SMART TRIPS: CENTRAL SOUTH AUSTIN Final Report 2017
b Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...2 WHAT IS SMART TRIPS AUSTIN?...5 The History of Smart Trips Austin... 6 2017 Project Team...7 WHAT DID SMART TRIPS: CENTRAL SOUTH AUSTIN DO?...9 Target Area Selection...10 Stakeholder Outreach and Information Gathering... 11 Materials Development...12 Hiring & Training...15 Spreading the Word...16 Marketing Strategy Plan... 17 Hosting Events...20 WHAT DID SMART TRIPS: CENTRAL SOUTH AUSTIN ACCOMPLISH?...27 Evaluation Methodology... 27 Results Summary...29 Mode Share and Shift and Frequency of Use of Transportation Options Results...30 Confidence, Awareness, and Familiarity...33 Program Feedback...36 Comparative Analysis of Respondent Demographics...38 WHAT LESSONS WERE LEARNED?... 43 WHAT DID PARTICIPANTS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE PROGRAM?... 45
2 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Executive Summary The goal of the Smart Trips Austin program is to encourage communities within Austin to use transportation options such as walking, biking, riding transit, and sharing rides, rather than driving alone. By bringing community members and partners together to participate in program events and learn about transportation options, the program also strengthens and builds community bonds. The program, which targets a new community in Austin each year, is jointly funded through the City of Austin and the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Capital Metro). The 2017 Smart Trips: Central South Austin program ran from October 2017 to January 2018 and reached 12,349 households in the neighborhoods of Zilker, Bouldin Creek, and Travis Heights. The program accomplished the following outreach activities: Reached 12,349 households via direct mail. Encouraged 1,005 residents to participate in the program by ordering custom Toolkits full of transportation information and tools which were hand-delivered to them. This equates to an 8.1% participation rate. Earned over 36,000 social media impressions on posts regarding program announcements, transportation tips and information, and motivational messages. Hosted 22 walks, bike rides, and transit adventures and tabled at 25 community events. Interacted with 1,230 people at events and spoke with them about about the program and transportation options. To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, the project team administered pre-program and post-program surveys to program participants and conducted a panel analysis of respondents who took both surveys. This analysis allowed the project team to compare the pre- and post-program results across the same respondents. The panel analysis and post-program survey results revealed the following key findings: Drive-alone mode share decreased 3.7 percentage points, with a corresponding increase of 9.1 percentage points in carpooling mode share, 1.3 percentage points in bus or train mode share, and 0.2 percentage points in other mode share. Bicycling and walking mode share decreased by 3.2 and 3.7 percentage points respectively. This finding supports the conclusion that the program succeeded in its goals of decreasing drive-alone mode share. Post-program panel respondents reported making an average of 1.4 fewer drivealone trips per week after the program. If the project team extrapolates this reduction to make the broad assumption that program participants reduce their drive-alone trips by an average of 73 trips per year, then a single Smart Trips program of 12,349 households with an 8.1% participant rate could see a reduction of approximately 73,000 vehicle trips a year.
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 3 19 % 17 % Drive-alone mode share decreased 3.7 percentage points. 3 in 4 1 in 3 The percentage of respondents using transit three days prior to taking the survey increased 2 percentage points. Survey respondents feel more aware of transportation options in Austin because of the program. Respondents made an average of 1.4 fewer drive-alone trips per week after the program. Survey respondents reported increasing their use of transportation options because of the program. When asked which transportation options they used in the three days prior to taking the survey, post-program panel survey respondents reported a 5% decrease in driving alone, a 7% increase in carpooling, and a 2% increase in riding the bus or train and carsharing. Over three in four post-program survey respondents (76%) reported feeling more aware of transportation options in Austin because of the program. One in three post-program survey respondents (33%) reported increasing their use of walking, biking, and taking public transit because of the program. The majority of post-program survey respondents (81%) reported that the Toolkit they received was helpful to them. Almost one in two post-program panel survey respondents (49%) reported being familiar with streets in their neighborhood that offer comfortable routes to bike on. This was a 6% increase from the preprogram survey. Over three in four post-program survey respondents (77%) reported thinking there is value for Austin residents in continuing programs like Smart Trips Austin. The majority of post-program survey respondents (84%) reported finding the Walk, Bike, & Ride Map useful.
4 Smart Trips Austin Final Report 2017 I feel like I now have better resources to share with friends and family so we can use public transportation options together. -Smart Trips participant
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 5 What is Smart Trips Austin? Smart Trips Austin is a behavior change program that encourages communities within Austin to use transportation options, such as walking, biking, riding transit, and sharing rides, rather than driving alone. The program, which targets a new community in Austin each year, is jointly funded through the City of Austin and the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Capital Metro). The 2017 Smart Trips: Central South Austin program ran from October 2017 to January 2018 and reached over 12,349 households in the neighborhoods of Zilker, Bouldin Creek, and Travis Heights. The goals of Smart Trips Austin are as follows: Build participants awareness of and confidence in using transportation options. Decrease participants drive-alone trips by 5%-10% and increase the use of transportation options by 5-10%. Just talking about using better options (than driving [by] myself), with another person, helped me to commit to do so at least 2 days/weekly. -Smart Trips participant The program aims to achieve these goals by: Providing Information: Participants have the opportunity to order transportation information and tools like maps and schedules that appeal to them in the form of a Toolkit. This Toolkit is hand-delivered to the participant s doorstep by program outreach ambassadors who offer in-person transportation support to the participant at the time of delivery. Hosting Events: Participants and the larger community attend program events that offer an opportunity to try using transportation options in a positive and low-stress environment. Events include group walking tours, themed bike rides, and transit adventures to local events. Communicating the Benefits: Participants receive communications that convey the benefits of using transportation options, like saving money and avoiding traffic, through e-newsletters, social media, collateral, and in-person conversations with ambassadors. Messaging around benefits are tailored to each community based on insights obtained during stakeholder outreach before the program.
6 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report The History of Smart Trips Austin As Figure 1 shows, the 2017 Smart Trips: Central South Austin program was preceded by the Smart Trips: North Austin and Smart Trips: Central Austin programs, the final reports for which can be found at SmartTripsAustin.org/past-programs. The 2018 program will be hosted in Central East Austin. Figure 1: Smart Trips Austin Programs by Year Smart Trips: Smart Trips: Smart Trips: Smart Trips: NORTH AUSTIN CENTRAL AUSTIN CENTRAL SOUTH EASTSIDE 2015 2016 2017 2018
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 7 2017 Project Team The Smart Trips: Central South Austin program was the joint effort of multiple agencies, organizations, and consultants, including the following: Austin Transportation Department: Tien-Tien Chan, TDM Program Manager, Systems Development Division Capital Metro: Lonny Stern, Coordinator of Special Projects Alta Planning + Design: Cathy Cibor, Senior Programs Associate; Hannah Mullin, Senior Programs Specialist Bike Austin: Mercedes Feris, Executive Director (former); Carson Chavana, Organizing Director (former) Cultural Strategies: Juan Tornoe, CMO ATX Walks: Katie Deolloz, Owner Smart Trips Austin Community Outreach Ambassadors: Jolene Holland, Jorge Dewey, and Myles Moore Figure 2: Ambassadors, from left to right, Jolene Holland, Jorge Dewey, and Myles Moore
8 Smart Trips Austin Final Report 2017 Smart Trips Austin was the motivation for me to cycle more and also learn more about bus routes. All of the team did a great job! -Smart Trips participant
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 9 What Did Smart Trips: Central South Austin Do? The following section summarizes what the Smart Trips: Central South Austin program accomplished during the planning and implementation stages shown in the timeline in Table 1. More program details can be found in the Community Outreach and Marketing Approach in Appendix A. Table 1: Program Timeline June July August September October November December January Target Area Selection Stakeholder Outreach Materials Development Hiring & Training Spreading the word Hitting the Streets Hosting Events
10 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Target Area Selection In order to be successful, Smart Trips Austin target areas need to have transit access, bicycle routes, shared mobility services, and destinations that are accessible by foot. The project team evaluated several geographic focus areas using these criteria and selected the neighborhoods of Zilker, Bouldin Creek, and Travis Heights, seen in Figure 3. This area (south of Lady Bird / Town Lake, west of I-35, east of Rabb Road, and north of Oltorf Street) is served by several bus routes, including MetroRapid routes 801 and 803, has several high comfort bicycle routes, and has many walkable destinations. In addition, this program supports the City of Austin s Big Jump initiative (http://austintexas.gov/ bigjump) to double bicycle ridership in three years in Central Austin and thus the Smart Trips neighborhood falls within the Big Jump boundaries. Figure 3: Smart Trips: Central South Austin Target Area 1 SEAHOLM DISTRICT RABB RD Zilker LAMAR BLVD BOULDIN 1ST ST RIVERSIDE DR CONGRESS AVE OLTORF ST TRAVIS HEIGHTS 35 SOUTH LAMAR DAWSON SOUTH CONGRESS
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 11 Stakeholder Outreach & Information Gathering Prior to the program, the project team met with stakeholders to learn about the target area. The findings from these meetings are summarized below. The project team used these findings to inform the key messages that the program highlighted in communications and during outreach. STAKEHOLDERS Michael Portman Birds Barbershop Jeremy Nguyen Birds Barbershop Dean Adams South First IBIZ District Cory Walton Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Association Gretchen Otto - South River City Citizens Neighborhood Association Jeff Kessel - South River City Citizens Neighborhood Association Mike Kelly - South River City Citizens Neighborhood Association Hill Abell Bicycle Sport Shop Lorraine Atherton Zilker Neighborhood Association Jeff Jack Zilker Neighborhood Association Matt Parkerson South Congress Improvement Association Bob Sessa Bouldin Creek Neighbor KEY TAKEAWAYS These are proud, eclectic, and progressive neighborhoods, yet due to gentrification are transforming demographically into upper middle-class and increasingly white. There is inadequate parking signage, not enough parking spaces for businesses, and commercial overflow parking is moving into neighborhood streets and interfering with residential parking. These issues make it feel more dangerous to walk on streets without a sidewalk and to bike on streets, which are made narrower due to the number of cars parked there. Increased traffic is a common concern across the board, not only the number of cars, but also people driving above the speed limit. Residents walk and bike more than average Austinites due to the proximity to businesses and things to do. At the same time, most people own a car and use it either for longer trips or to save time. Some area residents appeared to have limited knowledge of transit service in the target area. While there are four highfrequency (<15 min) and six mid-frequency (>20 min) routes, residents reported that many bus routes in parts of the target area have low frequency and that there are limited east-west options. Some residents also have limited experience using local bus service. Terrain differences between neighborhoods should be taken into consideration for events and promotion; as an example, Travis Heights is hillier than the other two and could represent a challenge for some people when it comes to biking.
12 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Materials Development The project team developed the following set of custom evaluation and marketing materials, which can be seen in Appendix B. Based on the demographics of the target area, the project team did not translate materials into other languages. However, the project team hired a program Outreach Ambassador who was a native Spanish speaker for conducting outreach. Samples of the custom materials are shown in Figure 4. Early Bird Postcard: This postcard invited residents to fill out an online version of the order form and participant survey mailer before the official launch of the program. Order Form and Participant Survey Mailer & Post-Program Survey: The project team developed and mailed an order form and participant survey mailer to all target area households. This mailer invited residents to fill out the survey and order their custom Toolkit. When the program ended, the project team emailed participants a postprogram survey in SurveyMonkey. The project team mailed a paper version of the post-program survey to residents who did not provide an email. Website and Online Order Form and Survey: The project team posted resources and program updates on the SmartTripsAustin.org website. The website also featured an online version of the preprogram survey and order form. Walk, Bike, & Ride Map: This map included bus and bike routes and popular destinations in and around the Central South target area. The map also included three separate exploration maps which highlighted bicycling, walking, and bus routes to get to specific destinations in each of the three neighborhoods. The Ambassadors included this map in each Toolkit and distributed them at events. Welcome Letter: This letter welcomed participants to the program and explained the purpose of the program. The ambassadors included the welcome letter in each Toolkit. Tote Bag and Bag Tag: The ambassadors packed the information and tools that participants ordered in a reusable, branded tote bag and attached a bag tag with the participants name and address for delivery. The tote bag also helped promote the program to others and served as a reminder to participants about their Toolkit and interest in transportation options. Battery Charger, Water Bottle, & Lights: Along with transportation information, participants could order either a portable battery charger or a water bottle. Participants could also order a set of red and white safety lights. The project team used these tools to incentivize residents to engage with the program and to support residents in using transportation options. Reminder Postcard: Midway through the program, the project team mailed a reminder postcard to all target area residents. The postcard let residents know that the program was ending soon and made a final push for residents to order their Toolkit. Yard Signs, Posters, Business Cards, and Banner: The ambassadors distributed program yard signs, posters, and
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 13 business cards to promote the program and upcoming program events. The ambassadors also hung up a program banner at tabling events to attract event attendees to their booth. These additional items were offered as part of the Toolkit: Walk Smart Brochure Capital Metro App Brochure Bus Route Maps (for routes 5, 7, 10, 20, 331, 801, and 803) MetroRideShare: Share the Ride Brochure My TX Ride Brochure Commute Solutions Brochure Carshare and Ride-Hailing Resources Figure 4: Smart Trips: Central South Austin Toolkit Items, Order Form, and Participant Survey Mailer Free Austin B-Cycle Day Pass City of Austin Bike Map Smart Cycling Quick Guide Items that participants ordered as part of their custom Toolkit, and the popularity of each item, are shown in Figure 5. It should be noted that the Carshare and Ride-Hailing resources, of which 39% of participants ordered, included discount codes for Austin B-Cycle and Car2Go. Vendor data from Austin B-cycle shows that 19 participants applied the program-specific code to check out a bike. Similarly, vendor data from Lyft shows that 14 participants applied a promo code to use Car2Go and four participants applied a promo code to use Lyft.
14 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Figure 5: Percent of Information and Tools Ordered by Participants (N=1,005) Walk, Bike, and Ride Community Map City of Austin Bike Map Safety Lights Free Austin B-Cycle Day Pass Portable Phone Charger Capital Metro System Map Smart Cycling Quick Guide CapMetro App Brochure Carshare and Ride-Hailing Resources Walk Smart Brochure Bus Info: 801 North Lamar/South Congress Bus Info: 803 Burnet/South Lamar Water Bottle (BPA Free) Bus Info: 10 South 1st/Red River Bus Info: 331 Oltorf Commute Solutions Bus Info: 5 Woodrow/South 5th MetroRideShare: Share the Ride Brochure My TX Ride Bus Info: 20 Manor Rd/Riverside Bus Info: 7 Duval/Dove Springs 23 % 21 % 20 % 16 % 13 % 37 % 34 % 34 % 27 % 27 % 25 % 42 % 55 % 39 % 37 % 62 % 56 % 76 % 99 % 72 % 68 %
Smart Trips Austin Final Report 15 Hiring & Training The project team hired three Outreach Ambassadors who were essential to the success of the Smart Trips: Central South Austin program. Prior to the launch of the program, the ambassadors participated in a variety of community outreach and safety trainings including: Motivational Interviewing1, Story of Self 2, Transit Adventures3, and City Cycling4. The ambassadors also received a general program training and a Smart Trips Outreach Ambassador Manual which outlined tasks and protocols (Appendix C). The Outreach Ambassadors were responsible for the following activities: Program Promotion and Communications: Developing communications content and scheduling social media posts and e-newsletters. Creating content for 1 promotional materials, such as event flyers and program posters. Community Outreach: Corresponding with community partners, including local businesses, schools, multifamily buildings, neighborhood associations, and community organizations to plan events and increase participation in the program. Planning and hosting community events like walks, bike rides, and transit adventures and providing outreach at existing community events. Toolkit Fulfillment and Delivery: Managing data entry, packing, and delivering Toolkits to participants. Supporting event logistics by preparing supplies and pre-packing Toolkits for on-site fulfillment at events. The Motivational Interviewing (MI) training supported the ambassadors in using this dialogue-based coaching that can be used to assess readiness for behavior change and support people in making incremental changes. 2 The Story of Self Training highlighted the importance of, and suggested a way to, relate personal transportation challenges to the program goals. 3 The Transit Adventures training showed the ambassadors how to lead a Capital Metro Transit Adventure event and the best practices for riding transit. 4 The City Cycling training provided the ambassadors with bike-safety education
16 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Spreading the Word The project team used a variety of communication platforms to spread the word about the Smart Trips: Central South Austin program. Figure 6 shows how postprogram survey respondents heard about the program. Mail was the most effective outreach method (53%), which is consistent with past Smart Trips Austin programs. Over one in three (39%) respondents heard about the program through an online media channel, such as an email newsletter, Facebook, NextDoor, blogs, or websites. Almost one in three post-program survey respondents heard about the program through person-to-person outreach, including word of mouth and community events. Other ways respondents heard about the program include the Austin EcoNetwork, Austin Energy News, and workplaces. The following sections discuss program communications in more depth. Figure 6: How Respondents Heard About the Program (N=232) As reported in the post-program survey 60% 50% 53 % 40% 30% 20% 17 % 14 % 9 % 8 % 7 % 6 % 6 % 3 % 3 % 10% 0% Mail Community Activity Word of Mouth Facebook Smart Trips Austin e-newsletter Other NextDoor Other blog or website CapMetro e-newsletter Smart Trips Austin website 2 % 2 % 1 % Twitter Instagram Yard sign or poster
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 17 MARKETING STRATEGY PLAN To coordinate communications and marketing efforts, the ambassadors developed a Marketing Strategy Plan which included a social media and events calendar (Appendix D). The project team used the Marketing Strategy Plan to schedule content for all communication platforms, including e-newsletters, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. MAIL Similar to results from past Smart Trips Austin programs, mail is the primary way participants heard about the program. In addition to mailing the order form and participant survey mailer, the project team mailed an early-bird postcard. This postcard directed residents to fill out an online version of the order form and participant survey mailer before the official launch of the program. This strategy decreased the initial time the ambassadors spent entering data from the paper order form and participant survey mailer, which the project team mailed a few weeks later. My wife drives to school even though we re less than 3 miles to UT because she s in ROTC and has to wear a uniform. She isn t much for biking but I hung the bike route map on a wall and after the first weekend, she not only found a new route for a weekend adventure but rode one day to school! -Smart Trips participant E-NEWSLETTERS The ambassadors sent e-newsletters periodically throughout the program using the MailChimp email platform. The ambassadors sent a total of 22 total newsletters from October 28, 2017, to January 25, 2018. Newsletters included information concerning Toolkit delivery status, Smart Trips events information, invitations to receive trip planning support, blog posts, and tips and information for biking, walking, and taking transit in Austin. Links to the Smart Trips website, the Toolkit order form, upcoming events, and all social media platforms were included in every newsletter. The main list used for e-newsletter communication was the Central South Participant List. The Ambassadors imported participant email addresses into this list before every newsletter was sent out. This list gained 699 net subscribers by January 25, 2018. It maintains an open rate of 35.1% and a click-through rate of 5.3%, both of which are above the industry average for community initiatives. The project team observed that between the 2016 and 2017 programs, there was a 6% increase in respondents hearing about the program by word of mouth (Figure 6 shows the 2017 result). The project team speculates that this was, in part, due to the ambassadors encouraging participants in the e-newsletters to tell their neighbors, friends, and family about the program.
18 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Figure 7: Smart Trips Austin Facebook Post and Tweet SOCIAL MEDIA The Smart Trips: Central South Austin program relied heavily on Facebook to promote the program and program events. The project team utilized the Facebook event platform in addition to the Eventbrite platform; each Facebook event was linked to a corresponding Eventbrite listing. Facebook posts featuring event information were scheduled on the marketing calendar and posted one week prior, 72 hours prior, 24 hours prior, and the day of each event. The project team also promoted the program and events through NextDoor, Twitter, and Instagram. The reach of these platforms is below: Facebook: During the program, the Smart Trips Austin Facebook page gained 153 followers for a total of 448 followers. The page reached 14,190 people through ads and posts. Twitter: During the program, the @SmartTripsATX page gained 26 new followers for a total of 135 followers. The page reached over 22,000 people. It should be noted that, while the reach on Twitter was higher than Facebook and Instagram, the percentage of participants who heard about the program through Facebook was larger than Twitter and Instagram. Instagram: Over the course of the program, the page (which was started during the program) gained 41 followers and received a total of 171 Likes on photos.
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 19 EARNED MEDIA Partner organizations such as the SRCC Neighborhood Association, Capital Metro, ATX Walks, the City of Austin Transportation Department and individuals shared Smart Trips events and Toolkit sign-up information throughout the program across multiple platforms. The most effective approach was to reach out to partners organizations with pre-written content that they could post. In addition, the ambassadors tagged partners in social media posts to garner more engagement and audience reach. Two local news sources featured stories about the Smart Trips: Central South Austin program. Links to the articles are provided below and in Appendix X: Smart Trips encouraging south Austinites to get around without cars, www.kxan.com/ news/local/austin/smart-trips-encouragingsouth-austinites-to-get-around-withoutcars/1031418952 New to Austin s Public Transit System? A Cap Metro Employee will ride the bus with you, www.austinmonitor.com/ stories/2017/11/new-austins-public-transitsystem-cap-metro-employee-will-ride-bus I received help in mapping out a bike route from a Smart Trips advisor! She was so helpful and gave me detailed instructions on a route I could take that was safer than the way I had been going before. Thanks so much! -Smart Trips participant Smart Trips made a great first impression on me by the positive attitude attendant in the Bouldin Creek area tent, despite it being a rainy wet day. -Smart Trips participant Smart Trips Austin was the motivation for me to cycle more and also learn more about bus routes. All of the Team did a great job! Jorge and Myles were outstanding representatives. -Smart Trips participant
20 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Hitting the Streets During the Smart Trips: Central South Austin program, the ambassadors delivered 1,005 Toolkits to households. The ambassadors delivered the Toolkits to households by foot and bike to reinforce the message that walking and biking are feasible options and to raise the visibility of the program. During deliveries, the ambassadors had one-onone conversations with participants in which they discussed the participants interests and concerns related to transportation options. The ambassadors followed up with approximately 100 participants during the program to offer additional support after delivering Toolkits. Figure 8: The Ambassadors Packed and Delivered 1,005 Toolkits to Households Figure 9: The First Toolkits Packed and Ready for Delivery by Bike
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 21 Hosting Events The project team hosted or participated in 47 community events, reaching 1,230 people. Of these events, the project team hosted 22 custom community events, including walks, bike rides, and transit adventures, and tabled at 25 existing community outreach events. The purpose of the custom community events was to provide participants with an opportunity to try walking, biking, or riding transit in a positive, low-stress environment. A secondary goal was to communicate that using transportation options is a community norm. The purpose of tabling at existing community outreach events was to encourage event attendees to sign up for a Toolkit, to fulfill Toolkit orders on-site, and to answer attendees questions about transportation options. The following sections provide more detail on the custom community events and community outreach events. The project team hosted or participated in 47 COMMUNITY EVENTS reaching 1,230 PEOPLE
22 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report CUSTOM COMMUNITY EVENTS Bike Rides The ambassadors, with the support of Bike Austin, planned the seven group bike rides seen in Table 2. The rides were designed to showcase comfortable and safe bike routes, help participants learn bike safety skills, and build confidence around biking in Austin. Table 2: Bike Rides Event Name Event Date Location Destination Bike to the Books! Central Library Grand Opening B-cycle to the East Austin Studio Tour Thanksgiving Farmers Market Ride October 28, 2017 November 11, 2017 November 18, 2017 Caffe Medici at Lamar Union B-cycle station at the Long Center Twin Oaks Library Branch Bike d Lights December 21, 2017 Mañana Coffee at South Congress Hotel Ramen Ride January 14, 2018 Mañana Coffee at South Congress Hotel Bike Shop Tour January 21, 2018 Seventh Flag Coffee Number of Attendees Austin Central Library 3 Community Breakfast at 1300 East 5th Street SFC Downtown Farmers Market Trail of Lights in Zilker Park 1 3 22 Ramen Tatsu-Ya 12 Tsunami Cycles, Bicycle Sport Shop, and Mellow Johnny s 3
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 23 Figure 10: Program Bike Rides Table 2: Bike Rides
24 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Transit Adventures With the support of the ambassadors, Capital Metro planned nine Transit Adventures as part of the ongoing Capital Metro Transit Adventure program. These events allowed participants to practice boarding, loading bicycles onto the bus bike racks, and making transfers, and learn about Capital Metro s app (which includes ticket purchasing and real-time arrival information). Table 3: Transit Adventures Event Name Event Date Location Destination ALL ATX: Back to the Armadillo East Austin Studio Tour Weekend 1 East Austin Studio Tour Weekend 2 Holiday Sing Along & Tree Lighting Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History Elf Screening at the Paramount SFC Downtown Farmers Market UT Men s Basketball Game October 29, 2017 Oltorf Station Auditorium Shores 14 November 11, 27017 St. Edwards Soma Vida, Calles Hall, Canopy November 18, 2017 Oltorf West Station (NB) East Side (multiple stops) December 2, 2017 Maria s Tacos Xpress The Capitol 15 December 2, 2017 SoCo Station (NB) The Bob Bullock Texas History Museum December 5, 2017 Hey Cupcake! Paramount Theater 12 December 9, 2017 Once Over Coffee Bar SFC Downtown Farmers Market December 16, 2017 Thom s Market on E Riverside Number of Attendees 16 5 3 3 Frank Erwin Center 9 FOTOATX 2018 January 13, 2017 Patika Dougherty Arts Center, Austin Central Library 11
Figure 11: Program Transit Adventures Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 25
26 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Walks With staffing support from the ambassadors, Katie Deolloz of ATX Walks planned six group walks. The walks showed participants safe and comfortable routes to access neighborhood destinations like parks and businesses. Table 4: Walks Event Name Event Date Location Destination Bouldin Creek Tour October 29, 2017 Ricky Guerrero Park Tour 5 Blunn Creek Tour November 5, 2017 TOMS SoCo Tour 5 Zilker Tour November 12, 2017 Alamo Drafthouse Tour 5 Blunn Creek Walk to the Little Stacy Park BBQ Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Tour Tour to the Polar Bear Splash November 19, 2017 South Austin Island Little Stacy Park 8 December 9, 2017 Prima Dora Farmers Market via Once Over January 1, 2018 Picnik Food Trailer Barton Springs Pool (and back) Number of Attendees 3 1
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 27 Figure 12: Program Walking Tours
28 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Existing Community Outreach Events The ambassadors provided outreach while tabling at the following community outreach events and locations: Schools Travis Heights Elementary Carnival Becker Fall Fest Travis Heights Elementary Cultural Festival Transit High School Neighborhood Associations Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Association Block Party SRCC Neighborhood Association Meeting SRCC Code Next Meeting with Mayor Steve Adler Zilker Neighborhood Association Meeting Local Businesses SoCo Merchants Association Meeting Herb Bar s Saturday Nature Talks (October 21) Herb Bar s Saturday Nature Talks (October 28) All Ride! Global Transit Fair for Whole Foods Market Employees Community Events & Tabling Locations Arbor Day Celebration The Hidden Gems of 78704 Bike Ride Travis Heights Art Trail (stop #4) Travis Heights Art Trail (stop #19) Umlauf Family Day Winter Book Sale at Twin Oaks Library Less is More Talk at Twin Oaks Library General Tabling at Twin Oaks Library Residential Buildings Halloween Social at the Willows Apartments The Water Marq (December 2) The Water Marq (January 13) Wine Down Wednesday at The Catherine Townhollow Apartments Cole Apartments This worked out great for me because my office is moving and I was able (through Smart Trips Austin) to find an Express Bus Line from my apartment to my new office! Can t wait to reduce my drive time! -Smart Trips participant
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 29 Figure 13: Existing Community Outreach Events
30 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report It was nice exploring the neighborhoods and discovering new routes that actually encouraged me to go biking more often! -Smart Trips participant
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 31 What did Smart Trips: Central South Austin Accomplish? In addition to the program s outputs, such as participation and event attendance, the impact of the 2017 Smart Trips: Central South Austin program was measured by a preand post-program survey of participants, which was administered by the project team. The survey analysis provides insights on changes in participants transportation behavior; awareness of and confidence in using transportation options; feedback on the program; motivators for participation; and demographics. Evaluation Methodology The project team administered pre- and post-program surveys to participants. The pre-program survey was incorporated into the paper and online versions of the order form. Participants submitted their order form and survey responses on an ongoing basis from September 21, 2017 to January 30, 2018. After completing all toolkit deliveries and program activities, the project team emailed the post-program survey to 757 participants on February 15, 2017. The project team mailed the survey to 193 participants who did not provide an email address. To increase the response rate, the project team offered a $10 Amy s Ice Creams gift card to the first 100 respondents who completed the postprogram survey. The post-program survey saw a 27% response rate. Return postage for both surveys was pre-paid by the City of Austin. Table 5 below summarizes the survey response. Table 5: Survey Response Summary Distribution Dates Pre-Program Survey September 21, 2017 to January 30, 2018 Number of Completed Surveys 1,000 6 257 7 (27%) Post-Program Survey February 15, 2018 to March 7, 2018 / June 12, 2018 June 25, 2018 5 5 The project team collected the data reported in this Final Report through the post-program survey sent in February with the exception of the data represented in figures 14, 15, and 16. The data for those figures was collected through a later survey send in June. See Evaluation in the Lessons Learned section for more information. 6 Note: 1,005 order forms were completed, but five participants did not fill out the survey section 7 Only 950 participants received the post-program survey due to missing addresses and invalid addresses.
32 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report MODE SHIFT METHODOLOGY To measure mode share and mode shift over the course of the program, the pre- and postprogram surveys asked respondents to tally all trips they made the previous day by driving alone, carpooling, transit, bicycling, walking, and other modes. Mode share is calculated as the percentage of total trips made by a specific mode. If a higher percentage of trips is made by a certain mode in the post-program survey, then mode shift has occurred. For example, if 3% of trips in the pre-program survey were made by bicycle that is a 3% bicycle mode share. If, subsequently, 6% of trips in the post-program survey were made by bicycle, then an absolute mode shift of 3 percentage points has occurred. The project team conducted a panel analysis of respondents who took both the pre- and post-program surveys. This analysis allowed the project team to compare the pre- and post-program results across the same respondents. The project team conducted this analysis by matching respondents between the two surveys based on identifying information such as name and email. The number of panel responses for each question vary and are listed above each chart.
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 33 Results Summary Over the course of the program, participants reported changes in their transportation behavior, confidence, and awareness as demonstrated in the following key findings from the survey results: Drive-alone mode share decreased 3.7 percentage points, with a corresponding increase of 9.1 percentage points in carpooling mode share, 1.3 percentage points in bus or train mode share, and 0.2 percentage points in other mode share. Bicycling and walking mode share decreased by 3.2% and 3.7%, respectively. The decrease in bicycling and walking mode share may have been influenced by the hot temperatures during the follow-up survey. Post-program panel respondents reported making an average of 1.4 fewer drivealone trips per week after the program. If the project team extrapolates this reduction to make the broad assumption that program participants reduce their drive-alone trips by an average of 73 trips per year, then a single Smart Trips program of 12,349 households with an 8.1% participant rate, could see a reduction of almost 73,000 vehicle trips a year. When asked which transportation options they used in the three days prior to taking the survey, post-program panel survey respondents reported a 5% decrease in driving alone, a 7% increase in carpooling, and a 2% increase in riding the bus or train and carsharing. Respondents usage of bicycling, walking, bike-sharing, and ride-hailing remained the same between the pre- and post-program surveys. When asked how confident they are using transportation options, on a scale of 1-5 (1= not at all confident and 5=very confident), post-program survey respondents reported an average score of 3.5, while pre-program survey respondents reported an average score of 3.4, demonstrating an increase of 0.1 points. Participants also reported these additional positive results about the impact of the program: One in three post-program survey respondents (33%) reported increasing their use of transportation options because of the program. Over three in four post-program survey respondents (76%) reported feeling more aware of transportation options in Austin because of the program. The majority of post-program survey respondents (84%) reported finding the Walk, Bike, & Ride Map useful. The majority of post-program survey respondents (81%) reported that the Toolkit they received was helpful to them. Almost one in two post-program panel respondents (49%) reported being familiar with streets in their neighborhood that offer comfortable routes to bike on. This was a 6% increase from the pre-program survey. Over three in four post-program survey respondents (77%) reported thinking there is value for Austin residents in continuing programs like Smart Trips Austin.
34 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Mode Share and Shift and Frequency of Use of Transportation Options Results The pre- and post-program survey asked respondents to report the number of separate one-way trips they took by driving alone, riding the bus/train, bicycling, carpooling, walking, and other in the day prior to taking the survey. Figure 14 shows the share of trips respondents made in both the pre- and post-program surveys. As the subsequent mode shift chart (Figure 15) shows, drive-alone mode share decreased 3.7 percentage points, with a corresponding increase of 9.1 percentage points, in carpooling mode share, 1.3 percentage points, in bus or train mode share, and 0.2 percentage points, in other mode share. Bicycling and walking mode share decreased by 3.2 and 3.7 percentage points, respectively. These findings support the conclusion that the program succeeded in its goals of decreasing drive-alone mode share. Additionally, the project team found that postprogram panel respondents reported making an average of 1.4 fewer drive-alone trips per week after the program. If the project team extrapolates this reduction to make the broad assumption that program participants reduce their drive-alone trips by an average of 73 trips per year, then a single Smart Trips program of 12,349 households with an 8.1% participant rate could see a reduction of almost 73,000 vehicle trips a year.
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 35 Figure 14: Mode Share As reported in the pre- and post-program panel analysis of 145 respondents. 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 47 % 44 % 23 % 25 % 22 % 14 % 9 % 3 % 4 % 6 % 2 % 2 % Driving Alone Carpooling Bus/Train Other Bicycling Walking Pre-program survey (N=649 Trips) Post-program survey (N=640 Trips) Figure 15: Mode Shift As reported in the pre- and post-program panel analysis of 145 respondents. 10.0% 9.1 % Carpooling 8.0% 6.0% 4.0% 2.0% 0.0% -2.0% 1.3 % Bus/Train 0.2 % Other -4.0% -6.0% Driving Alone Bicycling -3.2 % Walking -3.7 % -3.7 %
36 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Figure 16: Percent of Respondents Using Modes Over Previous Three Days As reported in the pre- and post-program panel analysis of 145 pre- and post-program survey respondents in response to the question, In the past three days (do not include today), which of the following transportation options did you use? (Select all that apply.) 90% 83 % 78 % 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Driving Alone 31 % 31 % 32 %39% 17 % 19 % 6 % 8 % Bus/Train Bicycling Car-sharing Carpooling Walking 74 % 74 % 22 % 22 % 2 % 2 % Bike-sharing Ride-hailing Pre-program survey (N=145 Respondents) Post-program survey (N=145 Respondents) Figure 16 further supports these results: when asked which transportation options they used in the three days prior to taking the survey, post-program panel survey respondents reported a 5% decrease in driving alone, a 7% increase in carpooling, and a 2% increase in riding the bus or train and carsharing. Respondents usage of bicycling, walking, bike-sharing, and ridehailing remained the same between the preand post-program surveys. To supplement the mode shift results, the post-program survey also asked participants if they use transportation options more often now because of the program. One in three respondents (33%, N=224) agreed with this statement, demonstrating the program s effectiveness in encouraging participants to use transportation options. This was 3% higher than the 2016 participant results.
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 37 Confidence, Awareness, and Familiarity The post-program survey included questions to gauge respondents awareness of, familiarity with, and confidence in using transportation options as a result of participating in the program. Both pre- and post-program surveys asked respondents to rate their confidence using different transportation options on a scale of one to five (five being very confident and one being not at all confident). As seen in Figure 17 below, panel respondents reported greater average confidence ratings using all transportation options after the program. As Figure 18 on the next page shows, over three in four post-program survey respondents (76%) reported feeling more aware of transportation options in Austin because of the program. In support of this finding, the majority of post-program survey respondents (84%) reported finding the Walk, Bike, & Ride Map to be useful. The majority of post-program survey respondents (81%) also reported that the Toolkit they received was helpful to them. The project team suspects that the personal delivery of the Toolkits and one-on-one interactions played an important role in helping respondents feel more aware of and confident using transportation options. Over one in two post-program survey respondents (54%) reported feeling more connected to their community because of the program. The project team attributes this increased feeling of community connection to the program events and neighborhoodspecific materials, such as the Walk, Bike, & Ride map, which highlighted local destinations and how to get there. Figure 17: Confidence Using Modes As reported in the pre- and post-program panel analysis of 179 pre- and postprogram survey respondents in response to the question, How confident are you using the following transportation options? Pre-program survey (N=179 Respondents) Post-program survey (N=179 Respondents) Average Confidence Rating 3.03.1 4.5 4.6 3.8 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.9 4.0 2.8 2.9 2.72.9 Bus Walking Bicycling Carpooling Ride-hailing Car-sharing Bike-sharing
38 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Figure 18: Program Impact and Opinions As reported in the post-program survey in response to the question, Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements. Agree Neutral Disagree I feel more aware of transportation options in Austin because of the program. (N=229) I found the community map with neighborhood bus, bike, and walking routes useful. (N=228) 7 % 3 % 13 18 % % 76 % 84 % The customized toolkit I received, filled with Austin transportation information, was helpful to me. 14 % (N=225) 4 % 10 % I feel more connected to my community because of the program. (N=219) 81 % 36 % 54 %
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 39 Figure 19: Percent of Respondents Familiar With Neighborhood Bike Routes As reported in the pre- and post-program panel analysis of 174 pre- and postprogram survey respondents in response to the question, How familiar are you with streets in your neighborhood that offer comfortable routes for you to travel by bike? (Select all that apply.) 60% 50% 40% 49 % 43 % 37 % 40 % 30% 20% 10% 20 % 11 % 0% Very familiar Somewhat familiar Not at all familiar Pre-program survey (N=174 Respondents) Post-program survey (N=174 Respondents) Nearly one in two of post-program panel respondents (49%) reported being familiar with streets in their neighborhood that offer comfortable routes to bike on. This was 6% higher than the pre-program survey. In addition, the percentage of respondents who reported feeling somewhat familiar increased 3% and the percentage of respondents who reported feeling not at all familiar decreased 9%. of post-program survey respondents REPORTED FEELING MORE AWARE OF TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS IN AUSTIN
40 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Program Feedback Figure 21: Participants on a Walking Tour of Bouldin Creek VALUE OF PROGRAM In order to understand whether the Smart Trips: Central South Austin program was helpful and useful to participants, the postprogram survey included questions to gather feedback. Over three in four post-program survey respondents (77%) reported thinking there is value for Austin residents in continuing programs like Smart Trips Austin. Figure 20: Respondents Who Would Find Value in Continuing Smart Trips Austin Program As reported by 219 post-program survey respondents in response to the question, Do you think there is value for Austin residents in continuing programs like Smart Trips Austin? 21 % Maybe Figure 22: Participants Heading Out for the Ramen Ride 2 % No 77 % Yes
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 41 REASONS FOR PARTICIPATING The post-program survey also included a question to gain insight into the reasons that respondents decided to participate in the program. Eighty percent of respondents reported wanting to learn more about transportation options, which supports the program s goal of increasing awareness of transportation options. Over 40% of respondents expressed they participated because of their desire to explore their neighborhood, reduce pollution, and/or obtain a free gift. Interestingly, between the 2016 and 2017 programs, there was a 16% decrease in respondents who said they participated in the program to avoid driving a motor vehicle in traffic. The project team speculates that this may be due to the proximity of the target area neighborhoods to downtown Austin. While traffic is still likely an issue for 2017 participants, it may be that they spend less time in traffic than the 2016 program participants. Similarly, there was an 18% decrease in 2017 respondents who reported decrease stress as a reason for participation. The complete list of reasons for participation are outlined in Figure 23. Figure 23: Reasons for Participating As reported by 231 post-program survey respondents in the post-program survey in response to the question, Please select the top 3 reasons you decided to participate in the Smart Trips Austin program. 90% 80% 80 % 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 45 % 43 % 42 % 32 % 28 % 24 % 24 % 17 % 15 % 10% 0% A - Learn more about my transportation options B - Explore my neighborhood C - Reduce pollution D - Obtain a free gift F - Have fun G - Improve my personal health H - Avoid having to find parking 5 % 1 % A B C D E F G H I J K L E - Avoid driving a motor vehicle in traffic I - Decrease stress J - Decrease my personal transportation costs related to driving K - Meet my neighbors/community groups L - Not sure/don t remember
Comparative Analysis of Respondent Demographics In order to compare the survey samples, the pre- and post-program surveys gathered demographic information from respondents. As the charts below illustrate, the pre- and post-program participant samples are relatively similar to each other. The project team made the following observations about the demographics: Thirty percent of post-program panel respondents reported a household income of over $100,000, while 13% of respondents reported a household income of less than $24,999. The average annual income for the target area is $70,932. Ten percent of post-program panel respondents reported not having access to a vehicle. This result is similar to census data which shows 7% of target area households do not have access to a vehicle. Compared to census data for the target area, the percentage of pre- and postprogram panel respondents who were age 65+ was 10% higher. Over 60% of post-program survey panel respondents were female. This is a common trend in similar transportation program surveys. The majority of post-program survey panel respondents (85%) identified as white. The percentage of respondents who identified as Hispanic/Latino was similar to the target area census data (18%). Figure 24: Household Income What is your total annual household income (before taxes)? 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 23 % 24 % 30 % 20 11 % 13 % % 22 % 13 % 16% Less than $24,999 $25,000 - $49,999 $50,000 - $74,999 $75,000 - $99,999 More than $100,000 Pre-program survey (N=133 Respondents) Post-program survey (N=133 Respondents)
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 43 Figure 25: Access to a Vehicle As reported in the pre- and post-program panel analysis of 178 pre- and post-program survey respondents in response to the question, Do you have access to a personal vehicle (car/truck/suv/van) most days? 100% 90 % 90 % 10 % 10 % 0% Yes No Pre-program survey (N=178 Respondents) Post-program survey (N=178 Respondents) Figure 26: Age As reported in the pre- and post-program panel analysis of 176 pre- and post-program survey respondents in response to the question, What is your age? 40% 20% 0% 34 % 35 % 28 % 29 % 20 % 18 % 18 % 18 % 0 % 1 % Under 18 18 to 29 30 to 44 45 to 64 65+ Pre-program survey (N=176 Respondents) Post-program survey (N=176 Respondents)
44 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Figure 27: Gender As reported in the pre- and post-program panel analysis of 172 pre- and post-program survey respondents in response to the question, With which gender do you identify? (Select all that apply.) 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 62 % 61 % 37 % 37 % Female Male Gender non-conforming 1 % 2 % 1 % 1 % Transgender Pre-program survey (N=172 Respondents) Post-program survey (N=172 Respondents)
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 45 Figure 28: Ethnicity/Race As reported in the pre- and post-program panel analysis of 169 pre- and postprogram survey respondents in response to the question, With which ethnicity/ race(s) do you identify? (Select all that apply.) 100% 50% 0% 85 % 85 % 15 % 14 % 2 % 2 % 1 % 1 % 5 % 5 % 1 % 1 % White Hispanic/ Latino Black/ African American American Indian/Alaska Native Asian Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander Pre-program survey (N=169 Respondents) Post-program survey (N=169 Respondents)
46 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report I felt encouraged by the Smart Trips Austin packet to have my daughter ride her bike to rowing practice. I meet her at the end of practice and we ride our bikes home together. This reduces two car trips for my wife... -Smart Trips participant
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 47 What Lessons Were Learned? Printing Many of the custom materials were delayed due to issues with a print vendor. The key takeaway from this experience is to interview print vendors prior to beginning work to make sure the vendor has capacity and can commit to the project needs and timeline. The project team will also incorporate more time in the materials production schedule for samples and USPS permit coordination. Map Development Process In the future, the project team will take advantage of individuals with in-depth local knowledge to develop the suggested neighborhood routes that were featured on the back of the Walk, Bike, & Ride map. Toolkit Materials Late night service materials and printed bus and bicycling maps are helpful to offer in the Toolkits. There should be fewer materials offered on the order form to conserve resources. The project team will evaluate the most popular materials and remove unpopular materials for future programs. Materials that are no longer provided in hard copy can still be linked as electronic documents on the SmartTripsAustin.org website. The project team received positive feedback on the tote bags as a practical travel tool. Program Timing The project team will start the next program earlier in 2018 to avoid the major winter holiday times when people are out of town or not working. This will also allow the ambassadors to deliver Toolkits when residents are home in the evening and it is still light out. Stakeholder Outreach & Partnerships To ensure a smooth hand-off of stakeholder relationships between Cultural Strategies and the outreach ambassador(s), the ambassador will be hired earlier and will participate in stakeholder outreach to the extent possible. Outreach Ambassador Roles and Responsibilities In the 2018 program, the project team will hire a lead outreach ambassador to start working early to build partnerships with community organizations. In the 2018 program, the project team will identify individual outreach ambassador responsibilities at outset (e.g. communications, events, deliveries, etc.). The 2017 outreach ambassadors expressed that setting these roles from the beginning would have helped them work better as a team.
48 Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report Outreach and Events In the 2018 program, the project team will co-host events with community organizations to reach existing audiences and gain community credibility. For future events, where it makes sense, the project team will consider hosting a few recurring events for people who cannot attend. In the 2017 program, many residents expressed interest in events going to the Central Library but could not attend the one event that went there. Evaluation The program evaluation experienced several data limitations, detailed below. Because of these data limitations, the project team sent a follow-up survey to program participants in June 2017 to gather the data necessary to conduct the mode shift analysis and mode usage analysis. The results reported in Figures 14, 15, and 16 are based on the follow-up survey data. Weather & Holiday: The weather was rainy for two of the three days prior to when the majority of the post-program survey respondents took the survey in February 2018. The project team believes that because of the rain, more respondents made trips by driving alone than in the preprogram survey (which was taken across multiple months and seasons). The project team also speculates that because the majority of trips reported by respondents in the post-program survey were on Valentine s Day, the survey did not capture the normal daily travel behavior of the respondents. Weekday vs. Weekend Differences: The project team observed that respondents to the post-program survey in February reported a higher percentage of trips on weekdays than pre-program survey respondents. This is likely due largely to the fact that the project team distributed the pre-program survey to participants on many days of the week, while the project team emailed the February post-program survey to participants on one Thursday. This may have affected the number and types of trips reported by respondents, and therefore likely resulted in differences between the two survey data sets. Difference in the average number of daily trips: Respondents to the postprogram survey that the project team sent in February reported making slightly fewer trips on average per day (4.21 trips per day, compared to 4.72 in the pre-program survey). This finding indicated differences between the two survey samples, and may be related to the greater proportion of weekday trips in the pre-program survey and the rain causing fewer trips to be taken in the post-program survey. To guard against these data issues in the future, the project team will avoid unseasonable weather (if possible), avoid holidays, and distribute the survey to participants based on when it was taken during the pre-program survey. In addition to these changes, the project team identified the future following evaluation goal: The project team should consider more behavior change questions and questions that can provide data on health indicators.
Smart Trips Austin: Central South Final Report 49 What Else Did Participants Have to Say About the Program? I met someone that had just moved to Austin but didn t have a car. I gave her my Smart Trips stuff and now she regularly takes the bus everywhere. -Smart Trips participant I loved using B-Cycle. It was easy to check out and check in bike. Text messages informing you of check in check out was perfect! -Smart Trips participant I learned about the wonderful day pass on the Cap Metro app and have used it a lot since! -Smart Trips participant Have the map up on our wall! We re brand new to Austin and it definitely helped us explore our new surroundings! Thank you thank you!!! -Smart Trips participant Through the bike map, I found some trails that I hadn t known about before but I now plan to ride. -Smart Trips participant Figure 29: Participants on the Blunn Creek walk Figure 30: Participants before a Transit Adventure to See Elf at The Paramount