Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The shift in start times reduced travel times in peak periods
—
average travel time of
45 min was reduced by 3
4 min. Saving in travel time, however, differed by route and
time of day. The project spread out the peak travel hour which improved conditions for
those traveling during the most congested time periods. But it made conditions
slightly worse for those already traveling during less congested time periods [
5
].
-
g. Bishop Ranch (exurban San Francisco)
—
1990
Flextime policies were a major part of commute assistance for employees relocating
from downtown San Francisco to Bishop Ranch
a major business park.
Two years after opening, a survey of 14,800 employees showed that the per-
centage of employees starting before 7 am increased from 8 to 17 %, and the
percentage staring after 9 am, increased from 1 to 9 %. The percentage of workers
leaving before 4 pm increased from 12 to 17 % [
6
].
—
21.3.3 Compressed Work Week
The compressed work week (CWW) usually involves four 10 h days in a 40 h week
(4/40 plan), or 80 h in 9 days (9/80). Those employees whose employers provide
this
flexibility reduced their commute trips by 20 %. A 1976 study [
2
] found that
the 4/40 plan was in effect for more than one million workers at an estimated 3,000
companies in the United States. Thus the 4/40 plan could reduce the number of
commuter trips by 20 % if it was universally adopted. In addition, it could redis-
tribute the peak hour commute trips outside the peak hour at least once per day.
However, the effectiveness of the CWW in reducing peak hour traf
fl
c demand
was constrained by its lack of universal adoption. This is understandable as it would
require
every
household to reorganize their daily schedules around the CWW
—
a
complicated and complex undertaking.
Some businesses adapted readily to the four day work week while others found it
dif
flexible work hour programs,
businesses that are primarily administrative adapted well
cult
—
if not impossible. As with staggered and
fl
to the CWW, while
businesses that cater to customers
hours or are linked to delivery schedules, or
inter-industry requirements, would not be able to adapt.
'
21.3.3.1 Examples and Effects
Several applications of the CWW were cited in Chap.
19
of TCRP Report 95 [
1
].
The applications of Colorado, California, and Washington are brie
fl
y described as
follows.
a. Denver, CO
In the early 1980s, a carefully controlled CWW experiment was implemented in
Denver. About 9,000 federal employees
—
65 % of all federal employees in Denver-
