The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC)implemented a program to relieve parking congestion at commuter rail stations by offering carpooling and express bus service access to impacted stations. At the time of project implementation, three of the four existing RCTC commuter rail stations were exceeding or close to exceeding parking capacity. The lack of available parking discourages the use of commuter rail, resulting in underutilized commuter trains and greater freeway congestion and vehicle emissions. RCTC was successful in enrolling 198 Metrolink riders and establishing 44 new carpools as a result of the 18-month demonstration program. The enrollment achieved the project goal of 200 commuters at parking-impacted stations. Efforts to encourage increased use of express bus service to the rail stations was less successful, resulting in an average of 19 riders per day versus the goal of 50 riders per day.
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The rail station uses benefited directly from the increase availability of parking. The entire South Coast AQMD benefits from the reduction in exhaust emissions.
This project resulted in the following total estimated emission reductions: Reactive Organic Gases (ROG): 624 pounds Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx): 689 pounds Carbon Monoxide (CO): 1,002 pounds Particulate Matter (PM10): 231 pounds
The Final Report includes a thorough description of the project, samples of all marketing and outreach materials, and contract recommendations to assist other entities who may wish to replicate this project.
Inland Transportation Services
Riverside Transit Agency
Southern California Regional Rail Authority
PE.Com
Western Area Security Services