Dr. Chandra Bhat, a University of Texas at Austin transportation engineering professor, is surveying Austin workers’ travel patterns to help researchers design strategies that alleviate traffic congestion and improve air quality in the Austin area.
The survey is being conducted with the support of the CLEAN AIR FORCE of Central Texas and Nustats, Inc.
Bhat, an internationally recognized travel behavior researcher, says that participation in non-work stops, such as dropping kids off at child care, grocery shopping, or exercising at a gym, has significant implications on Austin’s peak period traffic congestion levels and overall air quality.
“There have been substantial changes in household structure in the past few years, with an increasing number of two-adult, two-worker families and working single parent and/or working single adult families,” he says. “Because of schedule and time constraints, individuals in such households are chaining non-work activities with the commute to be more efficient in their time use, making them more reliant on cars.”
He says that the Austin area and surrounding counties have ozone levels that exceed national air quality standards on some days, and emissions from cars on the road contribute significantly to the problem. It is almost certain the problem will worsen in the near future unless remedial action is taken today. Population forecasts predict that the total population of Williamson, Travis and Hays counties will more than double by 2025, as will the employment rate. Engineers hope to use the results of this study to formulate strategies for better land use, such as bringing non-work stops like post offices and banks closer to work, that will make alternative travel systems more appealing to commuters. Another example would be placing grocery stores on bus routes, making commuters more likely to take the bus to work, knowing they could grab groceries on the way home.
The study will attempt to quantify the “chaining” of non-work stops to see precisely how much it affects individuals’ travel patterns in the Austin area. It will also gather information on demographics, alternative transportation use and the type and age of vehicles owned by households and their use in commuting. It will assess the potential effectiveness of new programs and services, such as a proposed commuter rail transit system, to alleviate traffic congestion and improve air quality.
The survey will be administered through January. It is online at www.ce.utexas.edu/commutersurvey/index.htm, and should take no more than 20 minutes to complete. Anyone who commutes to work can participate.
Dr. Bhat’s research and teaching is supported by the Abou-Ayyash Centennial Professorship in Transportation Engineering.
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