Panel Maintenance Activities • All households contacted by preferred email address • All contacts included tailored information to household, as well as study website, 1.800 telephone number & project email address • Year 2 final project incentive was a $30 gift card

Final Panel Composition: Atlanta • Met project goal of 1,500 households • “Before” and “After” surveys conducted exactly 1 year apart • Panel members able to update their household information in early April 2012 • Survey closed early May 2012 • Many Atlanta panel members appeared motivated by strong dislike of I-85 HOT lanes

Future Panels: Recommendations & Lessons Learned 1. Tips for Panel Engagement: a. Share basic results with your panel members i. You’re giving back to them (not asking them to take another survey) ii. They see they are part of panel, what other panel members think and learn more about why the project is important iii. But, be mindful of what you share so you don’t impact/bias future surveys b. Panel Maintenance via Emails: Restrain Yourself! i. Over multi-year projects – keep electronic contacts (e.g. emails) to less than monthly ii. Ask about communication preferences (do they want text message reminders?) iii. Carefully design and test emails for all environments (Gmail, Outlook, etc) iv. Mix and clearly differentiate emails that share info, invite optional participation, and request participation v. Avoid contact during school vacation and holiday periods c. Continually convey support and appreciation for their panel membership i. Every contact with panel members invites free-form feedback for doing better ii. Every contact with panel members reiterates why project is important iii. Re-issue gift certificate electronically to those who haven’t cashed it yet – as a means of staying in touch and reminding panel members to continue participating iv. Give long-lead times – such as a month for providing information about changes to household information (new vehicles, new child, etc) v. Provide reminders for assigned travel dates and stagger emails by time of day, day of week, and looking at employment information 2. Lessons Learned/Confirmed a. Have a contingency plan for your timeline: i. All states have drastically different timelines and permission needs regarding license plate capture ii. The timing of the implementation of tolling, new transit service, and other programs can be delayed by six months or longer b. Subject matters that solicit passionate opinions (e.g. tolling) further encourage panel engagement i. Over 93% of panel participants requested to keep taking surveys about tolling in their region c. Make the survey do the work, not the panel member i. Design survey questions that will be asked in future years at the project start in order to focus on analysis goals ii. Have the survey (behind the scenes) calculate behavior change and then only ask questions about why travel behavior has changed 3. Next Steps For Analysis & Project a. Considering options for additional research funding to continue the panel b. Volpe Center leading next steps for analysis of all evaluation questions (see intro)

Final Panel Composition: Seattle • Almost 700 more participating households than project goal • “Before” and “After” surveys conducted 18 months apart • Panel members able to update their household information in early April 2012 • Survey closed early May 2012 • Almost 70% panel retention with very high engagement and participation

Notes:* Retention rate is defined as households where every adult member answered every single question in both Year 1 and Year 2 surveys. Year 2 partial surveys and partial households are not included.** The survey was closed early and with half the reminders in Seattle due to very strong response and much larger than expected panel size

Overview of Panel MaintananceFigure 4. Household Completion Rates by Recruitment Mode

Atlanta: Sharing Basic Study Results with Panel Members

2010-2012 Longitudinal Household Travel Diary Study: Seattle & Atlanta Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA)/Congestion Reduction Demonstration (CRD)Sean Peirce & Margaret Petrella, USDOT Volpe Center with Elizabeth Greene, Resource Systems Group, Inc.

Type of Contact

Pilot of Year 1: “Before” 2-day House-hold Travel Diary Survey

Year1: “Before” 2-day Household Travel Diary Survey

Provision of Basic Study Results to Panel Members

Resend panel members who haven’t used their original Amazon.com gift certificate their incentive info (functions to remind the panel member that the project is ongoing and they haven’t yet used their incentive)

Email Notification that Year 2 “After” Survey Being Delayed due to post-ponement to start of tolling

Tolling Begins in Study Corridor

Focus Groups about Experiences/Impacts of Tolling

Optional Mini-Survey About Impact of Tolling

Pilot of Year 2 “After” 2-day Household Travel Diary Survey

Year 2 “After” 2-day Household Travel Diary Survey

Seattle

August 2010

November 2010

March 2011

Quarterly

October 2011

December 2011

February 2012

February 2012

March/April 2012

April/May 2012

Atlanta

January 2011

April 2011

September 2011

Quarterly

N/A

September 2011

N/A

February 2012

March/April 2012

April/May 2012

Time Period

U.S. Department of TransportationResearch and Innovative Technology AdministrationVolpe National Transportation Systems Center

Overall Study Approach and Methodology1. Household Panel Study: survey same households before (in 2010) and after (in 2012) the implementation of road pricing • Household information survey for demographics – including changes to household composition and employment details over 2 years • 2-day travel diary (log all trips) completed by all adult (18+) household members • Additional survey questions: typical commute behavior; telework behavior; attitudes and values • In “after” survey – questions obtained changes to travel behavior post road pricing, as well as reasons for changes and satisfaction/experiences with road pricing2. Sample development • Sample drivers who use the corridor via a license plate capture during peak hours • Intercept transit users in person at Park & Rides and MARTA stations • Send survey invitation to vanpool participants via email 3. Other key features of methodology • Pilot Study • Panel maintenance, including optional quick poll • Incentives ($15/$30 Amazon gift card) • Focus groups to gauge experiences with road pricing in the corridor

Project Background1. USDOT Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA)/Congestion Reduction Demonstration (CRD) programs fund selected cities and regions to implement a comprehensive, integrated approach to reducing congestion • The four T’s: Tolling; Transit; Technology; Telecommuting • Recipients: Atlanta, Seattle, Miami, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, San Francisco 2. Major UPA/CRD evaluation being conducted by Battelle Memorial Institute3. Federal Highway Administration sponsored this 2 year longitudinal panel where travelers in Seattle and Atlanta completed “before” and “after” 2-day household travel diary surveys4. Evaluation Questions • How did pricing affect travel times, vehicle miles traveled, and daily travel budgets at the individual/household level? • Were there shifts in departure times or modes? In origin-destination patterns? • Does pricing result in route diversion? • In Atlanta, how do 2-person carpools adapt to the new occupancy requirements of the HOT lane? • What are the equity impacts of the road pricing policies?

Figure 1 of SR-520 in Seattle, WA: Electronic tolling of all lanes of SR 520 floating bridge over Lake Washington. Variable tolls to maintain 45+ mph. Major transit upgrades in corridor.

Figure 2 of 15 mile stretch of I-85 NE of Atlanta, GA: HOV-2 to HOT-3 conversion on 15-mile stretch of I-85 northeast of Atlanta. Variable HOT lane pricing; electronic collection & auto-mated enforcement. Enhanced express bus service & 3 new park-and-rides.

Year 2 Traveldates

April 24-25, 2012

April 25-26, 2012

April 30-May 1, 2012

May 1-2, 2012

PanelSegment

A

B

C

D

Overall

Number ofHouseholds

342

384

425

371

1522

Panel RetentionRate from Original Survey*

61%

63%

58%

55%

58%

Year 2 Traveldates

April 23-24, 2012

April 24-25, 2012

May 1-2, 2012

May 2-3, 2012

PanelSegment

A

B

C

D

Overall

Number ofHouseholds

554

662

559

399

2174

Panel RetentionRate from Original Survey*

68%

69%

53%**

49%**

59%