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Sustainable transport safety : ComPASS case study of a community U-PASS in Kelowna, British Columbia

University of British Columbia

One way to reduce the negative impacts of automobile-dependency is to encourage active transportation (AT), such as walking, biking, and transit, while reducing vehicle use. One initiative proven to reduce vehicle use is the Community U-Pass (ComPASS) concept demonstrated through Boulder, Colorado’s Neighbourhood Eco (NECO) Pass program. ComPASS is a universal community transportation pass (U-Pass) that would provide unlimited access transit passes and other possible components including recreation centre passes, bike tune-ups, merchant incentives, and emergency taxi rides home. The goal of providing a ComPASS to neighbourhoods is to provide an attractive alternative to encourage decreased personal vehicle use in favour of AT modes. This thesis explores the possibility of a ComPASS for the residents of the Glenmore neighbourhood in Kelowna, British Columbia. Two factors motivated this research: 1) an interest in sustainable communities and 2) sustainable transport safety (STS). The objectives of this research were to 1) compare Kelowna to other cities where similar ComPASS programs have been successful, 2) design a ComPASS that would compete with personal vehicle use, and 3) implement a ComPASS pilot program to test the potential of the program in Kelowna. Results suggest that ComPASS could significantly reduce personal vehicle use at a 93.7% confidence level and increase transit use at an 85.7% confidence level. Personal vehicle use could decrease between 6% and 12% amongst ComPASS holders which would translate to a reduction in vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) per household, resulting in several community-wide benefits. Due to the potential benefits, ComPASS is a recommended tool for the City of Kelowna to implement in efforts to achieve their sustainability goals. Consequently, a three-year permanent ComPASS trial is recommended in the Phase 2 study area, along with transit improvements. Assuming a participation rate of 59%, 19 of the 32 piloted households would participate in a permanent ComPASS program. Over the three year trial period assuming 19 participating households, there could be 6,052 kg to 12,103 kg reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 15 to 30 reduced road injuries, 0.06 to 0.11 reduced road fatalities, and social and government savings of $20,552.26 to $41,104.51.

Text

2015-10-24

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/54757

Civil Engineering

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/