District Department of Transportation

Bikeshare operators routinely explore options to improve ridership and revenue by studying interaction among pricing, service and operations. The objective of this research is to study the impact of introducing a new $2 fare for single-trip on revenue and ridership at Capital Bikeshare (CaBi) in the metro Washington DC region. The single-trip fare (STF) at CaBi is one of the three fare products aimed at casual users—the other two being 24-h pass and 3-day pass. STF was introduced inconjuction with SafeTrack, which is a major Metrorail track maintenance program intiated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The impact analysis of STF includes studying the influence of SafeTrack on CaBi ridership. The analysis was based on revenue and ridership data before and after the implementation of STF and weather data for the region. The results showed that the first-time casual members increased by as much as 79% immediately after the introduction of STF, along with an overall increase in ridership. Jurisdiction-level analysis indicated a statistically significant increase in casual user ridership for identical 12-month periods before and after the introduction of STF. However, the analysis indicated that the impact of STF on revenue from casual users before and after STF at jurisdiction-level was inconclusive. As would be expected, the launch of STF, which is a casual fare product, did not impact ridership and revenue of monthly and annual registered members. Sensitivity analysis of ridership to rail transit disruptions due to SafeTrack indicated that there was a statistically significant increase in ridership by registered members and casual users at the CaBi stations affected by SafeTrack. The concurrency of STF launch with SafeTrack may have played a role in this increase. For, the new fare product created an opportunity for commuters to try CaBi as an alternative travel mode at an affordable price that is compatible with transit fare during transit service disruptions. However, the analysis did not present any evidence on the sustained nature of CaBi ridership increase attributable to SafeTrack. The methods used in this research are helpful for bikeshare operators to model changes in ridership and revenue from attributable to pricing structure.

Planning for equitable outcomes in transportation requires the development of evaluation methods that support the integration of equity in planning processes. This paper presents a methodology for equity evaluation that addresses limitations in current practices by analyzing transportation system outcomes regionally for the full range of demographic groups over time to incorporate the results into performance-based planning processes. This work applied current equity evaluations and a proposed methodology to a case study of the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan region. The results illustrate the current methodological limitations and provide an application of the proposed method that shows its ability to address the limitations. The proposed methodology is a comprehensive approach to analyze and characterize transportation system impacts that can be incorporated into performance-based transportation planning at the regional level to improve equity of transportation outcomes.

The District of Columbia is enjoying rapid growth in cycling, evident through trends in census mode share data and in the presence of more cyclists out on the street. The District Department of Transportation (DOT) has spent significant resources in the past two decades to improve active transportation planning, outreach, and infrastructure delivery. These efforts have led to the District’s recognition as a cycling-friendly city. Now the District DOT is taking stock of what has been done to improve cycling thus far and to determine what to do next. The District DOT is starting to ask what is driving the growth in the cycling mode share. How can the District understand, nurture, and expand on that growth in the cycling mode share? This study explored underlying relationships in which the District’s cycling mode share was present. The analysis dug deeply by doing ( a) a statistical analysis to identify key factors that influenced cycling and ( b) a spatial analysis that defined trends in accessibility to cycling facilities and the mobility of the cycling network. Findings from this research will help inform District DOT planners on what policy, operational, outreach, and capital investment levers to consider as they continue to promote cycling in the District going forward.

A case study of how big-data analytics can help to evaluate the effectiveness of existing policies and to formulate new policies is presented in this paper. The District Department of Transportation (DOT) in Washington, D.C., analyzed data for meter time limit adherence, identifying “overstays” at on-street metered parking spaces beyond the prescribed time limit. This analysis assessed the prevalence of meter overstays, citation patterns, and characteristics of that area. This information could help to determine the validity of existing time limits and develop a pricing structure that would shift longer-duration parkers to off-street garages. The analysis of overstays was conducted by using parking transaction data from the District DOT’s pay-by-cell program, transactions at networked single- and multispace meters, and parking citation data for overstays. Maps were created to identify areas experiencing historically, chronically, or persistently high rates of overstays. An assessment based on existing land use gauged whether overstays were attributable to policy flaws (not enough time to conduct business at adjacent land use) or to customers trying to “game the system” because of financial benefits (e.g., arbitrage opportunities). On the basis of a particular situation, the District DOT can consider adjusting time limits, reformulate enforcement protocols, or develop a graduated pricing strategy that minimizes the monetary incentive of parking on street.

In a growing and congested capital city, the challenges of maintaining traffic during construction of a multimillion dollar transportation program are immense. Managers are tasked with budgeting, planning, designing, procuring, constructing, and monitoring hundreds of projects in a dynamic and politically charged environment. Critically important infrastructure, utility, maintenance, and developer projects—as well as capital area special events—are frequently on a national (or international) stage with a high risk of traffic congestion, safety concerns, and negative public perception. Washington, D.C., is often listed as one of the top 10 tourist destinations in the United States. With a growing resident population, commuters nearly double the number of people in the city each weekday. In addition, Washington, D.C., is often listed as the most congested urban area in the nation. Aside from recurring congestion, project construction and special events frequently strain the existing roadway network. A proactive, citywide approach to managing all work zones is helping to reduce congestion and provide the District Department of Transportation with better control of how best to schedule and approve projects, as well as budget for cost-effective strategies to mitigate work zone congestion. A unique Citywide Transportation Management Plan, including a dynamic Work Zone Project Management System, has been deployed to coordinate and analyze project work zones and special events throughout the city for the next 5 years. Graphical, web-based software tools track and assess cumulative work zone effects. From these results, mitigation strategies are aimed at improving safety and mobility throughout Washington, D.C.

This paper describes how the installation of Red-Light Cameras (RLCs) is often based on frequencies of red light violations at signalized intersections. Since frequencies could be influenced by geometrical features of intersecting roadways and overall vehicular volumes (or exposure) there is doubt about their appropriateness in making decisions regarding the installation of RLCs. Inappropriate installation could result in unintended consequences such as increasing the frequency of some types of crashes. In order to eliminate the potential for bias with the use of frequencies as a means of deciding which intersections may need RLCs, a Red- Light Violation Index (RLVI) is introduced for dense urban environments. There is no red-light violation or red light crash threshold in the District of Columbia where red light cameras should be considered for installation. In this research, a model for background or base RLVI was established that could assist engineers in determining the expected potential for red light running at intersections based on engineering properties, without the use of red-light running frequencies or crash records. A RLVI probabilistic regression model was developed based on five intersection independent variables: vehicles per hour green, lane configuration, clearance distance, duration of green and posted speed limit.