Aero, formerly an acronym for Airport Employee Ride Options, was developed to address these and other challenges. A program of the ATL Airport Community Improvement Districts, Aero was created almost 10 years ago, Aero’s main goal is to “help ATL airport employees find reliable and rewarding ways to get to work.” This is accomplished through encouragement, information, and education. The Aero website contains a number of resources, including a five-step plan that will help employees “find a better way to get to work” By signing up via text message or email, employees can learn how to:

1. Cut their gas and parking costs in half,
2. Earn points (like a frequent flier program),
3. Get a $150 cash reward,
4. Turn their trip to work into a new side hustle, and
5. Get to work without a car.

In partnership with airport tenants, Aero provides promotional materials for employees to share during new employee onboarding. Additionally, Aero encourages employers to provide commuter benefits such as pretax and subsidized commuter options. “Solving the region’s transportation challenges, including those experienced by the Airport’s employees, requires a partnership among all employers with innovative solutions being adopted” (K. Luten, personal communication, January 17, 2024).

The ATL TMA remains active in understanding the current transportation challenges of employees in hopes of developing future solutions that enhance transportation options for an even larger percentage of the airport workforce. All airport employees are electronically surveyed biannually regarding commuting patterns and transportation concerns and preferences, as well as interviewed monthly as they pass through security (K. Luten, personal communication, January 17, 2024).

Case Example 2: General Edward Lawrence Logan Boston International Airport

Located only 1 mile east of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, General Edward Lawrence Logan Boston International Airport (BOS) is owned and operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport). Approximately 20,000 employees commute to work at the airport. Of these 20,000 employees, approximately 1,000 work for the airport itself and are employed by Massport. Every two years, Massport surveys their own employees to better understand their commuting behavior. Currently, 70% of these employees drive SOVs to work, while 30% use public transit or work from home. Massport, in an effort to encourage alternative transportation use among employees, has recently increased the subsidy for commuting from $100 to $300 monthly.

“COVID certainly impacted employee commuting habits. There was a clear shift during the COVID pandemic toward SOV for life safety reasons. Although the economy-wide shutdowns are essentially over, employees have become comfortable with using SOV; thus, the long-term impacts of COVID on employee commuting behavior remain” (S. Lee, personal communication, February 2, 2024). Today, for example, BOS has fewer employees than pre-COVID, but greater demand for parking permits.

Due to a Massachusetts state law that stems from the federal Clean Air Act, the airport has limited airport employee parking spots to 2,250 (known as the Logan Airport Parking Freeze Area). Due to shift work, approximately 5,000 employees are able to park at the airport in those 2,250 spots. Additional employee parking is available off-airport, which requires employees using these sites to take a shuttle to the terminal. Additionally, Massport operates four suburban Park-and-Ride locations located strategically at various points just outside the I-95 beltway.

At each of these locations, employees can drive to the Park and Ride and then board a bus for transit to the airport. An in-urban bus service is provided as well.

In total, 7,000 employee parking permits are active for both on-airport and off-airport employee parking. With a total of 20,000 employees, not all employees are able to park a vehicle in close proximity to the airport. This has the effect of encouraging (through a disincentive of insufficient parking spots) employees to consider alternative transportation modes.

The BOS Transportation Management Association (TMA), which has been in existence for several decades, assists employees with not only considering alternative transportation modes but also taking advantage of these modes. For example, Logan Express is one product of the TMA. Logan Express is a free bus service operated by Massport that connects Back Bay, Braintree, Framingham, Peabody, and Woburn to the airport. Sunrise Shuttle was also created by the TMA. Designed for airport employees who need to commute to the airport before MBTA’s (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) operating hours begin, the shuttle bus operates from 3 a.m. to 5:30 a.m., making stops at Day Square, Eagle Hill, Central Square, and Maverick Square in East Boston, as well as all airport terminals. The 18-passenger shuttles operate every 30 minutes. In total, 2.3 million riders (800,000 of which were airport employees) utilized the Logan Express in 2023.

The airport is served by the MBTA Blue Line, although the airport station is just outside the airport property line, requiring travelers to use a shuttle bus to continue to their work site in one of the terminals. This second commute requires employees to plan for the additional time to utilize the shuttle. The MBTA Silver Line (SL1) bus also serves the airport with free, direct access to the terminal.

The Assistant Director of Transportation Business Administration at Massachusetts Port Authority shared several lessons learned, including:

1. Providing a wide array of transportation options is helpful.
2. The preferred mode of transportation is SOV, which can be challenging, especially at airports where parking is limited.
3. All airports should develop policies to meet employee needs.

“There is a balance between serving employees and the greater needs of the regional transportation system” (C. Grillo, personal communication, February 2, 2024). It is this balance that Massport continues to prioritize.

Case Example 3: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

Located three miles south of Washington, DC, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) currently has 21,078 employees. At DCA, 75% of employees drive a vehicle to and from work. The airport accommodates 3,300 vehicles in 21 different surface lots (Figure 23). In 2023, the airport sold 9,140 parking permits—approximately three permits per available parking space. The airport relies on alternating shifts to accommodate all employees. Airlines are contractually required to pay the parking permit fee for their employees. Annual parking permit fees are $360 per employee. For an airline employee to obtain a parking permit, they must be stationed at DCA for at least 50% of the time.

The remaining 25% use various transportation modes, including the Metro public transit. Although DCA is directly served by the Metro (Metropolitan Area Transit Authority), the Metro operates Monday through Thursday, 5 a.m. until 12 a.m.; Friday, 5 a.m. until 1 a.m.; Saturday, 7 a.m. until 1 a.m.; and Sunday, 7 a.m. until 12 a.m. These operating hours do not accommodate all employees working at the airport. For example, food concessionaire employees start at 5 a.m.

• Creating an informational campaign to get employees interested in alternative transportation modes, and
• Encouraging employers to provide a transportation stipend.

“Employees express a wide range of reasons for selecting a particular commuting method. It is our job to ensure that the airport remains accessible for all employees” (L. Nguyen, personal communication, January 19, 2024).

Case Example 5: Los Angeles International Airport

Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the owner and operator of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), directly employs over 3,000 personnel. More than 50,000 people employed by airlines, concessionaires, ground handlers, and other employers work at LAX. According to the LAWA Rideshare Program Administrator, 25,000 to 30,000 of these employees commute to LAX on a daily basis.

To better meet the commuting and ground access needs of these employees, in March 2021, a Transportation Management Organization (TMO) was established. With the establishment of the TMO, the LAWA Rideshare and LAX TMO programs merged to become one program known as commuteLAX. The TMO was an initiative of the 2019 Sustainability Action Plan, and directly intended to mitigate the level of employee traffic on frequently congested Southern California roadways. Designed in part to capitalize on LAWAs new Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP) and Airfield and Terminal Modernization Plan (ATMP) infrastructure and transit connections, commuteLAX serves all employees of LAX.

CommuteLAX’s guiding principles are focused on providing transit options and encourage employees to use public transit. To ensure the success of commuteLAX, all LAX employers are required to participate. This participation includes regularly participating in two surveys:

1. LAX Annual Employee Transportation Survey. This survey is distributed by LAX employers to their employees. Data collected include individual employee commute trip pattern (drive alone, transit, vanpool, etc.), shift time and commute start location (zip code/nearest intersection), and work location (parking lot).
2. LAX TMO Annual Workforce Survey. This survey is completed by LAX employers to determine the number of LAX TMO employees. The annual workforce survey helps determine how many LAX employees report on-site on a regular basis. This information also helps calculate the LAX TMO employer’s annual TMO fee, currently $10 per LAX TMO employee, capped at $10,000 per LAX TMO employer per year.

As with any survey effort, LAX determines in advance how to utilize the survey data to create metrics and guide LAX efforts to improve the commuting options of employees. Providing transit options and encouraging employees to use public transit are the guiding principles of commuteLAX.

CommuteLAX has provided a number of commuting options to employees. The most popular include:

• Micro-transit (Iride). This is a unique option for those living in the nearby cities of Inglewood and Lennox. Funded by LAX and operated by the City of Inglewood, employees use an app to schedule a ride on Iride.
• Vanpool. Consisting of seven- and eight-passenger vans driven by volunteer employee drivers, vanpools leave from one central location on the home end and travel to a central destination on the work end. LAWA Vanpool Program participants pay a monthly fare based on their commute miles. The monthly fare covers all vehicle leasing and fuel costs. LAWA provides an employee discount of $60 per month for LAWA and City of Los Angeles participants. Pre-COVID there

were more than 500 vanpool participants. Currently, due to telecommuting and other hybrid work arrangements, there are approximately 280 vanpool participants.

• Bike to work. To accommodate commuting via bike, the airport has installed bike lockers at different locations throughout the airport. Additionally, the nearest Metro location to the airport will include the largest bike hub in the Metro system, which will provide showers and bike storage. Due to the popularity of this bike hub, LAWA is exploring the creation of bike lockers at additional stops in their system. Although there are currently no incentives offered to employees to commute via bicycle, this may change in the future.

Even though LAX has learned that driving an SOV is very common for employees living less than 15 miles from the airport, they have found that vanpools and carpools do enjoy more success for employees living more than 15 miles from the airport. Future improvements are also on the way. With the nearest Los Angeles Metro Rail (Metro) station 2 miles away from the airport, LAX has programmed a new automated people mover, which will connect to the Metro light-rail system.

Regardless of which commuting mode employees choose, “We have learned that it is so important to have transit access” (M. Molina, personal communication, January 18, 2024). Employers at LAX benefit when current employees are able to commute to work without significant obstacles, and these same employers benefit when they have a greater pool of employees from which to choose, generally made possible by additional commuting options in the region (M. Molina, personal communication, January 18, 2024).

Case Example 6: Portland International Airport

Owned and operated by the Port of Portland, Portland International Airport (PDX) is located four miles northeast of downtown Portland and has 10,500 employees. The senior aviation planner has asked, “How do we attract employees to a remote location, that is the airport?” (M. Coleman, personal communication, January 24, 2024). This drives PDX’s efforts at increasing mobility access to the airport.

The majority of airport employees commute to work at the airport via SOV. To ensure sustainability goals are achieved, the airport has placed a cap on the number of parking spaces, driven in part by air quality goals.

The airport is served directly by Portland’s MAX (Metropolitan Area Express) light-rail service, which operates daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. For airport employees with early start times and late end times outside of operating hours, light rail is a poor choice. “For airport employees with shifts starting in the middle of the day, light rail works well” (M. Coleman, personal communication, January 24, 2024). That being said, for employees living on the Washington side of the Columbia River, light-rail service to PDX is minimal.

In 2024, the airport will update the Airport Master Plan and transit will be a significant part of the master planning effort. PDX does not currently offer a vanpool, nor does it have a TMA. Even so, the airport is pursuing diversified multimodal initiatives and making transit an area of focus. For example, the airport has partnered with Multnomah County to begin a shuttle service that connects to existing MAX light rail. This operates seven days weekly and is provided free to airport employees.

The City of Portland is known for a strong bicycle culture. For those employees commuting via bicycle, a new mixed path connecting the airport terminal to an extensive bicycle/pedestrian network is scheduled to open in 2024. “This will allow us to reach outside our boundaries but also connect to jobs along the path” (M. Coleman, personal communication, January 24, 2024).

a commute program of an airport-adjacent municipality, to provide commuting resources and support to airport employees immediately while more permanent programs are formed.

• The TMA will be formed around three core programs: a carpool parking incentive, a slate of bike and pedestrian encouragement events, and a universal transit pass program for eligible airport employees utilizing the region’s ORCA for Business account option.
• Staff will study the feasibility of setting up an airport employee shuttle operation, primarily to augment early-morning and late-night periods when public transit doesn’t operate. The shuttle would operate between the airport and areas with high concentrations of airport employee residences to the south.

“Our 25,000 badged individuals all have different working hours, employer policies, benefit packages, living situations, and transportation needs. Given this varied and diverse workforce, the Port of Seattle, as the airport sponsor, operator, and landlord, can act as an overarching resource and convening entity to provide benefits and resources related to Commute Trip Reduction and Transportation Demand Management, for the benefit of all airport workers” (D. Tomporowski, personal communication, January 17, 2024).

Case Example 8: San Francisco International Airport

Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, eight miles southeast of San Francisco, the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 46,000 total employees. According to the senior planner in landside operations, 75% of these employees commute to and from work via SOV. The remaining 25% commute via numerous methods, including bicycle, although public transit is most frequently used. Although the majority of employees still commute via SOV, the airport has been active and successful at increasing the number of employees using more sustainable commuting methods.

One such sustainable commuting method is the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). Although the San Francisco Bay Area is relatively well served by BART, it also presents various challenges for airport employees. For instance, although generally paid competitive wages, airport employees generally cannot afford to live in higher cost-of-living areas (such as north of the airport) that are most commonly served by BART. Many employees live in the East Bay, which, although served by BART, requires a circuitous route into downtown and back out to the East Bay again. Those employees living northeast of the bay may have access to BART, but this may require driving to a Park and Ride and then taking a bus to the nearest BART station, which results in using multiple transportation modes

and can lead to a lengthy commute. Further, BART operates from 6 a.m. to midnight, and many employee shifts at the airport begin before 6 a.m. and end after midnight, making utilization of the BART system impossible for these employees. These challenges can negatively impact the ability of employees to efficiently commute to and from work at the airport, which also compounds the ability of airport employers to recruit and retain employees.

California has a state law requiring employers to provide transit benefits to employees. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (Air District) Regulation 14, Rule 1 “requires Bay Area employers with 50 or more full-time employees within the Air District’s geographic boundaries to offer commuter benefits to employees” (Bay Area Air Quality Management District, 2014, p. 14-1-2). Prior to the passage of this regulation, San Francisco Airport had adopted airport regulations that set forth the same standards as the new law. Already in the business of using buses to transport passengers to the airport, to further address the commuting dilemma of employees, SFO questioned, Why not start a bus network to assist employees in commuting to and from work? Other Silicon Valley employers, such as Google and Facebook (now Meta) were already running employee bus systems. Airport staff met with the leadership of a large tech company near the airport to consider if airport employees would benefit from using that company’s existing employee shuttle. Unfortunately, the airport shift start and end times did not mesh up with the existing shuttle, which was geared toward tech employee shift times. Further, circulation times at the tech company prior to proceeding to the airport would have made this mode less competitive with driving.

In 2019, the airport performed a study to better understand airport employee commuting needs and examine housing costs, employee travel patterns, commuting challenges, and so on. The study identified some solutions with a few possible route types to assist employees with their commute:

1. Expanded network. Link the two spokes of the radial BART network that proceed south from central San Francisco on both sides of the bay.
2. Regions with limited transit service. Serve those areas without competitive or one-seat ride transit service.
3. Early/late employee shifts. Serve those who may live in a BART service area but have shifts that begin before or after BART scheduled service times.

To address some of these route-type needs, SFO created the Go>SFO Shuttle in 2022 (Figure 27). This program was introduced as a “free, new commuter bus for all workers at SFO, serving the Castro Valley and Hayward areas! The direct route serves the Hayward and Castro Valley BART stations and the SFO terminals. It’s quick, easy and, for now, free for airport workers!” (Source: SFO LinkedIn). It was well-received by airport employees. As one United Airlines operations employee commented, “Thank you for starting this service! Even with an irregular work schedule the shuttle times are working out. It’s a great benefit for East Bay commuters!” (Source: LinkedIn comment).

The Go>SFO Shuttle is partially funded through the airport operations budget. The airport leaders believe that this program is integral to their operations and is therefore included in their operations budget. Today, to offset the costs of providing the service, users may purchase a monthly unlimited ride pass for $190, a 10-ride pass for $50, or a single-ride pass for $6.

Even with the rider fees, on average, each employee using the Go>SFO Shuttle saves $3,000 per year in commuting-related costs, such as fuel. The shuttle also provides significant environmental benefits, with reduced environmental impacts equivalent to planting a forest the size of Presidio and Golden Gate Park combined. “Our Go>SFO Shuttle confirms that we care about the well-being of our employees and the environment. At the end of the day, our primary goal is to make transit competitive with driving, and we are gradually succeeding” (S. Morgan, personal communication, January 12, 2024).

In addition to Go>SFO Shuttle, the airport encourages employees to ride bicycles to and from work. The airport provides bike lanes that access their facilities, and these lanes are connected on both ends to the Bay Trail, which serves hikers, joggers, bicyclists, skaters, and wheelchair users

on more than 350 miles of trails that circle the Bay. Additionally, the airport provides designated bike parking under cover and is designing bike rooms in large new commission buildings, which will allow for bikes to be stored inside.

Although approximately 60% of airport employees work within the terminal complex, approximately 40% work off-site, requiring a second commute. Fortunately, approximately half of those working off-site have access to the Airport’s AirTrain, which provides year-round service 24 hours a day, with station departures as frequent as every four minutes. The AirTrain Red Line connects all terminals, terminal garages, the BART Station, and the Grand Hyatt at SFO. The AirTrain Blue Line connects Long-Term Parking, the Rental Car Center, all terminals, terminal garages, the BART Station, and the Grand Hyatt at SFO.

When sharing lessons learned, the senior planner states, “Go big or go home! Our shuttle provides 30 minute serve all day long, 24/7, 365. Employees must have faith in the shuttle so they can leave their cars at home and still take a shuttle midday to pick up a sick child from school.” Additionally, “Be very sure of your market, such as when employees arrive to work and leave work, where people live, etc.” (S. Morgan, personal communication, January 12, 2024).