Assess the Effectiveness of California's Parking Cash-Out Program

Abstract Reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is essential for mitigating traffic congestion, addressing social inequities, lowering chronic disease risks, and achieving California''s air quality and climate objectives. The Parking Cash Out (PCO) program, which incentivizes employees to use alternative transportation by offering them the option to "cash out" employer-provided parking subsidies, represents a promising approach to decrease single-occupancy vehicle travel and its associated negative externalities. However, the PCO program faces challenges in organizational implementation and remains underutilized, especially in the context of evolving remote and hybrid work patterns that have altered commuting behaviors and parking demands. This study aims to reassess the relevance and effectiveness of the PCO program by collecting data from employers and employees through surveys and interviews to understand perceptions and impacts. We will estimate the program''s costs and benefits and provide actionable insights for enhancing implementation. Given that current PCO coverage is estimated at about 11% of employees in the Bay Area and Los Angeles County, the impact of the program is likely constrained by eligibility criteria, particularly employer size and leased-parking requirements. We will update these parameters to explore potential policy reform impacts, with a focus on employer promotion, employee acceptance rates, and shifts in commute modes from single-occupancy vehicles to public transit, carpooling, and other alternatives, each with varying VMT and emissions implications. The findings from this research will inform updates to CARB guidance, aiming to improve PCO program adoption and effectiveness. Dr. Tianjun Lu, the PI at the University of Kentucky and founder of the Built Environment, Air, and Mobility (BEAM) lab, will leverage his expertise in transportation planning, air quality modeling, and environmental health to conduct a comprehensive literature review, pre-analysis, participant identification, and response analysis, ultimately quantifying the PCO program''s impacts.