The Costs, Benefits, and Challenges of Implementation: Farrah Grant, UNO

1. PRIMARY INVESTIGATORS:
DRS. ANGELA EIKENBERRY & CRAIG
MAHER
RESEARCH ASSISTANTS:
FARRAH GRANT AND JUNGHACK KIM
January 2015
ENHANCING TRANSPORTATION DEMAND
MANAGEMENT OPTIONS AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT OMAHA
The Costs, Benefits and Challenges of
Implementation

2. “A university is a diverse community held together
by common complaints about parking.”
– Clark Kerr, former chancellor of University of California (Toor and
Havlick, 2004)

3. WHAT IS TDM?
Aims to decrease the
percentage of commuters
who travel by single
occupancy vehicles
(SOVs) and/or vehicle
miles traveled by
commuters who use SOVs
(Winters, 2000)
Alternatives to SOV
driving include: biking,
walking, public transit,
carpooling, vanpooling,

4. WHY USE TDM?
By 2020-21, UNO will be faced with
a shortage of 1,607 spaces if no
efforts are made to shift SOV users
to other modes
(UNO’s Transportation/Parking Master Plan )

5. PRIMARY RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
What has UNO done in relation to TDM and
how does it compare to peer and other
universities?
 What strategies have been implemented and why?
 How is TDM administered and financed?
 What has been successful and what are the challenges?

6. PRIMARY RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
What are the direct and indirect costs of
supporting various modes of
transportation at UNO? What is the
return on investment of each mode?
What strategies and priorities should
UNO consider in supporting sustainable
transportation options?

7. METHODOLOGY
Interviews
 Key stakeholders on campus
 Representatives of designated, aspirational and local
peers
Surveys
 481 faculty/staff/administrators and 540 students
responded as part of Sustainability Master Plan (SMP)
Secondary data collection

8. TDM AT UNO AND PEER
UNIVERSITIES
A multi-pronged approach to TDM
is being pursued by most of UNO’s
university peers and to some
degree by UNO.
The more advanced peers do so in a
planned and holistic manner and in
partnership across campus and with
partners outside of campus.

9. TDM AT UNO AND PEER
UNIVERSITIES
Approaches that silo parking and
transportation from facilities/planning
make it difficult or impossible to take a
more comprehensive approach to TDM.
Leadership from the top can make all
the difference in implementing TDM.
One person in a key position can also
be a major roadblock to implementing
TDM.

10. MODE SHARE AT UNO
2014 survey data:
 67% of UNO students drove alone to campus
 Higher proportion as compared to peers (UC Denver 60% and
Portland State 23%)
 83.9% of faculty/staff drove alone to campus
 Only UNMC was higher (87.3%)
 10% of UNO students took transit (compared to 45%
at PSU)
 2.9% of UNO students biked (compared to 15.9% at
UC Boulder)

11. COST ESTIMATION
Costs Associated With Parking
Construction
Operating and Maintenance
Opportunity/Land Costs
Shuttle Service

12. COST COMPARISON PER
MONTH
Parking
Surface Lot $204,266 to
$319,970
Parking Garage $282,253 to
$367,424
Total Costs $486,519 to
$687,394
Sustainable
Transportation
MavRide $13,233
Zimride $1,208
Bicycling
University $9,519
Individual $29.16
Guaranteed Ride Home $630.42
Lost Parking Revenue $67,494 to
$84,165
Total Costs $92,113 to
$108,784
* These estimates are based largely on work done by Verdis (2013) and UNO’s Parking/Transportation M
Based on the additional demand for 1,607 stalls

13. CALCULATING BENEFITS
The benefits of sustainable
transportation modes are divided into
four sections:
Fiscal
Health
Environment
Community
Each benefit is derived from the premise that
the anticipated 1,607 parking spaces would
not need to be built

14. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS
Investing in sustainable transportation
options is cost effective compared to
investing in SOV parking.
At minimum, benefits of multi-modal options
relative to costs are more than 6 to 1.
 Ratios range from a low of 6.08 to a high of 7.67

15. RECOMMENDATIONS &
RESULTS
Modify the parking fee model to
better capture UNO’s associated
costs:
Monthly parking lot fee is $24.99, whereas
the actual cost is between $176 and $229
per month.
Monthly parking surface pass at UNO is $20,
whereas the associated cost is between $127
and $199 per month.

16. The largest return on investment
appears to be to greatest for the
MavRide program
•Spring 2016, ALL students and
faculty/staff may use their
MavCARD to ride for free
Zimride and Guaranteed Ride
Home program are now
RECOMMENDATIONS &
RESULTS

17. The most effective strategy is a
multi-pronged approach to TDM.
Work collaboratively with Metro
Transit, the City of Omaha and the
Metro Area Planning Agency (MAPA)
to promote TDM and a complete
streets policy locally and regionally.
RECOMMENDATIONS &
RESULTS

18. FINAL THOUGHTS
UNO’s parking “problem” is no more severe
than what you find at other urban
universities.
Given the proportion of SOV use at UNO
compared to other universities, there is
much room for improvement.

19. QUESTIONS?
Research funded by the
UNO Center for Urban Sustainability