Chapter 8, ACCS Strategic Plan

This text-only version is offered as a more accessible alternative to this PDF document: Arlington County Commuter Services Transportation Demand Management Plan (PDF, 3.85 MB).

Text-Only Table of Contents

Use of Research and Data

Identifying Target Markets and Customers

To better understand and plan for potential target markets and customers in and around the service area, Arlington County Commuter Services analyzed demographic and economic information from many sources. This section provides a summary of this research, with data sources and specific data points pulled from those sources listed below. These data sources and data points were used to inform Chapters 2 and 4 of the Commuter Assistance Program Strategic Plan.

AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY (ACS)

Service area population
Age distribution
Working population who commute
Race and ethnicity
Income
Zero-car households
Commute mode share

DECENNIAL CENSUS

Population changes between 2000 and 2020

WELDON COOPER CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

2030 and 2040 Virginia population projections

METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENT (MWCOG) REGIONAL COOPERATIVE FORECASTS, ROUND 9.2

2030 and 2040 Arlington County population projections

US CENSUS LOCAL EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS (LED)

Workforce size and turnover

VIRGINIA EMPLOYMENT COMMISSION

Number of employers in Arlington County
Largest employers in Arlington County
Number of employers, by size in Arlington County

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS (BLS)

Employers by industry
Employees by industry

ARLINGTON RESIDENT TRAVEL SURVEY

Commute mode share
Non-commute mode share

US CENSUS LONGITUDINAL EMPLOYER-HOUSEHOLD DYNAMICS (LEHD)

Commuter flows
Commute destinations for Arlington County residents
Commuter origins for Arlington County workers
Low-wage job concentration

REPLICA – LOCATION-BASED SERVICES DATA

Commute trip mode share: Arlington resident commuters to Arlington (internal Arlington)
Commute trip mode share: Arlington resident commuters to region outside Arlington
Commute trip mode share: Regional resident commuters outside Arlington to Arlington
Non-commute trip mode share: Arlington residents traveling within region (including Arlington)
All trips mode share: Arlington residents traveling to region (including Arlington)

WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY (WMATA) RIDERSHIP PORTAL

Metrobus average daily ridership
Metrorail average daily entries in Arlington

ARLINGTON TRANSIT (ART) MONTHLY RIDERSHIP REPORT

ART total weekday ridership
ART total weekend ridership

ARLINGTON TRANSIT TITLE VI PROGRAM UPDATE

Equity Emphasis Areas

Strategic Framework and Services

The study team conducted internal and external focus groups aimed at developing a strategic framework for the program, which included mission and vision statements and actionable goals, as detailed in Chapter 3. Following the development of the strategic framework, the study team reconvened with stakeholders to produce actionable recommendations for the development of specific services ACCS should continue to provide or build into the program.

STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

The study team conducted two workshops, one with ACCS staff and contractors, and one with external ACCS stakeholders. Both workshops included an exercise to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) for ACCS. Following the SWOT analysis, major goals were identified, each with a set of actionable objectives to achieve the goals. At the workshop with ACCS staff and contractors, a further exercise was conducted to define key words for the organization’s updated vision and mission. Following the workshops, additional interviews were conducted with specific stakeholders who were unable to attend. Guiding questions for the focus groups can be found in the Appendix.

The vision, mission, goals, and objectives were then finalized through a survey provided to the workshop participants that provided them with options developed based on the workshops for each element of the strategic framework. The study team used the feedback from the survey to refine and finalize the Strategic Framework outlined in Chapter 3.

SERVICES

Following the development of the strategic framework, the study team reconvened with both stakeholder groups in two separate workshops to develop specific recommendations and strategies to achieve set goals. Stakeholders were presented with draft recommendations for each goal which they could comment on and were also given the opportunity to draft new recommendations. Following the drafting activity, stakeholders were then responsible for prioritizing recommendations their group members had developed.

Following the workshop, the study team compiled and consolidated all recommendations and created a list of strategies to accomplish goals based on participant responses. Draft strategies and recommendations informed Chapter 5: Operations Plan, which includes measurable and specific objectives for the organization.

Program Evaluation

ACCS currently tracks nearly 100 metrics on its many programs. As part of developing this CAPSP, these metrics were analyzed and evaluated to better understand the operations, strengths, and weaknesses related to the various programs operated under ACCS. Data points were summarized to identify trends across six years before, during, and post-pandemic— FY2018-FY2023. The data was used to identify successful programs and those that might need modifications.

After collecting and compiling all the metrics ACCS currently tracks, the organization was able to identify data gaps as well as make suggestions for streamlining performance monitoring.

This included selecting performance metrics to better assess organizational performance; assist with managing certain aspects of the program; and identifying current metrics that no longer need to be tracked.

The current program performance measures that ACCS tracks and whose data was reviewed in the development of the plan follow. As the metrics are tracked as part of several different reports, they are listed under the report in which they are contained.

ACCS Budget Narrative

─ ATP employer, residential, and commercial clients

─ Site plans and use permits with TDM conditions

─ ATP employer clients providing transit benefits

─ ATP client employees receiving transit benefits

─ Capital bikeshare stations, bikes, and trips

─ Car-Free Diet pledges and retail partners

─ Average daily single occupancy vehicle (SOV) trips eliminated

─ Daily vehicles miles traveled (VMT) eliminated

─ Daily reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (in tons)

─ Commuter Information Center calls received

─ ACCS website visits

─ Brochure distribution
ACCS Billing Narrative

─ CIC calls received, answer rate, abandon rate, and dropout rate by vendor

─ Commuter Store total transactions, total products sold, and total visitors by vendor

─ Commuter Direct packages, SKUs, and customers by vendor

─ Distribution Center brochure distribution, bulk deliveries, and ART bus stop visits
Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation – Grant Data and Activity Tracking

─ ATP trainings and events held

─ ATP transportation surveys

─ ATP transit benefits programs implemented

─ Brochure distribution

─ Monthly newsletter distribution, open rate, and click thru rate

─ ATP website page views
ACCS Impact Reports

─ Transit placements in new non-SOV mode

─ Telework placements in new non-SOV mode

─ Carpool/vanpool placements in new non-SOV mode

─ Bike placements in new non-SOV mode

─ Walk placements in new non-SOV mode

─ NO2, VOC, and GHG reductions