity, workforce development, and essential workers. Our team used primary market research, geospatial analysis, service design, technology needs assessments, and comprehensive marketing services to help the city launch a successful, dynamic microtransit service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The micro-transit service, Iride Inglewood, offers a safe, reliable, and on-demand ride to work in dedicated vans. As a bonus, it helps Inglewood accumulate data-rich metrics on commute travel to inform local, regional, and statewide goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled. Most importantly, though, it has immediately and dramatically improved the commute experience and riders’ quality of life while reducing costs for a historically underserved TDM target audience.

Since the service’s launch in April 2021, UrbanTrans has used innovative marketing tactics to gain riders during the extremely complicated COVID-19 pandemic. To start, we helped riders feel safe using the service by implementing improvements to the vehicle experience, such as “no-touch” automatic door openers, onboard policies based on CDC guidance, vehicle ventilation enhancements, and other pandemic-related efforts.

Additionally, to make the service more user-friendly, we developed an automated process for critical steps in Iride’s service delivery—from downloading the Iride mobile app and authenticating a new account to booking the first few trips. 

To build demand for the service among 3,000 potential riders, UrbanTrans designed a marketing plan tailored to the target audience’s demographics, workforce attributes, and values. The subsequent marketing paired high-visibility tactics like large-scale billboard and transit advertising and mailers in the Inglewood residential neighborhoods with more targeted promotional avenues, including airport employer outreach, SMS marketing, and paid social media advertisements. The outreach also included bilingual promotional assets, customer service, and messaging.

These efforts have netted positive results:
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registered riders
1 %
reduction in average commute times from Inglewood to LAX (from 64 minutes to 18 minutes)
0 K+
rides completed to LAX and back, with a high success rate for on-time arrivals

During the program’s pilot demonstration period (April 2021 to December 2021), the service successfully decreased average commute times from 64 minutes to 18 minutes, delivered on-time performance over 98% of the time, and achieved an average of 4.8 stars out of 5 stars in passenger satisfaction.

The pilot’s success has led the city of Inglewood and Los Angeles World Airport (LAWA) to agree to adopt the program for the long- term.

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UrbanTrans has made a powerful impact on our district, building strong relationships with our largest employers and serving as a trusted advisor to the thousands of companies that call Perimeter home. Through our partnership, we have made Perimeter a better place to do business for the hundreds of thousands of employees who work here.
Ann HanlonPerimeter Community Improvement Districts

Readying Toronto for the Great Welcome Back

Following a topsy-turvy 2020 that caused much of Toronto—and the world—to work remotely, Toronto employers had to plan how they would reintroduce in-person workplace activities. To ease commuting concerns, UrbanTrans partnered with the City of Toronto’s Smart Commute Toronto program to develop a campaign and resources to help Toronto-based employers and residents prepare to return to the workplace.

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Transforming Commuting in one of Atlanta’s Thriving Business Hubs

Transforming Commuting in one of Atlanta's Thriving Business Hubs

Case Study

Central Perimeter is home to one of Atlanta’s densest employment areas in the region, with more than 130,000 employees and 3,000+ companies representing a mix of Fortune 500 companies, large to small enterprises, and service industry businesses across four square miles. An advocate for infrastructure and transportation, the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts hired UrbanTrans to implement transportation solutions that improve access and mobility and reduce congestion within the commercial district.

Atlanta, Georgia
Ongoing Project
2015 – Present
TDM, First/Last Mile

Perimeter sits at the confluence of two major highways, and its primary intersection sees over 400,000 cars each day. As the area continues to gain popularity among leading companies in Atlanta due to its convenient location and reasonable office rent prices, Perimeter’s influx in commuters is pushing its infrastructure past its limits—resulting in high volumes of traffic and significant commute times. However, the area boasts three heavy rail stations and a commuter bus service. UrbanTrans leverages these key amenities and works directly with properties, employers, and employees to decrease drive-alone commutes and increase transit ridership, carpools, telework, and active transportation among employees throughout the district.

UrbanTrans leverages a unique two-pronged approach to drive results and redefine what it means to get to work in Perimeter: deep-dive programming for major employers and scalable solutions for area businesses. UrbanTrans works with large properties and employers to impact thousands of commuters through programming, urban planning, and policymaking. To serve the rest of the market, UrbanTrans offers a digital menu of services and resources, so employers of all sizes can benefit from the same advising and support given to larger enterprises.
Results
0 K
Commuters served at partner employers or properties
0 M
(and counting) fewer drive alone commute miles annually
0 +
discounted transit passes sold per month

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UrbanTrans has made a powerful impact on our district, building strong relationships with our largest employers and serving as a trusted advisor to the thousands of companies that call Perimeter home. Through our partnership, we have made Perimeter a better place to do business for the hundreds of thousands of employees who work here.
Ann HanlonPerimeter Community Improvement Districts

RTD First-and-Last Mile Strategic Plan

RTD First-and-Last Mile Strategic Plan

Case Study
For Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD), building on a transit service that reaches more people effectively means facilitating efficient and safer connections from destination to destination. Covering more than 2,300+ miles and serving just over 3 million people, RTD sought a plan to guide future safety and access improvements to support first and last mile trips across 40 cities in and surrounding Denver, Colorado.
Leading a team of firms, UrbanTrans worked closely with RTD and the project planning advisory committee representing key stakeholders in the region to develop a comprehensive first and last mile strategy toolkit. The plan covers all modes of transportation, including improving access for transit, TNC pick-ups and drop-offs, pedestrians, bicyclists and micromobility users all while integrating TDM programs to complete the package of solutions.

Denver, Colorado
2018-2019
First and Last Mile
Planning

Results

The project team developed a methodology to put the first and last mile toolkit into action and identify the most suitable and practical strategies to improve station access. This methodology was applied to 15 representative stations across the district to showcase to local jurisdictions how they can perform their own analysis and generate recommendation for their stations. 

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How the ATL Airport Slashed Commute Times, Costs With Their Award-Winning Carpool Program​
Designing an Equitable, Sustainable Transportation Option for Airport Employees
Readying Toronto for the Great Welcome Back
UrbanTrans has been an amazing & extremely reliable resource for guidance and solutions in the challenging and complex world of TDM. Our non-profit organization has been able to count on UrbanTrans for a variety of projects including their great customer service and expertise in transportation. Working with UrbanTrans has made our work a complete success.
Tracy FosterBoulder Transportation Connections