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The University of Florida has established a long-term, sustainable partnership with the local transit system in Gainesville, Florida. This partnership provides over $5.2 million of annual funding to enhance transit services used by students at the university. Ridership on the system has grown by 284 percent between 1995 and 2003. These ridership gains were made possible through a comprehensive campus transportation demand management (TDM) system, which seeks to reduce automobile use in favor of more sustainable modes. The campus TDM system includes policies such as parking restriction, parking pricing, transit service enhancements, and unlimited-access transit.

By 2030, the number of adults 65 and older in the United States will surpass 72 million, almost doubling the number in 2010. This population continues to rely on automobiles to satisfy transportation needs; however, with the onset of aging, physical, cognitive, and motor abilities decline and affect those people’s ability to drive and their level of mobility and independence. Lack of mobility and accessibility affect the quality of life and the ability to age in place and could lead to social isolation and a reduction in activity level. The shift to transit is often difficult because of a lack of familiarity and accessibility. Dynamic ridesharing is surging as a viable transportation alternative. This study investigated a unique integration of a dynamic ridesharing system into a local government transportation portfolio to satisfy the mobility needs of older adults by subsidizing the cost of trips on the basis of income level. Over a 9-month period, 40 older adults enrolled in the program. Older women constituted 83% of the people enrolled and were less likely to discontinue use. The majority of trips over the first 6 months were for social purposes, followed by shopping and medical purposes. Fear of driver variability did not seem to affect the level of use. The use of dynamic ridesharing seems to be a feasible low-cost transportation alternative to meet the transportation challenges of older adults and may have policy implications for the future of public transportation systems. Enhanced levels of outreach and training could lead to higher enrollment.

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The New Urbanists assume that if you build a village center or Main Street-style retail businesses in the middle of a residential neighborhood, it will, among other things, reduce the level of automobile usage. Based on the claim of reduced automobile travel, advocates suggest that parking requirements and transportation impact fees should similarly be reduced. Although it would be ideal to test these claims using New Urbanist development, current developments lack well-established retail businesses. Thus, this study considers these claims of the New Urbanists using six prototypical traditional shopping districts in the Oakland-Berkeley subarea of the San Francisco Bay Area. Each of these districts is surrounded by residential areas of moderately high density [between 5.3 and 8.5 persons per hectare (13–21 persons per gross acre)] and middle-class residents. These shopping areas vary in scale and mix of businesses covering the range of sizes and types espoused by the New Urbanists. The trip generation rates and parking needs for each of these prototypical shopping areas are calculated and compared with ITE-based rates for both an average hour and a daily rate. Based on these comparisons, a conclusion is reached that the claims of the New Urbanists for reduced parking and transportation fees cannot be wholeheartedly supported if the needs of the neighborhood are to be considered. Although many customers walk to these shopping areas, the trips by modes other than automobile are offset by a higher overall level of activity in the shopping area.

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National governments have provided subsidies for investments in increasing the safety and attractiveness of walking and biking to school. Evaluations of Safe Routes to School initiatives have found that they have been effective at changing behavior and reducing injuries. However, there has been little attention to the impacts of these programs on pupil transportation costs. This analysis assesses the potential economic benefits of Safe Routes to School programs in the US context by estimating the annual costs of using motorized transport for short trips to schools, examining real-world examples of the costs savings of SRTS programs, and evaluating land use impacts on school transportation costs using a simulation analysis of school bus routes. We find that there is potential for school districts and families to reduce transport expenditures through public sector investments in walking and biking infrastructure near schools. We also find that land use context matters