Getting Drivers to Switch: Transit Price and Service Quality among Commuters

Abstract

This manuscript examines employees’ participation in a free and discounted try-transit program called “Dump the Pump” (DtP) in Los Angeles, California. DtP offered eligible employee drivers a 12-week free transit pass and a discounted transit pass after the free trial as long as the employee drivers continued buying transit passes. By one-year after the program’s introduction, DtP attracted 33% more transit riders to the system. At the program’s zenith, 5% of the eligible drivers who lived within a half-mile from a direct transit line to their workplace had switched. Drivers were more likely to try the program under conditions in which (1) gas prices were relatively high and (2) the travel time difference between driving and transit was relatively low. After trying transit, participants remained on transit longer if they had no children, were unresponsive to lower gas prices, and had a bus schedule that matched their travel needs. The DtP experience indicates recruitment programs can attract drivers over the long-term, but those drivers who do stay with the program have more flexible commute schedules than drivers as a whole. These findings echo those of previous studies. Parents and other caregivers respond to service quality differences between transit and driving more than other commuters. Employers will need to consider that sensitivity when designing try-transit programs if they want drivers to stick with public transit.