ACT gathered TDM leaders to solve challenges facing commuters returning to offices and campuses.

Here’s our take on the Association for Commuter Transportation’s 2021 Future of Commuting Summit – Today, Tomorrow and BEYOND – sponsored by WeDriveU. The event drew more than 300 employers, thought leaders, government agencies, and private sector Transportation Demand Management (TDM) leaders to explore challenges facing commuters from home to work or campus.

Private shuttle systems were referenced several times as speakers discussed the wide range of mobility options available for long-distance commutes, last-mile access to public transit, on-demand mobility and connecting parking and other facilities.

ACT’s Executive Director David Straus welcomed keynote speaker Dr. Robert Hampshire, Acting Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, and Chief Science Officer, United States Department of Transportation.

Dr. Hampshire touched on the commitment by President Biden’s administration to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and how commuting will contribute to that goal.

It was also encouraging to hear Dr. Hampshire’s support for shuttle buses “as a mitigation key to lowering and reducing carbon footprint.”

The session on scenario planning featured Brendon Harrington, Google’s head of Transportation Real Estate & Workplace Services, Lloyd Nadal with Solano Transportation Authority, and Transloc’s Tyler Means. The panelists discussed how the commute is changing as a result of COVID and how employers are adapting transportation for hybrid work scenarios.

Brendon challenged the notion of reducing services simply to cut costs during challenging times. He asked, “Instead of looking at the cost of doing something, what’s the cost of not doing it?”

“There’s no one size fits all,” added Brendon. He explained parking constraints at their new campus make many options attractive, like bicycling, shuttles and public transport.

WeDriveU’s Customer Success Manager Benjamin Pacho shared several other takeaways with us from Brendon’s remarks:

• “The opportunity for change is before us: the recognition we’re not going to go back to the way things were.”
• “As a company, we recognize our overall success is due to our in-person collaboration.”
• Returning to the workplace may require rethinking past and current investment strategy in infrastructure and operations. There are significant capital expenses for providing parking structures, shuttle infrastructure, as well as bike and pedestrian improvements, which then need to be balanced with investments in operations, such as running shuttles. He emphasized the importance of “…quantifying the tradeoffs between things like productivity, employee wellness and attrition.”

Thank you to ACT and the speakers for this interesting program. Replays of the presentations are available here (member login required).

Learn about the benefits of outsourcing shuttle operations to WeDriveU for companies, universities and hospitals.