The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a new report which reviews public transit availability, use and strategies from 31 large and 20 medium and small airports within the united States.
The report, entitled Accessing Airports: Available Public Transit Options and Efforts to Promote Their Use, highlights a number of number of aspects at play across a wealth of sites.
Highlighted findings of the report include:
- All but two of the airports reviewed had public transit service
- Public transit can help reduce airport road congestion
- At 12 airports with reports on passenger mode of transport, public transit use ranged from 4-19 percent
- At two large airports, 17-19 percent of surveyed airport and airline employees used public transit
- An estimated 4 percent of airport and airline employees nationwide used public transit to commute
Elsewhere, factors that have been found to influence transit decisions range from cost, travel time, familiarity with transit options; availability of elevators or accommodations for those with disabilities; and parking availability, transit benefits and timing for employees.
As a result, some airports have now begun to implement a number of transportation demand management (TDM) strategies, such as additional signage and advertisements for public transportation options; the exploration incentives, such as free rides or expedited security screenings; and new focus on employees, who may be more willing to shift to public transit.
The full report can be read on the GAO website, here.
