October 2012 Question of the Month

Question of the Month: What strategies are used to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and improve overall transportation system efficiency?

Answer: VMT is a measure used in the transportation planning community and elsewhere to report the number of miles that motor vehicles are driven on the road. It is a representation of how much fuel a transportation system uses, the resources necessary to build and maintain that system, and the amount of time the regions’ inhabitants are spending on the road.

While the focus of Clean Cities is vehicle technology and alternative fuel use, many coalitions also work in their communities to reduce VMT and improve overall transportation system efficiency. Increasing efficiency through transportation demand management can help achieve local and nationwide goals for transportation (reduced congestion), energy (decreased petroleum use), and the environment (reduced emissions). Fleets can also benefit from strategies to reduce VMT through cost and time savings.

Transportation planners, vehicle fleet managers, and corporate decision makers can all play a role in transportation demand management. Strategies for reducing VMT include:

• Ridesharing: Encourage people to share vehicles and commute together through employee rideshare, ridematching systems, and car sharing programs.
• Mass Transit: Develop, improve, or increase ridership on buses, bus rapid transit, trolleys, rail, and ferry systems.
• Active Transit: Eliminate vehicle use by supporting strategies that encourage biking and walking, including infrastructure development (e.g., bike lanes, sidewalks) and bike share programs.
• Multi-Modal Transportation: Develop resources and infrastructure to enable commuters to split up their trip into multiple modes, including ridesharing, mass transit, and active transit (e.g., online trip planners, park-and ride lots)
• Telework: Implement flexible work arrangements where employees can work from home (telecommute) or attend meetings from their computer (teleconference).
• Route-Planning Software: Utilize tools that allow fleets, particularly delivery and pick-up services, to plan and follow the most direct route.  

For more information on these strategies, visit the Alternative Fuels Data Center’s Transportation System Efficiency page. In addition, the following resources may be of assistance:

• U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Transit Administration
• FTA is the federal agency responsible for providing financial and technical assistance to public transit systems. The FTA website includes grant opportunities for transit agencies, information about relevant legislation and laws, and news about transit improvements around the country.
• Partnership for Sustainable Communities
• This partnership between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, DOT, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency aims to increase transportation options and lower transportation costs, among other goals. Their website includes grant opportunities and case studies about successful community projects.
• DOT, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Active Transportation and Demand Management (ATDM) 
• FHWA’s ADTM program focuses on research and resource development related to active transportation and demand management approaches. The website currently includes an overview of strategies. Moving forward, ATDM will provide lessons learned, standards, and best practices.
• Transportation Research Board (TRB): 
• TRB provides information exchange and coordinates research related to U.S. and international transportation systems.
• American Public Transportation Association (APTA):
• APTA provides information and resources about the benefits of public transit, including fuel and carbon savings calculators.

Clean Cities Technical Response Service Team
technicalresponse@icfi.com
800-254-6735

Lee Grannis Inducted into Clean Cities Hall of Fame

U.S. Department of Energy Honors Connecticut Leader for Success in Reducing Petroleum Use in Transportation

Greater New Haven Clean Cities Coalition Coordinator Lee Grannis Inducted into Clean Cities Hall of Fame

Left to right: Dennis Smith, Lee Grannis, Linda Bluestein.
Lee receives honor of being in the Clean Cities Hall of Fame.

ESTES PARK, Colo. – The U.S. Department of Energy honored Greater New Haven Clean Cities Coalition Coordinator Lee Grannis for his dedication and outstanding accomplishments in reducing Connecticut’s dependence on petroleum in transportation. DOE’s National Clean Cities Director Dennis Smith inducted Grannis into the Clean Cities Hall of Fame on Sept. 26 while in Estes Park, Colo., where representatives from nearly 100 Clean Cities coalitions across the country gathered for a transportation technology deployment workshop.

Grannis launched the New Haven Clean Cities Coalition in 1995 and took the helm as coordinator in 1997, a position he has held ever since. In 2011 alone, the coalition saved more than 2.2 million gallons of petroleum and averted more than 20,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions through the deployment of alternative and renewable fuels, advanced vehicles, idle reduction and fuel economy improvements.

“Lee Grannis combines unwavering dedication and keen technical knowledge to successfully deploy alternative fuels and advanced vehicles in Connecticut,” National Clean Cities Director Dennis Smith said. “Thanks to Lee’s ingenuity, persistence and willingness to help others, the Constitution State and surrounding region are realizing tangible energy security and environmental benefits.”

Before his work with New Haven Clean Cities, Grannis served 23 years in the U.S. Army, where his duties included multiple infantry combat assignments, combat and operational logistics planning positions, troop movement and exercise planning, all involving multiple modes of transportation. After retiring from the Army, Grannis worked in alternative fuel vehicle sales at Stevens Ford.

“I really enjoy working with new technologies and solving problems that nobody’s tackled before,” Grannis said. “And I like collaborating with all the people in our area who are taking on meaningful transportation projects rather than accepting the status quo.”

For more than a decade, Grannis has been instrumental in introducing new technologies and fuels into Connecticut’s transportation sector. He has developed projects and obtained funding for deployment of compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), light-duty electric vehicles, electric transit, hydrogen hybrid vehicles and biodiesel.

Under Grannis’ leadership, the Greater New Haven Clean Cities Coalition helped deploy electric trolleys in New Haven’s public transit system, incorporate electric pick-up trucks into the city fleet, and catalyze the development of the city’s first CNG fueling station. He has also aided entrepreneurs in jump-starting the manufacture of electric buses and electric vehicle charging equipment.

In partnership with the three other Clean Cities coalitions in Connecticut and 27 additional partners, Grannis serves as the lead on the $29 million Connecticut Future Fuels project, which is deploying 269 alternative fuel vehicles. The project is also supporting development of fueling infrastructure, including the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) station east of the Mississippi. Located in Bridgeport, the station fuels more than eighteen LNG tractor trailers for Enviro Express, which provides solid waste collection services in southwestern Connecticut. The Class 8 trucks make daily trips along Interstates 95 and 395 to a landfill in Putnam. Cumberland Farms recently purchased three dozen LNG trucks, many of which will also use the new station as the first non-grant supported fleet.

The Greater New Haven Clean Cities Coalition is a designated member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities initiative. Clean Cities advances the nation’s economic, environmental and energy security by supporting local actions to reduce petroleum use in transportation. A national network of nearly 100 Clean Cities coalitions brings together stakeholders in the public and private sectors to deploy alternative and renewable fuels, idle-reduction measures, fuel economy improvements and emerging transportation technologies. For more information, visit www.cleancities.energy.gov and www.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/hall_of_fame.html.

Greater New Haven Clean Cities Coalition works with vehicle fleets, fuel providers, community leaders and other stakeholders to reduce petroleum use in transportation in the New Haven area. For more information, visit www.nhcleancities.org.