Back for a second year in a row, the Transportation Wallet team reached out to find people who primarily drive to work to see if they were interested in commuting twice, car-free. We had an impressive number of interested drivers (41 to be exact!) who we gave a $20 TriMet Hop card, a $20 BIKETOWN e-bike credit, a $15 Lime e-scooter credit, and a $15 BIKETOWN e-scooter credit at no cost to them. Our simple rules were participants needed to be residents or employees in either the Central Eastside or Northwest Parking Districts, they couldn’t currently have a Transportation Wallet, they had to mostly drive for their commute, and they had to answer short questions before and after participating.
Participant info
Participants were either residents or employees in the Central Eastside (30 sign-ups) or Northwest Parking District (11 sign-ups) who primarily drive, and 16 of them already had TriMet Hop cards which we were able to directly load with the offered funds. 59% said they park on the street to get to work and 41% said they use an off-street garage or parking lot provided by their employer.
75% of participants reported driving approximately 10-30 minutes to get to work, the equivalent of 1.5 to 5 miles in distance. The remaining 25% have longer commutes, saying they drive over half an hour, or 5.5 to 7 miles one way.
Perceptions about driving
We asked the open-ended question “what do you enjoy about your driving commute” before people took their car-free challenge. Many people mentioned more than one thing they enjoyed, but seven people indicated there was nothing they liked about driving.
We then asked what people don't enjoy about their driving commute, and by far, it was traffic people liked the least.
Car-free commute experiences
Participants had just over three weeks to try commuting twice, car-free, using the transportation benefits we gave them after they signed up. We received follow-up responses from 21 participants. The first question we asked was to rate their experiences using the different transportation services. Participants informed us that the benefits they used the least were Lime e-scooters (63% didn’t use) and BIKETOWN e-scooters (47% didn’t use). However, of the modes they did use, the most favorable ones people rated as “great” and “amazing” were TriMet (84%) and BIKETOWN e-bikes (68%).
Participant feedback
We asked the same follow-up questions about what people enjoyed or did not enjoy about their commute, but this time centered around taking transit, and riding e-bikes and e-scooters. Here are a few comments about what people enjoyed:
- What I like about my commute is that it got me where I needed to be without hesitation.
- I enjoyed being stress free about traffic. Getting on the bus and not worrying about navigating traffic is great! Also, not worrying about parking is a bonus.
- I enjoyed reading on Tri-Met, and being able to walk to work and then bike or scooter home.
- It was a lot easier than I expected and using the e-bikes and scooters was a lot of fun, and with all of the bikes trails it felt really safe.
- Being outside, not being in traffic, getting some exercise.
Here are some comments about what people didn’t enjoy about their car-free commute:
- When you're not familiar with riding the e-bikes, the mechanics and rules can be kind of confusing. I hadn't realized that you would get a fee for not parking it at one the Biketown stations and stopped to lock the bike somewhere for a minute to grab something and then realized after I got charged a bad parking fee.
- Sometimes transit times don't align with my schedule but that's also a needed shift in MY mindset in planning!
- I don't love having multiple apps - would be cool to have just one app for all modes of travel.
- [I didn’t enjoy] taking bike lanes and [being] scared of getting run over by cars.
Three people didn’t have anything they did not enjoy about their car-free commuting experiences!
- There was nothing that didn’t let me enjoy the commute.
- Nothing that I can think of.
- All has been well so far.
Our takeaways
Every time any one of us gets behind the wheel of a car, we become traffic. We are another vehicle on the road. Every time one of us takes transit, bikes, walks, or uses a scooter, we are one less vehicle on the road, which helps alleviate traffic. We recognize and acknowledge that some people must drive for every trip. You have multiple obligations in a day, there aren’t any convenient bus stops near your start or end destinations, you have health reasons, your job depends on it, you live too far away, and myriad other valid justifications. We completely understand the reasons why people must drive for every trip they have to make.
For others though, what if you could swap a trip or two per week for something other than driving? Many of the participants in our commute challenge told us there is “nothing” they enjoy about driving to work, and even more of them loathe traffic. On the other hand, we also learned the same car commuters enjoy the scenic views driving to work and being able to listen to music, the news, or a podcast in their cars. What if we told you that leaving your car behind once in a while affords you those luxuries too, while simultaneously eliminating the hassle of driving, traffic, paying for gas, and looking for parking?
Advice from our participants
If you are curious about trying to get to work or to other destinations by means other than driving, take this sound advice from our participants who mostly drive but tried something different for a change. We asked what they learned about their car-free experiences and these responses speak volumes.
- When you don't have to rely solely on one mode of transportation, it gives you a lot of freedom to pick and choose the method that works best for your needs in that moment. Taking the bus or max can be stressful when you're new to it, but it's been really empowering to explore different options of getting around.
- Not having to worry about parking is worth all the work to commute! The amount of public transit options open up things to do around the city with no worry of parking or anything.
- It takes some planning but is a great way to get around.
- There’s other commuting options [than driving] and they’re easier than I expected.
- I'm going to make this a weekly routine!
- My commute can actually be time that I enjoy, it's not just how many minutes it takes to get there.
- There’s many ways to get around w/ out driving.
- Once in shape can bike in close to the same amount of time it takes to drive.
- What I learned about commuting car free is that it’s a faster way to get to your destination. It is also an opportunity to be motivated about being physically active as a car free commuter.
- That I should take transit more often because it's so easy to use. My teen is also interested in BikeTown, so we are going to check it out. There are times when I have to drive to the office to load up or drop off materials, but if it's just meetings, I'll take the MAX.
- It doesn't take much longer than with a car, especially with electric bikes/scooters, but it does feel more dangerous.
- My local bus stop is very convenient. I wish the bus came more periodically. Transferring buses downtown is very easy and nice to see the city.
- That it is possible and feasible. If I decide to give my car a break if it needs to be in the shop for a while, I can make it to work without relying on taxi service.
- It can be done with a bit of forethought; just takes a small bit of planning. Also that it's fun!
- I have learned to be a little more flexible in my planning and be patient, but then get to enjoy the passive commute (or fresh air on the bike/scooter)
We only received three comments about how car-free commuting was not a good fit for a few folks, mostly because of distance and time.
- Overall, I'm not a fan. If we move our office again, I think I will try to figure out a better position which would provide a nicer car-free commute. I suspect I will mostly drive as long as my work and home are in the same positions.
- What I have learned so far is it is estimated to take 20 minutes longer (twice as long) to get to and from work.
- [I learned that] there is a distance radius of how far it’s feasible to commute from.
In closing
We were blown away by people’s enthusiasm, courage, honest feedback, and willingness to try something new. Stepping out of a personal vehicle to use a different mode can be daunting at first. You have to plan your day differently, look up a bus schedule, perhaps open an app, and maybe figure out where the best bike routes are. But you also don’t have to be stuck in traffic or circle the block to look for parking like you do when you drive, among so many other things. Instead, what you do end up gaining doesn’t need repeating. Our eager participants (who mostly drive) already told us in their own words.
For those of you who are able, we hope you are inspired to try out car-free commuting yourself once or twice a week and see how it impacts your life. We think you just might like it and maybe even make a habit of it!
Lastly, because we were so moved by people’s comments above, we wanted to share with you the open-ended ones we received at the close of our commute challenge.
- Thanks for coordinating all of this and giving us options!
- Appreciate the opportunity to try out different modes of commuting that I've been curious about. I will use the scooters and bikes again!
- I enjoyed trying all the car free commuting ways to get to your destination.
- Thank you for doing this to help the community go car free.
- I am glad I partook in this experience.
- Thanks for this great program!
- I may join the [Transportation Wallet] program. I appreciate being included.