Uploaded byDavid Wilson
Google CIC 2012 - Transportation Issues
This document discusses improving public transit in Atlanta. It provides background on Atlanta's history, growth, transportation infrastructure and challenges. Ideas are proposed to make transit more attractive and easier to use, such as mobile apps that provide real-time transit information and payment options. Behavioral economics concepts are discussed to understand how to change public perceptions and encourage greater transit use.
Google CIC 2012 - Transportation Issues
- 1. CIC Competition Transit inAtlanta cic.gatech.edu Eric Ayers Software Engineer Google Atlanta Google confidential
- 2. This presentation [email protected] Googleconfidential
- 3. Follow us G+ goo.gl/5GsL7 orsearch for Societal Impact Google confidential
- 4. Disclaimer Follow your passion SocietalImpact category entries are not limited to this topic Google Community Affairs is passionate about Atlanta Fostering local innovation Improving transit in our city We think new technologies can transform transit source: Brenda Pierce Google confidential
- 5. My Experience Living, Commutingin Atlanta Grew up in suburbs Came into the city bi-weekly Went to Georgia Tech Moved to apartment Moved to a house in in north suburbs Commuted across top-end, and into city Google confidential
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- 7. But for $18K/mile...a 3 mile commute 1792: Indian village "Standing Peachtree" Peachtree Creek + Chatahoochee 1813: "Fort Peachtree" 1817: Land where my home is built purchased from Cherokee Nation 1831-1838: Forced migration on Native Americans: Trail of Tears 1837: Rail lines slated to end in Norcross re-routed "Terminus" 3 railroads meet further south at Fort Peachtree Saves $18K/mile due to terrain, land rights Population: Trees, cows and chickens source: Brenda Pierce Google confidential
- 8. “Terminus will bea good location for one tavern, a blacksmith shop, a grocery store, and nothing else.” Chief Engineer, Western & Atlantic Railroad After declining share in 200 acres of property along present day Marietta Street Google confidential
- 9. Rapid Growth ofTerminus Atlanta's history 1843: Renamed "Marthasville" after the governor's daughter 1844: Plan to expand past 7 streets fails vote 1847: Renamed "Atlanta" 1860-1864: War 1864: City systematically burned 1865: Resurgens - a city "rises from the ashes" - rebuilt quickly source: Brenda Pierce Google confidential
- 10. Population Growth 1840 -1920 source:Brenda Pierce Google confidential
- 11. Shared Transit, 1920style Streetcars source: Brenda Pierce Google confidential
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- 13. Atlanta Today: TransportationHub Freight rail nexus World's busiest airport: 89M passengers 950K takeoffs/landings Convergence of three interstates Excellent road conditions Bus, Heavy rail transit system source: Airports Council International, Georgia DOT Google confidential
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- 15. Political Boundaries Other impacts Notjust transporation Atlanta Regional Commission source: ARC Google confidential
- 16. Geographic Boundaries Challenges Few naturalboundaries to growth in any direction Chattahoochee River Introduction of I-75/85 impact on city Google confidential
- 17. 1924 11 mi2 Google confidential
- 18. Population Density Then 1924 1924Population of 200,000 City limits included 11 mi2 = 18,200 per mi2 source: Brenda Pierce, Wolphram Alpha Google confidential
- 19. Population Density Today Othercities circa 2010 New York City population 8.1M (five boroughs) 26,900 per mi2 (Manhattan 71,000 per mi2) London population 7.7M 12,800 per mi2 Los Angeles population 14M 8,100 per mi2 (urban) Portland population city/urban 583k/1.4M 4,300 per mi2 (urban) Atlanta population city/urban 475K/4.7M 4,020 per mi2 (city) 2,420 per mi2 (urban) source: wikipeda city page entries, ARC, oregonmetro.gov warning: suspect computations by presenter Google confidential
- 20. 132 mi2 0 1 2 miles source: gis.atlantaga.gov, author Google confidential
- 21. Population Density Regions similarto Atlanta Google confidential
- 22. Race/Ethnicity/Class Influence on TransportationInfrastructure Migration from the city to inner suburbs to outer suburbs. Years ago, suburban counties opt-out of MARTA, eventually use federal money to build separate bus systems Future allocations for transportation: Follow the money? Social Justice? Google confidential
- 23. Demographic Map 2011 20county metro region source: Atlanta Regional Commission State of the Atlanta Region: 2011 Google confidential
- 24. Demographic Shifts: 2000-2010 Google confidential
- 25. Immigrants New transportation demands Latino,Korean, other immigrants settle come to ATL in large numbers Buford Highway, Roswell Road not designed for pedestrian lifestyle of immigrants Sub-population that does not understand English Shadow transportation infrastructure private buses catering to Latino community Top reason Latino arrest in Gwinnett County: No driver's license* *Based on anectodal evidence, scangwinnett.com Google confidential
- 26. Hot Topics inAtlanta Transportation MARTA budget TSPLOST 1% sales tax, 10 years up for vote in Summer 2012 Atlanta Beltline Congestion priced lanes on Interstates Air Quality - one month a year of unsafe air Google confidential
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- 28. Atlanta's Car Culture Suburbanliving called the "American Dream" Many of us drive before High School graduation Voting age Legally drinking alcohol You cannot easily get around the Metro Atlanta area without access to a car Parking is free in most places in the city Google confidential
- 29. Traffic: Why wedrive the way we do Tom Vanderbilt TLDR; interview with the author on Amazon.com Counter-intuitive insights on driving You are the above-average driver; everyone else is an idiot, right? Drivers get no feedback on their driving Is having a passenger safer? When to merge into exit lane? Roads and cars designed to be safer, but feeling of safety leads to more dangerous driving Roads with fewer or no signs, 'natural cues' safer Google confidential
- 30. The High Costof Free Parking Donald Shoup TLDR; http://www.streetfilms.org/dr-shoup-parking-guru/ Why are free parking spaces are mandated by ordinances? ● Someone is paying for all those free parking spaces around businesses, many of which go unused ● Looking for free curb parking adds to traffic downtown ● Use market economics to maximize use of curb parking, use money for civic projects ● Remove minimum parking requirements, use market forces to right- size parking/usable building ratio. Google confidential
- 31. Land Dedicated toCars Office in Midtown 14 story office tower Google confidential
- 32. Vehicle Miles Travelled 1982- 2009 Google confidential
- 33. Projected Atlanta Population 2010-2040 source:ARC Plan 2040 Google confidential
- 34. No Easy Relieffor Highways in Sight Our roadways are built up in much of our urban area: On-ramp metering: +9% capacity Difficult to add lanes, expensive right-of way Difficult to add new roads in urban area: See Boston Big Dig Extra lane != linear increase in road capacity Carpool lane: ~80% same family members Capital funds needed for maintenance: Bridges getting old Our best bets for improving road capacity: fine tune, improve interchanges and intersections source: Georgia DOT, Wikipedia Google confidential
- 35. Why Shared Transit? Googleconfidential
- 36. Societal Benefits ofShared Transit Congestion reduction Reduced gasoline consumption Reduced emissions Mobility to non-drivers Compact sustainable communities BUT Asking sacrifices for public good is not enough Transit must be fast, comfortable and reliable source: Dr. Kari Edison Watkins Google confidential
- 37. Controversy Who pays? Whobenefits? Is it efficient use of taxpayer funds? Ideological issue? source: Dr. Kari Edison Watkins Google confidential
- 38. ARC Plan 2040:Highlights atlantaregional.com/plan2040 Population growth from 3.4m in 2000 to 6.0 in 2040 scenario: greenfield growth - More people, more trips source: Regional Transportation Plan 2040, ARC Google confidential
- 39. Commute Times 2010vs. 2040 from Downtown: no change in growth patterns 2010 2040 source: Regional Transportation Plan 2040, ARC Google confidential
- 40. Commute Times 2010vs. 2040 from Perimeter Mall: No change in growth patterns 2010 2040 source: Regional Transportation Plan 2040, ARC Google confidential
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- 42. MARTA Stats Bus andHeavy Rail transit system 91 bus routes 554 buses 38 train stations 48 miles of heavy rail 338 rail cars 450,000 passengers a day 9 restrooms Directly serves 2 of 10 counties in ARC region source: Wikipedia Google confidential
- 43. MARTA Budget Breakouts One-way fare:$2.50 50/50 mandated capital/operational expenditure 75% of current operating expense is labor $331M revenues from tax + fares $41M income from federal funds $0 funding from the State Budget source: Wikipedia, MARTA Reports Google confidential
- 44. More MARTA Statistics Impacts 1/3attendees to stadium events use MARTA 46% of riders commute to work that have no other commute option Displaces 185,000 cars/day Paratransit for disabled citizens Estimated $2.1B annual impact on economy Contributes to disposable income per resident $70/yr for Fulton & Dekalb $104 for other Metro Atlanta $113/yr other GA resident source: MARTA Annual Report Google confidential
- 45. Who Pays forTransportation? Google confidential
- 46. Fare Recovery Ratio Google confidential
- 47. Transportation Funding 20 countymetro region Gas Tax source: ARC Plan 2040 Google confidential
- 48. What a difference20 years makes! Google confidential
- 49. source: MARTA Maps Google confidential
- 50. Georgia Regional TransitAuthority GRTA Circa 1998 Atlanta consistently fails federal Air Quality standards Threat of losing federal funds for roads GRTA formed by State government Ability to issue bonds Aids local governments (bond issues) to implement a regional transporation plan: Mobility Air-Quality Land Use source: GRTA website Google confidential
- 51. source: ARC 2011Transportation Fact Book Google confidential
- 52. source: Author Google confidential
- 53. Proof these systemscan work together! Google confidential
- 54. I-285 Top End Busiesttraffic artery in the 10-county region Not directly served by public transit Commuters from Kennesaw to Duluth up to 4 transit systems. source: GRTA website Google confidential
- 55. Something is wrong myGRTA to MARTA commute One option for an ~8 hour workday Doraville 20 mins from Midtown 20% of population lives in Gwinnett source: GRTA website Google confidential
- 56. This is Atlantaon Transit Google confidential
- 57. source: Citizens ForProgressive Transit Google confidential
- 58. source: MARTA 2010Annual Report Google confidential
- 59. How do weget there? Google confidential
- 60. “ We needto make it so easy that there is no other reasonable choice but to take transit... it’s not reasonable to expect people to do something that they consider a sacrifice, so let’s take away the sacrifice. Transit service has to improve, but with better information, we can make the system already in place much more usable.” Dr. Kari Edison Watkins, CE co-creator of OneBusAway Google confidential
- 61. Back to today Googleconfidential
- 62. Getting Around Atlanta- Sans Auto ? Google confidential
- 63. Current Alternatives toCar Ownership MARTA train and bus Private Bus (Georgia Bus Lines) County bus Clayton, Cobb, Gwinnett Regional Bus (GRTA) Carpools & Vanpools Public and Private Shuttles Taxi Rental car, ZipCar Bicycle Walking Bum a ride Google confidential
- 64. Proposed Atlanta publictransit projects ● Streetcar ● Commuter Rail ● Light Rail ● Rapid Bus Google confidential
- 65. Demand Management Livable CentersInitiative (LCI) Concentrate investments Move the people closer to jobs and transit source: ARC LIC Implementation Plan 2011 Google confidential
- 66. Psycological Barriers toTransit Google confidential
- 67. Transportation and Identity Google confidential
- 68. How to getAtlantans out of their cars? Fabio Pozzato Luxury? Speed? Price? Work while you ride? Karma? source: พระมหาดร.คมสรณ์ คุตตธมฺโม Google confidential
- 69. Public Transit inRural Pakistan Google confidential
- 70. source: furbus.com Google confidential
- 71. Concerns of aSuburban Mom Hassle with Kids Crowds Privacy Fear Unfamiliar No control Strange People Strange Behavior source: unscientifc poll, sample size: 1, wikimedia commons Google confidential
- 72. Can an apphelp a Soccer Mom? Google confidential
- 73. OneBusAway Survey source: Dr.Kari Edison Watkins Google confidential
- 74. Behavioral Economics "Study ofthe effects of social, cognitive and emotional factors on the economic decisions of individuals and institutions and the consequences for market prices, returns and the resource allocation." - Wikipedia Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely Explores why people repeatedly make the same kinds of 'mistakes' that seem to defy logic. Why it helps to have a wingman Google confidential
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- 76. Possible Approaches Information Delivery Awareness/Advocacy Entertainment Habit Formation Resource Sharing Ease of Use Routing Target an Audience Planning Comfort Google confidential
- 77. Mobile with aMission How can modern convergent technology make public transit more attractive to a smart phone user? Real-time route information Android devices can be WiFi hot spot QR codes (buses, trains, bus stops) Smart routing of buses Payment Entertainment Feedback to transit operators Build networks, sense of community among users Google confidential
- 78. Finding a Niche Whatproblems do users have? current Transit users potential Transit users former Transit users Research them, ask them, study them. Caution! Behavior does not always match survey answers Surveys good indicator of user experience Users not so good at speculation, "What if?" scenarios. Google confidential
- 79. A-Train Trip Planner atltransit.org Citizensfor Progressive Transit Atlanta grassroots effort to make car-free commuting in Atlanta easier. Built with Google Maps in 2007 Transit directions are now integrated into maps.google. com source: Citizens for Public Transit Google confidential
- 80. Seattle Area's OneBusAway onebusaway.org Dr.Keri Watkins, CE Georgia Tech source: onebusaway.org Google confidential
- 81. Visualizing Policy clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/wonk Hot offthe press Uses Fusion Tables instead of KML source: Creative Loafing, ARC Google confidential
- 82. Harness the Powerof Commuter's Clicks apps.facebook.com/cowclicker Ian Bogost, LCC Georgia Tech We love to hate these kinds of social networking games, but... Easy adoption Casual gameplay Appeals to our compulsive nature Plus, the potential to go viral! source: www.bogost.vom Google confidential
- 83. Silly Idea? Googleconfidential
- 84. Ford didn't thinkso Ford Fusion Hybrid Dashboard source: ford.com Google confidential
- 85. Grassroots Solutions: Slugging slug-lines.com source:Wikimedia commons Google confidential
- 86. Empowering the TransitCommuter The Dump Line source: Wikimedia commons Google confidential
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- 88. Select Resources City ofAtlanta Website, entry on Wikipedia History of Atlanta, site compilation Citizens for Progressive Transit Atlanta Regional Commission website Traffic: Why we drive the way we do, Tom Vanderbilt The High Cost of Free Parking, Donald Shoup MARTA website, entry on Wikipedia Atlanta Bicycle Coalition Georgia DOT Google confidential
- 89. This presentation [email protected] Googleconfidential