This is the first of several posts about a study of major significance that was recently posted on Arlington County’s Transportation Demand Management Resource Center, www.commuterpage.com/research. This exhaustive study should be of interest both to professionals in the transportation field as well as citizens generally interested in transportation and urban affairs in the Washington, DC region.
The Commercial Building Survey was conducted in 2008 by LDA Consulting as part of Arlington County Commuter Services’ (ACCS) ongoing research program. Its overall purpose was to explore the effects that transportation services, proximity to transit, parking, and related items have upon where companies decide to locate their offices and upon how employees get to work. In particular it was designed to assess the value of ACCS services and of the transportation infrastructure to employers and their employees
Research Objectives
In summary four general factors were considered as they impact location decisions and mode choices:
- Characteristics of the location -- degree of “urban-ness” -- density, walkability, urban amenities
- Availability of transit and other transportation services, e.g. distance to Metrorail
- Availability and cost of parking, e.g. ratio of parking to employees and cost to the employee
- Availability of commuter assistance services, e.g. tax-free transit benefits, commuter assistance services, employee perceptions of services available, etc.
The study encompassed four levels of interviews and surveys: building managers, parking managers, tenant company managers, and employees. Completed results included 19 selected office buildings, 16 of which were in the Rosslyn-Ballston and Crystal City-Pentagon City Metrorail corridors, housing 125 companies, and 1,500 employees. It should be noted that while this is a significant sample, the property managers and companies who responded did not comprise a random sample, and the findings should not be considered a definitive, statistical representation of business and employee behavior. That said, there is wealth of detailed information that sheds light on many aspects of commuting, especially in Arlington’s transit-oriented Metrorail corridors. Many cross-tabulations of types of data and sophisticated regression analyses make this one of the most in-depth studies of commuting behavior available in the field. Click here to see the report summary, questionnaire, and report presentation details. A brief sampling of findings follows.
Business Impacts
Transportation heavily influences Arlington employers’ choice of a business location. Employers surveyed gave a four or five ranking (on a scale of 5) to the following factors:
- 79% cited the variety of commuting options available for employees as an important consideration
- 79% cited ease access for customers
- 77% cited ease of commute for employees.
- 65% cited highway access
- 58% cited parking
Only cost per square foot of space was higher at 84%.
90% of employers surveyed said Arlington’s transportation system had a positive impacdt on their business operations, particularly on:
- Employees ability to travel for work-related meetings
- Clients’ ability to reach their location, and
- Employee recruitment
Commute Factors for Employees
When deciding where to work, commute factors were important for employees:
- 42% cited ease of commute
- 34% cited availability of commute options
- 25% said commute factors were even “more important” than income and job satisfaction
Next week I will summarize findings on Commute Services and their benefits to businesses and employees surveyed.
Commercial Building Survey summary, questionnaire, and detailed presentation report.
Howard Jennings is Director of Research for Arlington County Commuter Services of the Department of Environmental Services. He is a Metrorail and bike commuter.
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