Transportation Demand Management: Policy Implications of Recent Behavioral Research Symposium Summary

Public officials and professionals in transportation and research all agree that demand management is an essential part of the overall effort to address transportation congestion. While no one approach can carry the entire burden, if we don't succeed in motivating more people to participate in reducing the number of single occupancy vehicle trips, the quality of service in transportation will deteriorate severely, particularly in the rapidly growing regions of California. The overwhelming question for policymakers is how to "encourage" greater participation in demand reduction approaches. Fortunately there is a considerable body of research upon which to draw to assess several of these strategies. While additional research, based on evolving experience will be helpful, there already exists a substantial body of research directly related to this issue. The meeting of researchers and policymakers on October 12 and 13, 1989 conducted by the Public Policy Program of UCLA Extension at Lake Arrowhead provided the opportunity to share research and experiences in ways that enhance the utility of that research for policymaking. The results of that meeting coupled with the review of research literature prepared in advance by Professor Martin Wachs of the UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning provide a useful compilation of the current state of knowledge. This symposium summary provides a set of fairly clear-cut policy choices backed up with empirically based research and experience. This document contains a statement of key findings, a succinct summary of the strategies addressed in the presentations and the dialogue among the panelists and speakers, a description of areas where further research can help with future policy decisions and finally a brief evaluation of the symposium. The appendices contain the program outline for the symposium, a list of the participants, a list of sponsoring organizations and a copy of the literature review that was prepared in advance of the conference by Professor Martin Wachs.