Expanding Traveler Choices Through the Use 

of Incentives: A Compendium of Examples
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Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No. 

FHWA-HOP-18-071

2. Government Accession 

No.

3. Recipient’s Catalog No.

4. Title and Subtitle 

Expanding Traveler Choices through the Use of Incentives: 

A Compendium of Examples

5. Report Date

December 2018

6. Performing Organization 

Code

7. Authors

Jocelyn Bauer, Lisa Kinner Bedsole, Kayce Snyder, 

Michelle Neuner, Michael C. Smith

8. Performing Organization 

Report No.

9. Performing Organization Name and Address

Leidos

11251 Roger Bacon Drive 

Reston, VA 20190

10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)

11. Contract or Grant No.

 DTFH61-12-D-00050

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

Federal Highway Administration

U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20590

13. Type of Report and 

Period Covered

 Primer, July 2017 – 

December 2018

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

HOP

15. Supplementary Notes

Mr. Jim Hunt, Federal Highway Administration, Task Order Contracting Officer’s 

Representative

16. Abstract

With increased congestion across the Nation’s roadways, transportation agencies, universities, 

and research institutions are testing new approaches and implementing programs to cause 

travelers to shift their behavior to alleviate congestion and proactively and dynamically 

manage the transportation system. Using behavioral economic theories, agencies have 

provided different “nudging” incentives to promote behavioral changes from travelers to shift 

modes, times of travel, or routes taken before and during their trips. This primer looks at 

different programs across the world to see how organizations have tackled congestion with 

these strategies.

17. Key Words

Active transportation and demand management, travel 

demand management, transportation systems management 

and operations, behavioral economics, incentives.

18. Distribution Statement

 No restrictions. 

19. Security Classif. (of this 

report) 

Unclassified

20. Security Classif. (of 

this page)

Unclassified

21. No of 

Pages

 64

22. Price 

 N/A

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized.

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

iii

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................................1

2. APPLYING INCENTIVES TO MODIFY TRAVEL ROUTES .............................................................5

REBALANCING SHARED ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN SAN DIEGO..........................................................................5

3. APPLYING INCENTIVES TO SHIFT TIME OF TRAVEL..................................................................7

ENCOURAGING A SHIFT TO OFF-PEAK TRAVEL TIMES......................................................................................7

COMMUTER CONNECTIONS FLEXTIME REWARDS PROGRAM.....................................................................10

INSTANT (INFOSYS-STANFORD TRAFFIC) PROGRAM: A “NUDGE SYSTEM” 

IN BANGALORE, INDIA..................................................................................................................................................12

STANFORD UNIVERSITY’S CONGESTION AND PARKING RELIEF INCENTIVES (CAPRI) STUDY.........14

SPITSMIJDEN (“PEAK AVOIDANCE”) ........................................................................................................................17

BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT (BART) PERKS............................................................................................................. 20

4. APPLYING INCENTIVES TO SHIFT MODE OF TRAVEL.............................................................23

INCENTIVIZING MODE SHIFT OPTIONS THROUGH SMARTPHONE APPLICATIONS............................ 23

INCENTIVE SERVICES TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF TRIPS............................................... 27

EUROPEAN EMPOWER PROJECT TO REDUCE USE OF CONVENTIONALLY FUELED VEHICLES ....... 28

“ONE-LESS-CAR” DEMONSTRATION STUDY, SEATTLE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.........31

SHIFTING TO TRANSIT: BOULDER, COLORADO NEIGHBORHOOD ECOPASS PROGRAM.................. 33

BELLA MOSSA IN BOLOGNA, ITALY ........................................................................................................................ 35

FLEXPASS PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY................................................................. 37

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY’S ACCESS MIT PROGRAM .......................................... 39

5. APPLYING INCENTIVES TO ELIMINATE TRIPS ..........................................................................41

FLORIDA IDRIVELESS RESEARCH PROGRAM .......................................................................................................41

6. SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................................43

7. RESOURCES .....................................................................................................................................47
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EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

List of Figures

Figure 1. Illustration. Active transportation and demand management strategies work to 

dynamically influence multiple traveler decisions across the trip.....................................2

Figure 2. Maps. Compound figure depicts the car2go incentive zones in San Diego ....................6

Figure 3. Screenshot. Rewards from Metropia program.................................................................8

Figure 4. Screenshot. Chutes-and-ladders game for redeeming cash reward in CAPRI............... 14

Figure 5. Screenshot. Interface for “My Beats” smartphone app for this CAPRI......................... 15

Figure 6. Graph. Number of detected travelers from Zoetermeer during morning peak ............. 17

Figure 7. Screenshot. Promotional flyer for BART Perks .............................................................20

Figure 8. Chart. The three phases of the EMPOWER implementation ........................................29

Figure 9. Photo. The NECO Pass is offered by RTC and the 

City of Boulder as an incentive for residents to shift their mode of travel to transit....... 33

Figure 10. Chart. Bella Mossa by the numbers.............................................................................36

Figure 11. Screenshots. FlexPass smartphone application interface .............................................38
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EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

List of Abbreviations

AI artificial intelligence

AMORE Adaptive Mobility with Reliability and Efficiency

ARPA-E U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy

ATDM active transportation and demand management

BART Bay Area Rapid Transit

CAPRI Stanford University’s Congestion and Parking Relief Incentives Study

CO2 carbon dioxide

CSA community supported agriculture

CUTR Center for Urban Transportation Research

DDWA Delta Dental of Washington

DOT department of transportation

DUO Driving Up Occupancy Module

FDOT Florida Department of Transportation

FHWA Federal Highway Administration

FTA Federal Transit Authority

GPS Global Positioning System

GUP general use permit

ICT information and communication technology

INSTANT INfosys-STANford Traffic Program

IT information technology

MaaS Mobility-as-a-Service

MOD mobility on demand

MODE Mobility Options Discovery and Engagement

NECO Neighborhood Eco Pass 

RFID radio-frequency identification

RTA regional transportation authority

RTD regional transportation district

SFCTA San Francisco County Transportation Authority

SOV single-occupancy vehicle

TDM travel (or transportation) demand management

TMC traffic management center
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EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

TNC transportation network company

TTI travel time index

UC Berkeley University of California, Berkeley

UN United Nations

USDOT United States Department of Transportation

VMT vehicle miles traveled

List of Abbreviations (continued)


1

Richard Thaler’s 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics generated increased interest in behavioral 

economics and, in particular, how we make choices. The general premise of Thaler’s work is that 

individuals often make choices based on habit or with limited rationality, leading to systematic 

errors resulting from inattention and procrastination. We see this frequently in transportation 

decisions when individuals make mobility choices that reflect an unwillingness to try different 

ways of reaching the places, people, and things that they need to access. This is true even when 

the evidence suggests that available mobility options could lead to better outcomes for individual 

travelers and for the larger community. 

Standard economic approaches to changing traveler behavior that rely on individuals making 

rational economic choices based on pricing have proved less effective for motivating and 

sustaining changes in traveler behavior. (Avineri, 2009) “Evidence from behavioral, cognitive and 

social sciences is painting a more complex picture of decision-making processes. In real life the 

behavior of travelers is typified by limited cognitive resources—for example, difficulties in 

processing large amounts of data—bounded rationality (in many cases we fail to make the best 

choices) and emotional and habitual behavior.” (Avineri, 2009)

This primer describes how transportation agencies and other mobility services can address 

recurring and non-recurring congestion through “nudges” that incorporate behavioral economic 

concepts and encourage travelers to shift their mode, time of travel, or route. The primer provides 

case studies based on programs offered by State, regional, and local transportation agencies, 

universities and research institutions, and within the private sector that provide incentives 

designed to encourage individuals to consider alternatives. In addition to reducing congestion, 

these incentives can lead to improvements in air quality through reduced emissions, reductions in 

energy consumption, safer roadways, and more livable and sustainable communities.

Incentives for modifying traveler behavior have been in use for many years. For example, some 

employers provide convenient (or free) parking for carpool vehicles, some subsidize public 

transportation, some compensate employees for travel time while using mass transit, and some 

offer on-site services (e.g., child care, laundry, exercise equipment, dining facilities) to reduce 

extra trips. Employers may provide secure storage for bicycles and have shower facilities for 

employees who ride bicycles to work and offer flexible schedules and telecommuting options so 

that employees can manage their work schedules and travel patterns to avoid peak congestion 

periods. These employee benefits are “nudges” or incentives to encourage (or permit) employees to 

consider choices that benefit employers (they attract and retain good employees), employees (they 

have greater flexibility and more mobility choices), and the community at large (fewer people 

driving alone during peak periods).

1 INTRODUCTION 
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EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

Recent technology has opened up many more opportunities for travelers to modify their trips and 

transportation managers to influence travel in real-time in ways that previously were not possible. 

The ability for transportation managers to effect real-time shifts in traveler choices enables them 

to proactively manage the system and customize incentives to address the dynamic nature of 

non-recurring events. For example, traffic management centers (TMCs) can incentivize shifts 

specifically for short-term events such as a major incident, work zone, special event, or poor air 

quality day. Smartphone applications can provide information to travelers prior to their trips and 

en-route to help them avoid congested routes or events using a combination of public and private 

sector data and advanced analytics. Additionally, global positioning system (GPS) tracking on 

smartphones enables incentive program administrators and travelers to automatically track 

behavior and provide incentives accordingly. Advanced computing capabilities support predictive 

traffic information that can be combined with incentive programs to reduce congestion.

Incentivizing travelers to make dynamic shifts to their mode, time of travel, or route before and 

during their trips is a core concept of active transportation and demand management (ATDM). In 

particular, these incentives focus on the “active demand management” element of ATDM. Figure 

1 illustrates the traveler decisions that ATDM strategies target to help manage overall system 

performance in real-time. 

 Figure 1. Illustration. Active Transportation and Demand Management strategies work to 

dynamically influence multiple traveler decisions across the trip.1

 

This primer presents several specific examples of how these “nudges” have been implemented in 

ways that are designed to encourage travelers to consider alternative modes, routes, or times.

1 Federal Highway Administration, Active Transportation and Demand Management (ATDM) Introduction, Presentation. 

Last modified on October 4, 2017. Available at: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/atdm/knowledge/presentations/atdm_overview/

index.htm.

Source: Federal Highway Administration.

Destination

Choice

Time of Day ChoiceMode

Choice

Route

Choice Lane/FacilityUse Choice

Origin Destination
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EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

The number and variety of “nudges” suggest that many opportunities exist for changing traveler 

behavior. The primer provides a detailed description of several of these programs, which are 

offered by both transportation agencies as well as private sector entities (e.g., employers, retailers). 

Some examples of incentives for encouraging alternative mode choices include:

f Providing travelers with information on how their choices can reduce carbon dioxide (CO2)

emissions and awarding them “travel points” that can be redeemed for prizes or rewards.

f Entering employees into drawings where the chances of winning increase with points earned 

from using alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles (SOVs).

f Awarding points for transit use (or biking/walking) that can be redeemed at restaurants and 

retail outlets.

f Offering the opportunity to “sell” vehicle parking privileges for cash or other rewards.

Some examples of incentives for encouraging time of departure changes include: 

f Providing a smartphone app that gives time of departure information and awards redeemable 

points for traveling during off-peak periods.

f Offering employees flextime schedules and cash prizes. 

f Providing credits for traveling during off-peak times that increase the chances of winning a 

raffle.

f Awarding credits toward playing online games for biking, walking, or driving during offpeak hours.

f Earning cash or credits toward a new smartphone for off-peak travel.

Some programs that offer incentives for eliminating travel altogether include a reward for a 

reduction in total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) during a specified time period relative to previous 

periods. Others aim to incentivize travelers to change their routes by including rental credits for 

assisting with the redistribution of shared-use electric vehicles so that they have access to recharge 

stations and are available for other travelers.

Studies associated with incentivizing (or permitting) travelers to shift their travel times away from 

peak periods so that they avoid—and therefore reduce—peak period congestion were pervasive in 

the literature and appeared to have been effective at least in the near term. The nudges come from 

multiple directions, including employers that permit employees to work flexible hours (and weeks) 

so that they reduce or eliminate trips made during peak periods as well as a variety of rewards or 

points awarded for travel during off-peak periods. Other, more localized or focused nudges 

encourage or reward eliminating or reducing the use of vehicles and either reducing trips or using 

other modes (including non-motorized options) to complete trips. These nudges can come in the 

form of rewards for using alternatives to private vehicles or penalties (often in the form of pricing) 

for parking private vehicles in areas that are served by alternative travel modes.
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EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

In summary, evidence is growing that travelers are responsive to appropriately designed and 

implemented incentives that encourage behavioral changes that reduce dependence on SOVs or on 

traveling during peak demand periods. Examples are described in greater detail in this primer. 

The primer is organized around the categories of choices described above. However, many of the 

incentives are designed to influence travelers’ choices in multiple areas (e.g., time, mode, route) 

simultaneously. The primary intent of the primer is to stimulate thinking about how best to 

influence traveler behavior by describing the current state of the practice with the hope that others 

will build on this foundation.
5

Travelers frequently change their routes to avoid congestion and achieve a faster travel 

time. They also may change routes to avoid flooded roads or intersections without 

power during weather events. While this route shift usually benefits the traveler, it also 

helps to reduce demand on congested road segments, intersections, or transit lines. 

Route shifting is considered to be the easiest shift if the traveler is aware of the time 

savings, personal safety, or other benefits that directly result from that change. These 

changes typically do not need additional incentives, and so they are not a common part 

of the travel incentive literature. The case study below is one exception, and it features 

incentives to change route so as to increase the efficiency of an electric car sharing 

service. 

REBALANCING SHARED ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN SAN DIEGO 

As part of the Federal Highway Administration Value 

Pricing Pilot grant program, researchers conducted a 

2-year evaluation of incentives applied to a one-way, all 

electric car-sharing system that was measured using the 

car2go San Diego market. The evaluation began in 

2014, and shortly after it ended, car2go left the San 

Diego market due to lack of demand. The goal of the 

incentive program was to redistribute electric vehicles 

available through the car2go car-sharing program, 

increasing access for users of the car2go system, and 

decreasing travel time for the car2go maintenance team, 

which was responsible for keeping the electric vehicle 

fleet charged.

Car2go, a subsidiary of Daimler North America Corporation, is a car-sharing service with its 

North American headquarters in Austin, Texas. Fees are based on how long a driver uses the car 

rather than by how far they travel. The system allows users to rent cars through a cell phone app, 

enabling them to pick up and drop off the car in different locations as opposed to the usual roundtrip car-sharing experience. The incentive program was available to all car2go users across San 

Diego, as the entire fleet of car2go Smart Cars in this city were electric. 

2 APPLYING INCENTIVES TO 

MODIFY TRAVEL ROUTES

TYPE: STUDY

CURRENTLY: INACTIVE

STARTED IN: 2014

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

f Service Credits.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY
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EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

Users could take part in either of two incentives to help car2go 

reach its goal. The first incentive helped achieve the goal of 

moving cars closer to the charging area, decreasing travel time 

by car2go employees to bring in cars for charging. Drivers were 

eligible after driving a minimum of 15 minutes and parking the 

vehicle within a three-block by three-block zone (see Figure 2a 

upper map). The second incentive aimed to prevent an oversupply of cars in low-demand zones. In order to be eligible for 

this incentive, users would drive a car starting within two 

predefined regions for at least 10 minutes and park the car 

outside of those zones (see Figure 2b lower map). In both 

incentive scenarios, users received a 10-minute driving credit to 

their account in the car2go application.

Throughout the incentive program, surveys were sent to 

participants to measure how they used car2go and what their 

motivation for participating in the different incentives might 

be. The surveys found that participants most often used the 

service for recreational activities. Increased use of car2go resulted in some respondents reporting a 

change in their use of public transportation, taxis, and walking. One finding that was of interest to 

the research team was that respondents reported using ride-sourcing options, such as Lyft or Uber, 

more often. A possible explanation was that users might drive themselves via car2go to bars and 

restaurants, but take a ride-source option home to avoid drinking and driving.

When participants who were aware of the incentive but had not yet taken advantage of it were asked 

why they had not done so, responses generally indicated that the users’ final destinations were not 

within the drop-off zones, and many believed they would use the incentive in the future. Thirty 

percent of all respondents to this survey reported vehicles having more of a charge than before. 

(Shaheen et al., 2018)

After the incentive period had ended, surveys were sent out 

to query car2go users about how they might use these 

incentives in the future. Respondents indicated that incentives 

in the form of driving minutes credited to their account were 

more valuable than the cash value. When a hypothetical offer 

was made for the cash equivalent, users replied that they 

would be less likely to drive a vehicle to a charging zone.

For more information, see One-way Electric Vehicle Carsharing in San Diego: An Exploration of 

Behavioral Impacts and the Impact of Pricing Incentives on Improving Operational Efficiency by 

Susan A. Shaheen., Ph.D, Elliot Martin, Ph.D, and Apaar Bansal. Available at: http://www.dot.

ca.gov/newtech/researchreports/reports/2018/CA18-2499_FinalReport.pdf. 

Figure 2. Maps. Compound figure 

depicts the car2go incentive zones 

in San Diego. 

a) Charging area incentive zone. 

b) Low demand incentive zone. 

Source: Shaheen et al. 2018.

Respondents indicated that 

incentives in the form of 

driving minutes credited 

to their account were more 

valuable than the cash value. 
7

Incentivizing travelers to change their time of travel can distribute the use of 

transportation facilities over a longer period and mitigate the crush of peak 

congestion, especially in highly urbanized areas where thousands of people often 

attempt to access these facilities at the same time. These shifts are also important to 

manage demand during special events. For example, businesses in a popular Colorado 

ski town would offer incentives to skiers to motivate some to stay longer and avoid the 

congested I-70 Mountain Pass during the prime departure time each weekend. 

ENCOURAGING A SHIFT TO OFF-PEAK TRAVEL TIMES

Metropia is a for-profit enterprise that offers Metropia 

Total Mobility, a smartphone-based platform to 

support congestion management strategies and 

policies. Metropia’s Total Mobility platform, which 

uses artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithms, data 

analytics, and behavioral economics, provides a 

demand management framework that supports shifts 

in travel by time of day, mode, and route. 

To support adjustments to off-peak travel, Metropia’s 

platform allows users to compare routes and time-ofdeparture choices, depicting travel time savings as well 

as informing the user about the external impacts of their 

choices, such as reductions or increases in carbon 

dioxide (CO2

) emissions. The goal is to incentivize commuters to shift their departure to off-peak 

travel times using a system of reward points. By making this shift to what are called the 

“shoulders” of the peak period, users are able to earn more reward points, based on a variable 

point profile, than they would by departing during the peak periods. 

In earlier versions of the platform, the level of rewards provided by the system depended on the 

travelers’ degree of behavioral change and their contribution to traffic congestion alleviation. The 

next generation version of the platform (expected for release in late 2018), utilizes a behavior 

engine (INDUCE), where rewards are based on the traveler’s “persona” (i.e., observed travel 

behaviors, information captured from micro-surveys, and inferred activity type from destinations 

TYPE: MAINSTREAMED

CURRENTLY: ACTIVE

STARTED IN: 2012

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Online resources.

Point-based rewards.

Carpool matching.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY

3 APPLYING INCENTIVES TO 

SHIFT TIME OF TRAVEL
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EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

and time of day). By using AI-based algorithms, parameters are then 

matched to user persona characteristics to compute a likelihood of 

change coefficient. Users with high coefficients are more likely to try 

a suggested alternative. The value of INDUCE is that it helps pair 

attractive mobility options with more receptive users, with the 

ultimate goal of convincing the user to switch to a more sustainable 

mode (e.g., transit, carpool, etc.). Users can redeem points within the 

app for rewards such as gift cards from national retailers, gift cards 

from local stores and restaurants (supplied by partners), or they can 

redeem their points to plant a tree. 

Metropia incorporates a user communication module to alert users to 

planned construction zones and lane closures as well as any 

unplanned events such as a flooding, incident, or signal outage at a 

major intersection, which may impact their trip. Additional inapplication features include:

f A message inbox, where transportation agencies can directly 

inform users about planned and unplanned roadwork, lane 

closures, new corridor openings, traffic incidents, etc. 

f Turn-by-turn navigation, guiding users along the fastest route 

possible. This is designed to identify underutilized roadways 

when traffic levels rise and reward drivers who opt to use those routes as a means of easing 

congestion on more overburdened roadways. 

The social carpooling “Driving Up Occupancy” (DUO) module of the platform allows users to 

arrange carpools by creating or joining groups. The app verifies passenger participation in the 

carpool, and each person receives reward points. The reward points are based on a spinning wheel 

incorporated in the smartphone app as part of the gamification element of the platform. The driver 

also receives a portion of each passenger’s points as an additional reward. Another feature is 

Metropia’s integration with transportation network companies (TNC), which allows the user to 

request to share a TNC ride with others, rewarding them with additional points for opting to share 

their ride. 

Over the past 3 years, Metropia has conducted several experiments on changing traveler behavior. 

To test drivers’ willingness to shift travel times, Metropia revised its point distribution system and 

conducted a month-long experiment among its El Paso, Texas, users. To incentivize more users to 

shift their departure times from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. the service 

decreased the number of points earned for travel during rush hour both in the morning and 

evening peak hours to just 10 points. The points available during the shoulders of rush hour spiked 

to 100 in an effort to lure drivers to travel at that time. A study (Metropia, 2018) of user behaviors 

during this experimental period indicated: 

Figure 3. Screenshot. Rewards from 

Metropia program. 

Source: Metropia.
9

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

f A 13 percent overall decrease in trips taken during the morning rush hour. 

f A 7 percent rise in trips taken during the subsequent, less-congested hour of the morning 

commute period, reflecting a shift in departure times. 

f A similar reduction in trips during the evening peak period, with trips increasing before and 

after peak congestion but dropping below previous levels during rush hour itself.

Similarly, the “Austin Don’t Rush” mobility challenge, issued by the mayor of Austin, Texas, on 

May 11, 2016, urged commuters to consider the simplicity of avoiding peak traffic times and 

carpooling when their schedule permitted. As with the El Paso experiment, Metropia lowered 

peak period rewards points and doubled points for travel on the shoulders of the morning and 

afternoon peak periods. Points for using Metropia’s DUO social carpooling feature were also 

doubled throughout the day. Observed improvements (Metropia, 2018) include the following:

f The Austin areas achieved a systemwide 4 percent drop in a common travel time reliability 

performance measure, the travel time index (TTI) for morning peak period and a 3 percent 

drop in the TTI for the afternoon peak period. A drop in TTI indicates an increase in travel 

time reliability. 

f Those who shifted their morning commute experienced a 10 percent reduction in their travel 

times, and those who shifted their afternoon commutes realized a 6 percent reduction in 

travel time.

The Metropia system, which is funded through agreements with local governments and regional 

planning authorities, integrates an active demand management and data analytics platform to 

support the application. It has a back-end server system that calculates real-time traffic information 

from multiple sources and predicts traffic conditions, calculates routes, and manages all of the 

subsystem processes to support the front-end services. This backend analytics capability provides 

travel and traffic information to both commuters and cities during normal operations, pre-planned 

special events, or unexpected, extraordinary circumstances. 

Metropia has active deployments in Austin, Texas; Tucson, Arizona; a binational deployment 

covering the El Paso–Juárez-Las Cruces region; and an upcoming deployment in Taiwan. 

Metropia’s platform also supports the Regional Transportation Authority of Pima County’s 

Mobility-on-Demand Sandbox grant from the from Federal Transit Authority and the Bay Area 

Rapid Transit’s Perks 2 incentive program. Future deployments are currently planned for a number 

of cities in the United States. 

For more information, see: http://www.metropia.com/. 
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EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

COMMUTER CONNECTIONS FLEXTIME REWARDS PROGRAM

In the Washington, D.C. region, one program has been 

developed that targets a specific set of corridors 

particularly prone to bottlenecks during the morning 

and afternoon peak congestion periods. The Commuter 

Connections Flextime Rewards Program (Flextime 

Rewards), launched in December 2017 and currently 

running as a pilot, was developed by Commuter 

Connections, a regional network of transportation 

organizations coordinated by the Metropolitan 

Washington Council of Governments, in conjunction 

with the University of Maryland. The program is 

sponsored through an award from the U.S. Department 

of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects AgencyEnergy (ARPA-E), and is jointly funded by the District 

of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia Departments of Transportation, as well as through grants 

from the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

Flextime Rewards combines Commuter Connections’ software with the analytics behind the 

University of Maryland’s National Transportation Center incenTrip program to provide 

personalized, real-time traveler information that can calculate the estimated time of arrival. This 

data can be calculated up to 24 hours in advance and recalculates as traffic conditions change or 

an incident is detected. Commuter Connections uses this data to alert registered Flextime Rewards 

users that significant congestion has been identified along their route and will give alternative 

departure times that could improve the commuter’s trip.

The Flextime Rewards program is open to commuters who are able and willing to commute 

during off-peak hours to avoid congestion along the four selected corridors targeted by the 

program. At companies that allow their employees to utilize a flexible schedule, the Flextime 

Rewards program offers the option to adjust the times they arrive at and depart from work, 

reducing the overall number of people attempting to travel during the morning and 

afternoon peak periods. Currently, the pilot program is available to employees working in the 

Washington, D.C. air quality non-attainment region.

To be eligible to participate and receive rewards, users must commute at least 2 days per week on 

one of the four eligible corridors. They must download the Commuter Connections app, which is 

the mechanism by which users are notified of higher-than-average congestion along the eligible 

corridor which they commute. In response, the user must adjust his/her normal commute trip and 

record the action using Commuter Connections’ software to be eligible for a reward. A valid 

response by a user to a Flextime notification results in an entry into a lottery for a prize drawing to 

be held at the end of the month. 

TYPE: MAINSTREAMED

CURRENTLY: ACTIVE

STARTED IN: 2012

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Online resources.

Point-based rewards.

Carpool matching.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY
11

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

During the month, each time 

the user responds to a 

notification by altering their 

commute, they are entered into 

the drawing. A $100 raffle 

drawing is held each month. 

The winner receives either 

direct payment, gift certificates/

cards, or debit cards. If no 

notifications are sent throughout 

a month, no prize drawing 

occurs.

The Commuter Connections 

program managers chose to 

conduct a pilot or “soft launch” 

of the Flextime Rewards program so that they could analyze the initial results, get feedback from 

participants, make the program more robust, and then use marketing funds to increase 

participation. During the 2019 fiscal year, an upgrade to the system will include geolocation 

services to automatically detect whether or not a user is delaying their trip. During the pilot period, 

the program managers are seeking to gather feedback on ease of use and understandability. One of 

the early lessons learned is that the program needs to make it easy for participants to log their trips 

and to continue to obtain feedback from channels such as the system’s call center so that program 

managers can increase the effectiveness of the program.

For more information, see Commuter Connections Flextime Rewards Program webpage at 

https://www.commuterconnections.org/commuters/flextime-rewards-program/.

Source: Ridofranc, iStock/Getty Images Plus.
12

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

INSTANT (INFOSYS-STANFORD TRAFFIC) PROGRAM: A “NUDGE 

SYSTEM” IN BANGALORE, INDIA

The INSTANT experiment, conducted from 2008-2009 

in Bangalore, India, served as an early exploration of 

the incentives concept. INSTANT rewarded commuters 

who chose to travel at less congested periods as a 

means of alleviating peak period congestion. The 

philosophy behind this experiment contrasts with 

strategies related to “self-routing,” in which travelers 

are encouraged to simply use different routes at the 

same time that they normally begin their trip rather 

than varying their trip time.

Gridlock had become a concern among executives at 

Infosys, a large digital services and consulting firm that 

employs around 20,000 people in Bangalore, India. 

Like many booming Indian information technology (IT) companies, the Bangalore campus of the 

firm is located about 9 miles south of the city center. The IT boom in Bangalore resulted in a 

population explosion from 4.13 million in 1991 to nearly double that in 2007, which in turn caused 

the city to sprawl over nearly 750 square miles. (Merugu et al., 2009) Every morning, nearly three 

quarters of the Infosys employees commute through the congested city to reach the company’s 

offices. Of the nearly 15,000 Infosys commuters, around 9,000 commuted by buses chartered by 

Infosys. The company was able to maintain extensive and detailed data on these commutes, such 

as commuting times and bus occupancy levels. A study of this data revealed that commuters who 

left for work after 7:30 a.m. had commute times that were about 1.5–2 times longer than those who 

left before 7:30 a.m.

One solution for potentially beating this congestion nightmare was a “nudge engine” that would 

encourage Infosys employees to come in early and beat the morning rush. A nudge engine is a 

program that uses mobile, cloud, and social networking technologies to sense individual behaviors; 

for example, the number of times employees swipe their identification badges at work. The tool 

then “nudges” these individuals to change those behaviors through the use of friendly competitions 

and incentives. 

The primary incentive for the INSTANT experiment, developed by Professor Balaji Prabhakar of 

Stanford University’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, was an 

algorithm-driven lottery. The algorithm had three components: credit allocation, weekly reward 

drawings, and credit deduction. 

For the experiment, commuters using Infosys buses earned credits based on their time of arrival, 

with those arriving earliest receiving the most credits, and those arriving later earning fewer 

credits until a certain time after which they accrue no credits. The more credits a commuter 

TYPE: STUDY

CURRENTLY: INACTIVE

STARTED IN: 2008

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Shuttle service.

Weekly drawings.

Point-based rewards.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY
13

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

earned, the higher the amount of prize money they could win and the greater the chance that they 

could win a prize at all. At the end of each week, the algorithm divided the commuters into 

different levels based on the quantity of credits they had earned; those who had fewer credits were 

in lower levels, and the drawings were for lower amounts. Those who had higher numbers of 

credits were in higher levels with the potential for larger winnings. Rewards varied in value from 

the equivalent of about $10 for those who had accrued fewer credits to about $240 for those who 

had accrued a greater number of credits. This potential to win a greater reward was designed to 

incentivize commuters to accrue more credits each week.

After each drawing, the algorithm deducted credits on a sliding scale for both the winners and 

non-winners to ensure that commuters would continue to arrive early to rebuild their credit 

balances. This was also to ensure that winners would have to build up their credit balance over a 

few weeks before being able to win again, thus giving others a chance to win larger prizes. 

The INSTANT experiment was considered to be very successful. During the course of the 

experiment, the pickup times for about 60 buses had to be advanced between 15 and 30 minutes as a 

result of commuter demand for earlier arrival of their buses, and several buses were shifted from 

arrival after 9:30 a.m. to before 8:30 a.m. At the conclusion of the 6-month experimental period, 

the number of Infosys commuters arriving before 8:30 a.m. had doubled, and the average 

morning commute time per person had dropped to 54 minutes from around 71 minutes before 

the scheme was launched. This resulted in a net savings of about 2600 person-hours per day.

(Merugu et al., 2009)

For more information, see “An Incentive Mechanism for Decongesting the Roads: A Pilot Program 

in Bangalore” by D. Merugu, B. S. Prabhakar, N. S. Rama at: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/

faculty-research/publications/incentive-mechanism-decongesting-roads-pilot-program-bangalore. Source: shylendrahoonde, iStock, Getty Images Plus
14

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

STANFORD UNIVERSITY’S CONGESTION AND PARKING RELIEF 

INCENTIVES (CAPRI) STUDY

One of the largest employers in the San Francisco Bay 

Area, Stanford University, signed a General Use Permit 

with the County of Santa Clara that requires the 

university to manage its transportation impacts under a 

“no net new commute trips” standard: The amount of 

traffic during peak hours must not increase by more 

than 1 percent during the morning and afternoon peak 

hours (based on traffic count data from 2000). By 2012, 

while existing measures had been effective in reducing 

the total number of commuters who drive alone, they 

did not directly address peak-hour commuters, whose 

numbers were increasing.

In an effort to address this imbalance, the university, 

with a $3 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration Value Pricing Pilot Program, 

launched the Congestion and Parking Relief Incentives (CAPRI) program, which ran from April 

2012 through September 2014. Its goal was focused on shifting driver commutes away from peak 

hours, but was expanded in 2013 to incentivize walking and bicycling commutes. The approach 

behind the project is based on the understanding that “congestion is a 10 percent phenomenon.” 

(Abadi et al.) In other words, a small reduction in demand can lead to a significant drop in 

congestion. By targeting peak period commutes, a corresponding decrease in peak period 

congestion around the university could be achieved. 

In addition, rather than penalizing undesirable behavior, such as increasing the cost of transit 

during peak periods, the CAPRI project approach was designed to incentivize decongestion by 

using “carrots” to influence driver behavior. This methodology leverages game theory, in which 

games with low stakes see players become more risk-seeking, resulting in greater user 

responsiveness achieved by paying out random “chunky” rewards rather than small, deterministic 

payments. CAPRI built on the incentives first proposed in the previously introduced INSTANT 

(Merugu et al., 2009) program, as well as Steptacular 

(Gomes et al., 2012) and Insinc (Pluntke and Prabhakar, 

2013) programs in terms of both behavioral interventions as 

well as technological elements. 

In April 2012, Stanford University parking permit holders 

who parked inside the “congestion cordon” were invited to 

participate in the program. Those who enrolled were given 

passive radio-frequency identification tags to place on their 

windshield. Entries and exits were tracked by sensing 

devices at 10 main access points on the Stanford campus 

TYPE: STUDY

CURRENTLY: INACTIVE

STARTED IN: 2012

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Point-based rewards.

Raffle rewards.

Online resources.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY

Figure 4. Screenshot. Chutes-andladders game for redeeming cash 

reward in CAPRI. 

Source: Zhu et al 2014.
15

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

during the 7–10 a.m. and 4–7 p.m. periods each weekday, with peak-hours defined as 8–9 a.m. and 

5–6 p.m. For each automobile detected by the sensors during the off-peak shoulder hours (i.e., 7–8 

a.m. and 9–10 a.m., and 4–5 p.m. and 6–7 p.m.), the participant was awarded 10 points.

Additionally, CAPRI assigned each participant a “boost day,” 

or a day on which their off-peak trip earned them 30 points. 

Beginning in May 2013, the project was expanded to 

incentivize walkers and bicyclists by awarding them between 

10 and 25 points, depending on the length of their commutes. 

Walking and biking activity was monitored using the “My 

Beats” smartphone app developed for this project. 

Participants were incentivized by receiving points for commutes during off-peak periods and non-motorized commutes. 

These points could be redeemed in one of two ways: 

1. Deterministically, by trading 100 points for $1 (or a full 

week’s worth of off-peak trip points). 

2. Randomly, by playing a “chutes-and-ladders” type game 

using their points on the CAPRI website.

The game gave cash rewards ranging from $1–$50. The 

follow-on study of the project found that 87.3 percent of the participants used the random rewards 

option, validating the theory behind the project. (Zhu et al., 2014) Notably, since participants were 

allowed to change the manner of redeeming rewards, 13.2 percent of the participants ended up 

switching from the deterministic option to the random option at some point during the program. 

(Zhu et al., 2014)

CAPRI also tapped into basic human traits such as the desire to improve one’s social status, the 

desire to connect with friends, and the desire to feel understood to increase the popularity, 

engagement, and behavior shift among the participants. This was accomplished through a rewards 

system that encouraged the desired behaviors and made them fun:

f Status system. Participants began at the bronze level and were able to advance through 

silver, gold, and platinum levels based on the number of off-peak shoulder hour trips they 

made on a weekly basis. At the silver, gold, and platinum levels, failure to make the number 

of off-peak shoulder hour trips required for that status level resulted in a degrading of the 

status by one level. Recognizing that status is only worth something if it is associated with a 

privilege, CAPRI gave participants with higher status higher odds of winning rewards in the 

game, and higher-valued rewards were only available at the higher status levels. For example, 

a $50 reward was only available at the Platinum level. 

f Friends. Leveraging the popularity of social media, CAPRI participants were allowed to 

invite friends who were eligible to participate in CAPRI to join the program as well as to 

connect with their friends on the CAPRI portal. Participants could see their friends’ recent 

updates, including status upgrades, any cash awards won, etc. This feature provided a basis 

for social influence to spread.

Figure 5. Screenshot. Interface 

for “My Beats” smartphone app 

for this CAPRI. 

Source: Abadi et al., n.d.
16

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

f Magic Box. Based on a participant’s tracked preference for commuting off-peak, this 

incentive offered weekly personalized opportunities to gain additional points through a tab in 

a commuter’s portal called “Magic Box.” For example, filling out an optional survey might 

garner the user an additional 200 bonus points. 

f Trendjacking. Because Stanford University participates in numerous high-profile sporting 

events, CAPRI offered tickets to some of these events and used them to incentivize behavior 

shift or increase enrollment. 

Participants 

Over the 30-month study period, 4,057 Stanford affiliates completed the registration process; this 

includes 3,082 car commuters and 975 biking/walking commuters. These car commuters 

comprised about 30 percent of the 10,290 car commuters in Stanford who were ever eligible to 

participate. (Zhu et al., 2014)

Outcomes

A post-project study identified the following results of the CAPRI program:

f CAPRI users avoided peak hours. For CAPRI participants, the peak-hour trip ratio is only 

30.1 percent in the morning and 32.4 percent in the evening, which is a 21.2 percent and a 

13.1 percent reduction, respectively, from the Stanford-wide traffic. (Zhu et al., 2014)

f CAPRI users responded to incentives. The commute density for CAPRI participants peaks adjacent 

to (but just outside) the peak hours. Furthermore, CAPRI users preferred commuting during the 

hour before the peak hour as compared to the hour after the peak hour. (Zhu et al., 2014)

f CAPRI rewards had a direct effect on participants’ commute time. Results of the study show 

that participants will shift their commute time away from peak hours when receiving rewards 

in the recent past. (Zhu et al., 2014)

o Early commuters who have friends winning rewards in the past week travel around 1.5 

minutes earlier. Early commuters also advance their commutes by an additional minute 

on their boost days to ensure receiving bonus award points. 

o Late users who won rewards in the past week shift about 3 minutes later in morning and 

afternoon (non-peak) commutes. 

Since the conclusion of the CAPRI program, Stanford University developed and is currently 

hosting a “Commute Club” through its Parking & Transportation Services program. This program 

offers a variety of incentives to the more than 10,000 members who commute to and from the 

university. Incentives include up to $300 a year in “Clean Air Cash” or carpool credit for not 

purchasing a long-term parking permit; free carpools and vanpools, along with reserved parking 

for carpool vehicles; Zipcar driving credit of up to $102 per year; free folding bicycle rental for 1 

week along with subsidized purchase of folding bicycles; and the opportunity to win other prizes 

through regular drawings.1

For more information, see https://prabhakargroup.stanford.edu/research/societal-networks/capri-project. 

1 See https://transportation.stanford.edu/commute-club for more information.
17

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

SPITSMIJDEN (“PEAK AVOIDANCE”)

In the Netherlands, several iterations of what have been 

called the “Spitsmijden” (or peak avoidance) 

experiments have been conducted since 2006 to examine 

the concept of rewarding drivers for driving during 

off-peak hours rather than at the height of typically 

congested periods. Three of the earliest projects are 

described below, although other peak avoidance projects 

have also been completed recently in the Netherlands. 

These projects included different types of rewards (e.g., 

monetary, lottery, gifts, free bikes, etc.), variance in the 

length of time during which rewards are given, and a 

reduction of the rewards after a period of time.

Zoetermeer

The goal of the first experiment in Zoetermeer in 2016 was simply to investigate the behavioral 

responses of travelers when incentivized by a potential reward. With only 340 participants, the 

experiment was not intended to solve congestion problems, but rather to validate the 

hypothesis that rewards could be used to alter driver behavior.

Two different reward types were identified, and participants could choose their preferred reward. 

The first group opted for a monetary reward (232 participants), which offered €3 to €7 (about $3.78 

to about $8.82 in 2006 U.S. dollars) per day for avoiding using a car during the morning peak 

between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m.. The second group opted to use a smartphone with global positioning 

system (GPS) that could also provide real-time traffic information (108 participants). These 

participants were rewarded by being able to keep the smartphone if they avoided the morning peak 

sufficiently throughout the 10 week period. During the study, participants could not change their 

route in order to earn a reward, so the only alternatives available were to use different departure 

times, different travel modes, or choosing not to travel.

Researchers (Bliemer et al., 2015) found that: 

f Among those earning a €3 (about $3.78 

in 2006 dollars) reward, 46 percent 

fewer trips were made by car during the 

morning peak, 35 percent of all trips 

made by car were outside peak hours, 

and 10 percent shifted to other modes. 

Approximately 67 people, or about 20 

percent of the participants, did not use a 

car during morning peak when offered a 

€3 reward. 

TYPE: STUDY SERIES

CURRENTLY: ACTIVE 

STARTED IN: 2006

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Monetary rewards.

Online resources.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY

Figure 6. Graph. Number of detected travelers 

from Zoetermeer during morning peak. 

Source: Bliemer, Dicke-Ogenia, & Ettema, 2010.
18

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

f Among those earning a €7 (about $8.82 in 2006 dollars) reward, 61 percent fewer trips were 

made by car during the morning peak, and 44 percent of all trips made by car were outside 

the peak hours, and 14 percent shifted to other modes. Approximately 88 people, or just 

over 25 percent of the participants, did not use a car during morning peak when offered a €7 

reward. (Bliemer et al., 2015) 

Following the positive results, the Dutch Ministry of Transport decided to execute two additional 

projects in 2007 and 2008 with the goal of influencing traffic conditions during the planned 

maintenance and renewal of two major bridges, Hollandse Brug east of Amsterdam and Moerdijk 

Brug south of Rotterdam. 

Hollandse Brug (Hollandse Bridge)

For the Hollandse Brug construction zone the goal was to reduce the number of vehicles using the 

bridge by 1,000 to 1,500 during the 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. morning peak. In addition to the peak 

avoidance monetary reward, the Ministry of Transport also offered free public transportation and 

vanpools. Additional measures included alternate route guidance, including dynamic route 

information panels with travel times for alternative routes and for travel by ferry.

A total of 2,975 participants were recruited for the 12-month project period, with half of 

participants being recruited prior to the project, and half being recruited after the first 6 month 

period to increase participation. Participants were offered a reward of €4 (about $5.48 in 2007 U.S. 

dollars) for avoiding the morning peak period (6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.) by car. Participants 

could earn an additional €2 (about $2.74 in 2007 U.S. dollars) if they did not travel by car on 

the bridge all day. Participants of the peak avoidance project traveled an average of 2.1 times 

per week on the bridge during the peak periods. During the rewarding period, this number 

decreased to 1.3 times per week, which is a 40 percent decrease in the number of trips. 

(Bliemer et al., 2015) Of this 40 percent:

f Eighteen percent opted to travel outside peak hours.

f Nine percent chose an alternate route.

f Six percent chose an alternate mode of transportation.

In sum, the incentive program resulted in a reduction of approximately 1,250 car trips per week for 

the first half of the year; this is equivalent to a reduction of 250 cars per morning peak, which is 

1.5 percent of the total flow. (Bliemer et al., 2015) During the second half of the year, this 

reduction rose to 425 cars per morning peak, about 2.6 percent of the total flow, but still 

significantly less than the 1,000 to 1,500 vehicle reduction goal.

Moerdijk Brug (Moerdijk Bridge)

The Moerdijk Brug project conducted from April to July of 2008 aimed to avoid significant 

increases in the congestion on southbound lanes due to road work during the evening peak period 

(3 p.m. to 7 p.m.). In total 2,703 people participated. For this experiment, participants could earn 

€4 per day (about $5.88 in 2008 U.S. dollars) or a maximum of €20 per week (about $29.40 in 2008 
19

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

U.S. dollars). Out of all participants, 66 percent of the travelers indicated that they changed their 

behavior. Of the 1,784 participants who did change their behavior (Bliemer et al., 2015): 

f Twenty-eight percent chose alternate routes.

f Fifteen percent changed their departure time.

f Six percent worked from home more often. 

f Five percent carpooled or used an alternate mode.

Among those who changed their departure time, 37 percent chose to depart later and 19 percent 

chose to depart earlier. On average, people departed 95 minutes earlier or 87 minutes later. 

Follow-on Experiments

Since 2009, several additional experiments in the same vein—with the same rules of participation 

regarding eligibility, travel modes, and reimbursement—have been conducted, with the most recent 

being the Spitsmijden A2 Nederweert-Eindhoven project in 2017. With more than 2,000 participants 

(SmartWays, 2018), the Spitzmijden A2 initiative was responsible for a total of 145,571 rush hour 

avoidances and 746 fewer cars on the road during peak traffic each day, significantly more than the 

goal of 680 fewer vehicles per day. (Rijkswaterstaat, 2018) Three-quarters of participants indicated 

that they got used to their new way of traveling and will continue to choose to avoid driving during 

peak traffic. Together, they continue to realize 650 rush hour avoidances per day.

The financing for the peak avoidance research projects in the Netherlands has changed since the 

early Spitsmijden projects were conducted. Businesses are typically now providing the rewards 

instead of the government directly financing the projects. 

A 2017 report commissioned by the Municipality of Amsterdam (Stemerding and Mateboer, 2017) 

points to the general success of these efforts to date and suggests the city continue to identify 

opportunities to incentivize peak period travel reductions by focusing on:

f Changing the travel behavior of students.

f Working with large businesses to institute flexible work hours, working from home, and 

changes in shift start and end times (for hourly workers).

f Targeting employees among smaller employers within the city center for future incentive 

initiatives.

For more information, see Rewarding for Avoiding the Peak Period: A Synthesis of Three Studies 

in the Netherlands by Bliemer, Michiel, Matthijs Dicke-Ogenia, and Dick Ettema. Available at: 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265060921_REWARDING_FOR_AVOIDING_THE_

PEAK_PERIOD_A_SYNTHESIS_OF_THREE_STUDIES_IN_THE_NETHERLANDS.
20

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT (BART) PERKS

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) 

system has seen a rapid increase in ridership thanks to 

population and job growth in the area. From 2004 to 

2016 alone, the system saw a 40 percent increase in 

overall ridership and a 75 percent increase in ridership 

in the Transbay corridor connecting the San Francisco 

financial district to the East Bay cities through the 

underwater Transbay Tube. BART’s maximum train car 

load target is 117 riders, but train car loads of about 140 

riders are seen during rush hour. 

In 2016, BART and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) rolled out the BART 

Perks program, aimed at nudging a small percentage of peak hour, peak direction Transbay Tube 

riders to hours before or after the peak rush. 

BART Perks was a 6-month test program that provided incentives to riders to shift travel time 

from the peak morning rush hour to the shoulder hours occurring before and after the peak— 

specifically, riders were encouraged to travel during 6:30 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.. The 

program had nearly 18,000 participants out of the approximately 26,000 riders who travel during 

peak hour. (SFCTA et al., 2018) Of those surveyed who did not participate, lack of schedule 

flexibility was the most cited barrier to participation.

Participants enrolled in the program through a mobile-friendly 

website and provided their Clipper Card ID number, allowing 

BART and SFCTA to provide awards based on frequency, 

timing, and length of trips, as well as to observe trends and 

effectiveness of the program. BART and SFCTA monitored 

rider trends in the 6 months leading up to the program period 

and 4 months after the program ended. 

During the BART Perks program period, Transbay peak hour 

travel demand decreased 10.9 percent, while the overall BART 

system travel demand decreased by 9.6 percent. (SFCTA et al., 

2018) Participants were more likely to travel during one of the 

bonus hours if it was close to their typical departure time and 

their schedule wouldn’t be altered greatly. Transbay travelers 

were less likely to shift into the bonus hours, perhaps due to 

many of those participants already traveling outside the peak hour, and many long distance 

commuters shifted more than other commuters, typically opting for the hour before peak rush. 

Two-thirds of participants shifted their travel time to bonus hours at least twice per week.

TYPE: STUDY 

CURRENTLY: INACTIVE

STARTED IN: 2016

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Point-based rewards.

Raffle rewards.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY

Figure 7. Screenshot. Promotional 

flyer for BART Perks.

Source: BART, n.d.
21

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

Shifting a trip to the bonus hours rewarded 

participants with points that they could use 

on the BART Perks reward generator. The 

points were played in a “chutes and ladders” 

type game, where participants could win 

from zero to $100. On average, participants 

earned about $2 per month. 

Upon completion of the 6-month program 

period, BART saw continued effects on 

travel behavior: 35 percent of peak hour 

trips cut during the program continued to 

happen outside of the peak hour in the four 

months following the program. Program participants were satisfied overall with BART Perks, 

with many participants stating their desire for higher levels of rewards, better rewards, or more 

opportunities to earn rewards, perhaps during a longer bonus period.

This program demonstrated a successful effort to shift departure times from peak hours. In the 

future, the Perks program would consider working more closely with employers to learn about 

barriers to shifting employee start times, therefore allowing later departure times from transit 

riders. While many participants felt comfortable arriving at work earlier, many did not feel that 

arriving at work late was an option. The BART Perks program model could also serve as a tool to 

achieve multiple objectives for a transit agency in the future. While this particular program was 

aimed at shifting morning rush travel demand, a Perks-type program could be used to reward 

frequent riders or encourage travel in lower ridership times of the day or week.

For more information, see Lessons from Perks: Evaluation Findings from the BART Perks Test 

Program at: https://www.sfcta.org/sites/default/files/content/Planning/BART_Travel_Smart/

Lessons%20From%20Perks%20-%20Eval%20Report.pdf. 

Source: Joe Potato, iStock Editorial/Getty Images Plus

23

Computing platforms are becoming a game changer when it comes to developing 

innovative incentive programs that encourage travelers to shift their mode of travel. 

Smartphone apps and internet-based initiatives are making it easier for travelers to 

identify a range of alternative modes of transportation, helping them reduce singleoccupancy vehicle trips while meeting their transportation and lifestyle needs. This is 

resulting in reduced congestion, reduced pollution, and a more comfortable commute.

INCENTIVIZING MODE SHIFT OPTIONS THROUGH SMARTPHONE 

APPLICATIONS

Several initiatives in the United States have employed 

smartphone applications to encourage different 

transportation demand management activities. Users, 

employers, or transit groups use these applications to 

help match them with carpool rides, find parking, 

document shifting travel times, or find alternate options 

such as public transit, bicycling, or walking routes.

Tools for Commuters 

One such app-based Mobility-as-a-Service tool is the 

Mobility Options Discovery and Engagement (MODE) 

solution, which is offered by the private company 

Metropia. MODE is intended to facilitate the use of 

public transportation and to eliminate the need for 

users to spend time researching mobility options. It does this by incentivizing users to select 

transportation modes other than single-occupancy vehicles during congested conditions. 

Launched in 2017, the Adaptive Mobility with Reliability and Efficiency (AMORE) project—

conducted through a partnership of the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) of Pima County, 

Metropia, and RubyRide2

—is the field deployment of the Metropia MODE framework and 

2 RubyRide is a subscription-based personalized driver service. The monthly fee for this service includes unlimited trips 

inside the subscriber’s community zone, but fee trips are also available. The service offers advance scheduling for recurring 

trips and first mile/last mile services to connect users to transit, making it an option for commuters who do not own a 

vehicle and who may not live within walking or bicycling distance of transit lines. 

TYPE: MAINSTREAMED

CURRENTLY: ACTIVE

STARTED IN: 2017

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Online resources.

Point-based rewards.

Daily parking.

Free transit.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY

4 APPLYING INCENTIVES TO 

SHIFT MODE OF TRAVEL
24

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

approach in Tucson, AZ. Funded through the Federal Transit Administration’s Mobility on 

Demand Sandbox grant program, the project is currently exploring and enhancing public access to 

mobility options for individuals needing or wishing to reduce their use of single-occupancy 

vehicles. It does this by integrating multiple emerging mobility services and technologies. Users 

can request multiple types of mobility services via the Metropia app, from transit-hailing to 

carpooling, facilitating service delivery to users. The project goals include supplementing the 

existing fixed-route transit system; demonstrating a more on-demand, efficient, transit-hailing 

service; improving overall multimodal system reliability and efficiency; and increasing ridership. 

In addition, the project is expected to:

f Establish a financially sustainable mobility ecosystem based on a points system to which 

users can subscribe. Within this system, points can be purchased, earned, and transferred 

among families and friends through a range of activities to meet individuals’ and families’ 

mobility needs. The idea is to enable employers, local businesses, and other stakeholders 

to participate and contribute to an enhanced mobility options pool by offering rewards to 

those who exhibit more desirable behavior (i.e., fewer single-occupancy trips using personal 

vehicles).

f Introduce the transit-hailing service (with RubyRide as the service provider) as an option for 

commuting, activities around town, or first-mile/last-mile service for transit operations. 

f Integrate carpooling (via the Metropia app’s DUO feature) with transit-hailing and existing 

transit services in order to offer more robust mobility options for individuals with various 

commuting needs, and make the system more adaptive and capable of meeting peak-hour 

demand surge.

RTA and Metropia anticipate that data sharing with RTA and other transportation agencies will 

help provide insight into transit ridership, demand for transit and transportation services, regional 

travel patterns, and more. The project has several anticipated outcomes, including:

f Increased access to various affordable mobility options for residents with limited access to a 

personal vehicle. Achieving this outcome could translate to improved access to employment, 

greater transportation equity, and better quality of life for residents.

f More cost-effective system-level benefits and higher quality of service will allow for the 

exploration and extension of public-private partnerships in future years to further augment 

the services offered.

Tools for Employers 

Metropia’s platform is one of several platforms that are in use in the United States to incentivize 

mode shifts through smartphone applications. Similarly, Luum offers an enterprise-grade 

commute management platform that employers can use to provide benefits and incentives to 

employees to promote behavior change. This can benefit employers through better utilization of 

real estate and facilities, streamlined administrative workflows, attraction and retention of talent, 

and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Through Luum’s online platform, employers can 

engage with employees to optimize their daily commute and offer targeted incentives based on 
25

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

specific company commuter program goal behaviors, such as maximizing the use of shuttle, 

transit, or carpool/vanpool services, and allowing employees to compete against coworkers in 

leaderboards and rewards pools. 

Luum’s software aggregates data for the employer through integration with human resources, 

payroll, parking, shuttles, and third-party mobility providers. Through Luum, employers can make 

a range of alternative commute modes available, deliver customizable and personalized commute 

benefits to employees, better understand employee commute activities and preferences, and 

motivate behavioral change. Luum is designed to enable a commuter benefits program 

manager to administer transit subsidies and transit cards, form and manage carpools and 

vanpools, administer daily parking charges, manage a parking waitlist and parking 

applications, and offer a guaranteed ride home via transportation network companies. 

Using Luum, an administrator can send targeted communications via email to different 

groups of commuters (e.g., everyone who is registered in a vanpool or assigned to park in a 

specific garage). This helps the employer target information and incentives to the right 

people. Luum partners with third-party mobility service providers in order to offer its clients 

linked accounts and to synchronize commute data, which is used to track trip mode and distance. 

In 2016, Luum worked with Delta Dental of Washington (DDWA) to implement an enhanced 

commute program that would mitigate the impacts of the company’s relocation from a suburban 

location north of Seattle to the city center. To give employees the ability to decide how best to 

commute to work on a daily basis and to meet the parking constraints of their new office, DDWA 

opted to implement a series of solutions (Luum, 2017): 

f My Commute Hub: A one-stop-shop with tools and resources to support employee commute 

choices.

f Daily Parking: All employees have the option to drive when needed. Employees are only 

charged for the days they choose to drive and the charges are automatically deducted from 

their paycheck.

f Daily Bonus: Employees receive a bonus for each day they commute by any mode other than 

driving alone, including telecommuting.

f Reduced Rideshare Parking: Free parking for vanpools and split parking charges for 

carpools discourage single-occupancy vehicles.

f Fully Subsidized ORCA (One Regional Card for All) Cards: Passes provided by DDWA 

cover transit and vanpool fees. ORCA cards are fare payment cards accepted in the Seattle 

region on buses, ferries, or trains.

Since starting its MyCommute program, DDWA has achieved the following (Luum, 2017): 

f A 60 percent reduction in the drive-alone rate, down to 15 percent post-move.

f A 100 percent participation rate in the MyCommute program.

f Four new vanpools.

f Retention of 100 percent of employees after moving from the old office to the new office.
26

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

Using these application-based systems encourages behavior change from the users, while allowing 

streamlined incentive processes and easier data tracking.

For more information on Luum, see: https://www.luum.com/, and for more information on 

Metropia, see: http://www.metropia.com/.
27

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

INCENTIVE SERVICES TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF 

TRIPS

An example of an incentive service that works with 

State and local agencies to encourage travelers to select 

modal options that have a lower environmental impact 

is NuRide (soon to be renamed Agile Mile, Inc.). 

NuRide is a rewards program for commuters who 

take “greener trips;” e.g., walk, bike, telecommute, 

carpool, or take the train, subway, bus, or work a 

compressed schedule. The NuRide programs in the 

United States are offered through State and local 

governments and metropolitan planning organizations, 

and are free of cost to those who sign up. One of 

NuRide’s principle activities is persuading businesses to sponsor the incentive program and 

provide the incentives so that the programs are sustainable, ongoing, and donated at no cost to the 

local or State governments. 

The primary focus of the service is on removing vehicles from the roadway as a means of reducing 

emissions and improving the environment. It does this by encouraging non-motorized modes and 

car/vanpooling. Users who sign up receive points for each green trip they record via an online 

portal. Points can be redeemed for coupons for restaurants and retail shops, services, movie 

tickets, etc. 

Established in 2003, NuRide has built a presence in nine States. The participant portal provides a 

dashboard of activity results in each area where the system is deployed. For example, in the 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, NuRide exceeded 25,000 participating commuters in 2014, after 

only 4 years in the State, and nearly doubled that number by 2018. Since its launch in 2010, 

NuRide indicates that participants in the State have saved more than 175 million miles of driving, 

more than 8 million gallons of gasoline, nearly $97 million in travel-related costs, and nearly 

79,000 tons of emissions. (NuRide, 2018) In San Antonio, TX, where the service launched in 

2008, $1.1 million in rewards have been redeemed, nearly half a million walking trips have been 

taken rather than driven, 1.6 million transit trips have been made, and 4.5 million rides have been 

shared as of June 2018. (NuRide, 2018) 

In addition, during the 2008 to 2010 period, NuRide sponsored the Houston Commuter Challenge, 

in which 13,000 commuters reduced the number of vehicles on roadways by carpooling, 

vanpooling, biking, walking, telecommuting, and riding transit. Participants saved close to $5 

million in commuting costs by not driving while earning more than $340,000 in rewards from 

private industry and product sponsors. Employers throughout the region supported the event by 

encouraging their employees to participate. In addition to reducing 15 million miles of driving, the 

Commuter Challenge also produced the following results: 927,498 car trips saved, one million 

gallons of gas saved, and 10,701 tons of emissions prevented. (Houston Style Magazine, 2010) 

For more information on NuRide, see: https://nuride.com/. 

TYPE: MAINSTREAMED

CURRENTLY: ACTIVE

STARTED IN: 2003

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Point-based rewards.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY
28

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

EUROPEAN EMPOWER PROJECT TO REDUCE USE OF 

CONVENTIONALLY FUELED VEHICLES

Funded by the European Commission’s Horizon2020 

program, the purpose of the EMPOWER Project is to 

reduce use of conventionally fueled vehicles in 

European cities as a means of achieving a combination 

of more efficient urban traffic flows reduced carbon 

dioxide (CO2

) emissions and improved air quality—a 

byproduct of reduced CO2

 emissions and oil 

consumption from fewer vehicles idling in congested 

traffic conditions. 

The project is exploring the use of personalized 

positive incentives such as information, points, 

discounts, rewards, community support, challenges, 

small giveaways, larger competition prizes, travel 

discounts, individual and group competitions, and 

games as a means of encouraging people to engage in positive behavioral change, including 

shifting travel to off-peak hours, using car sharing, and exploring ways to avoid traveling 

altogether (e.g., telecommuting).

The project, which kicked off in 2016, combines empirical research with practical implementation 

in four “Living Lab Cities” (Gothenburg, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; Enschede, Netherlands; and 

Manchester, UK) and seven Take-Up Cities and Communities. Following the roll out to the Living 

Lab Cities, it will then be expanded to the seven additional locations. 

Each Living Lab city has established a Living Lab Plan, which is designed to provide an overview 

of the implementation process. Each plan begins with an analysis of the characteristics of the local 

transportation system and its usage patterns followed by the establishment of a structure for the 

local experimentation activities and the characteristics of the work to be carried out. The 

experiments are testing a wide range of potential services; for example, working with transit 

operators to encourage infrequent users to take more journeys via bus or rail, encouraging the use 

of electric vehicles by offering parking discounts, and making public transportation more 

accessible to less mobile people.

The results of the EMPOWER project will answer questions such as, “What are the best designs 

for positive incentives to encourage people to consider other travel options?” and “How can we 

establish lasting travel behavior changes, not through external rewards, but though addressing 

intrinsic needs, such as the need to belong to a group or the need to do good?” The project is also 

examining new business models that help maintain the incentives after the project concludes. 

TYPE: STUDY

CURRENTLY: ACTIVE

STARTED IN: 2016

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Point-based rewards.

Discounts.

Online community.

Games.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY
29

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

The EMPOWER dissemination strategy (Meeuwissen et al., 2015) consists of two pillars:

1. The content of the project.

2. The partners of the project.

The content of the project and its results will be incorporated into the EMPOWER toolkit.3

 The 

first iteration of the toolkit was released in May 2018 and includes:

f A database of positive incentives. 

f Mobility services to deliver incentives.

f Organizational/business models.

f An enhanced evaluation method to enable cities to monitor the benefits and impacts of 

introducing positive incentives schemes.

The tool includes details on how to use the information and communication technology (ICT) 

tools developed through the EMPOWER Project to stimulate shifts to “greener” modes of travel 

for citizens. The ICT tools, developed by EMPOWER, are free to download. 

This toolkit will support the launch of the Living Labs during phase 1, serving both to validate the 

theories behind this project as well as to collect information on the impacts of the tools in the 

real-world deployment environment. 

The results of the phase 1 implementations will be used to refine the toolkit during phase 2. Phase 

3 will see the final evolution of the toolkit as it will once again be enhanced via implementation by 

the Follower and Take-up Cities and Organizations.

Figure 8. Chart. The three phases of the EMPOWER implementation.

3 The EMPOWER toolkit is available at: https://empowertoolkit.eu/.

EMPOWER

∙ Incentives

∙ Social Community

∙ Business 

 Development

∙ Technical Tools

∙ Enschede

∙ Gothenburg

∙ Helsinki

∙ Manchester

∙ Take-up Organizations

∙ Follower Organizations

PHASE 1

PHASE 3

PHASE 2

Expanding

First result 

and 

adjusting

Living Lab

Tests

Developing

Toolbox

Source: EMPOWER Dissemination Strategy, Deliverable 7.1, May 1, 2015.
30

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

The project partners are the second pillar of the initiative. Each partner has a different knowledge 

base, role, and network. The partner organizations will disseminate the toolkit throughout 

communities within Europe, but also outside Europe, mainly via project partner WSI-EMBARQ (a 

non-governmental civil society organization that focuses on practical applications for sustainable 

urban transportation and development based on a combination of global research and on-theground experience) and UN-Habitat (the United Nations program whose mission is to promote 

socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of 

adequate shelter for all). 

As of June 2018, the 60 Follower Cities and Organizations are also using the toolkit to support 

local and regional sustainable transportation activities across the globe. 

For more information on the EMPOWER project, see: http://empowerproject.eu/. 
31

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

“ONE-LESS-CAR” DEMONSTRATION STUDY, SEATTLE DEPARTMENT 

OF TRANSPORTATION

The City of Seattle, Washington’s Transportation 

Operations Program promotes driving less and 

incorporating transit, biking, and walking into 

residents’ daily lives. Starting in 2000, and continuing 

through 2002, the program, referred to as the “Way to 

Go” program, sponsored a new challenge: “One Less 

Car.” The goal of this program was for families to park 

one of the family cars—or sell it—and use other 

environmentally friendly ways to get around.

In order to be eligible for the study, participants could 

not have more cars than drivers in their household. 

Households had to live inside city limits. In total, 86 

households participated in the study for a period of 6 to 9 weeks, ranging from households with 

children, to singles, to empty-nesters. This helped ensure that the study could fit a variety of travel 

patterns. Participants also had to be willing to keep a detailed journal to track their transportation 

habits and to submit those journals every week.

Each year of the study, participants started the first few weeks with all of the cars in the household, 

keeping track of how often and how far the vehicles were driven. This information provided a 

baseline. For the rest of the study period, the extra car was parked. Odometer readings were 

recorded on all parked cars and verified throughout the study period.

Participants received an average stipend of $80 each week, which served as both compensation for 

recording their data as well as an economic incentive simulating the savings they would have if 

they did not own the car given up during the study. In the third year of the study, the stipend was 

adjusted to more closely match each family’s actual operating costs for their second vehicles. An 

average of $80 each week was still reported, although some families received more or less 

depending on their driving habits. This proved to be an especially powerful incentive.

At the end of the study, participants reduced their drive-alone car miles by 27 percent, and the use 

of alternate modes of transportation increased: bicycle mileage increased by 38 percent, transit use 

mileage increased by 25 percent, carpooling increased by 23 percent, and walking mileage 

increased by 30 percent. (Lee et al., 2013) Vehicle miles traveled decreased during the study 

period, but the actual number of miles traveled remained essentially the same, meaning that people 

were still taking trips and getting where they were going, but they were not using personal vehicles 

for these trips. Families had found alternative ways to meet mobility needs without the use of an 

extra car.

TYPE: STUDY/MAINSTREAMED 

PROGRAM

CURRENTLY: INACTIVE

STARTED IN: 2000

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Cash rewards.

Store credits.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY
32

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

With these changes in transportation, participants were able to decrease their actual car costs and 

educate themselves about the full variety of travel options available to them. At the time of the 

study, it was estimated that it cost an average of $4200 annually to operate a second car, while 

only $1300 to use alternative transportation modes, such as buses and biking. (Moore, 2004) In 

this particular study, it was estimated that families saved an average of $70 per week; the 

participants spent $10 each week on alternative travel modes but received an $80 stipend.

Upon conclusion of the study, 26 percent of the participant households sold their extra car, and in 

some cases, sold all of their cars. A follow-up survey conducted 6 months later in the 2001 and 

2002 studies indicated that more than 80 percent of households reduced the extra car’s usage. 

(Moore, 2004)

After the study ended, the One-Less-Car Challenge evolved into an annual challenge for Seattle 

residents. While the weekly stipends disappeared, the challenge offered incentive and discounts 

for participants. For cutting down drive-alone time for two months, participants could earn up to 

$60 in commuter cash and be given the opportunity to join the Zipcar car-sharing service for a 

first year rate of $25. If participants sold their car, they could receive $200 worth of bus passes or 

outdoor gear from a national merchant, a free Cascade Bike Club membership, a free bike 

organization membership, $100 off a subscription to a local organic community supported 

agriculture (CSA) provider, and the opportunity to join a car sharing service with the first year 

free and with a $100 credit. (Seattle Department of Transportation, 2009)

The One-Less-Car Challenge was discontinued in 2013, but the City of Seattle has several ongoing 

programs to encourage the use of transportation options and discourage unnecessary singleoccupancy trips. 

For more information, see the City of Seattle, Department of Transportation’s Transportation 

Options website at: https://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/

transportation-options-program. 
33

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

SHIFTING TO TRANSIT: BOULDER, COLORADO NEIGHBORHOOD 

ECO-PASS PROGRAM

In Denver, Colorado, the Regional Transportation 

District (RTD) offers Eco-Pass, a transit pass program 

for the greater Denver area that aims to increase transit 

use and reduce single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) travel. 

One spin-off of this program is the Neighborhood Eco 

(NECO) Pass initiative. The NECO Pass is a yearly 

transit pass option that is available to all neighborhoods 

in the RTD service area, although it is primarily used 

by neighborhoods in the City of Boulder because of the 

subsidies provided by the city. The lower price and 

convenience of a NECO Pass compared to traditional 

bus tickets is intended to incentivize residents to shift 

their mode of travel to transit. 

The NECO Pass Program started in 1997 and has 

grown to include 45 neighborhoods and more than 6,500 households. Residents who participate 

and receive a NECO Pass see considerable savings. The cost of monthly transit passes can range 

from $1,100 to nearly $1,900 per year per person, whereas the NECO Pass typically costs around 

$100-200 annually per household. (City of Boulder, 2018) In addition, the cost of the NECO Pass is 

for the entire household, regardless of how many people are living in the house. One caveat for the 

program is that every household in the designated neighborhood must purchase the NECO Pass, so 

it is in the best interest of users to garner the participation of all households in order to lower the 

cost per household. First-time participating neighborhoods are also eligible for a 50 percent 

subsidy from the City of Boulder as well as follow-on reduced subsidies towards the annual NECO 

Pass costs. The subsidies from the City of Boulder are funded through a transportation sales tax.4

The partnership between RTD 

and the City of Boulder to 

offer residents the opportunity 

to obtain a NECO Pass has 

been successful and supports 

the city’s transportation 

demand management (TDM) 

goals. Neighborhoods that 

participate in the program 

have reported a dramatic 

increase in transit use. Those 

that have a NECO Pass drive 

less, which then contributes to less congestion and pollution in the community.

4 Crump, Allison. “City of Boulder’s NECO Pass Program.” Telephone interview. May 1, 2018.

TYPE: MAINSTREAMED PROGRAM

CURRENTLY: ACTIVE

STARTED IN: 1997

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Transit discounts.

Satisfaction from contributing 

to environmental 

improvement as part 

of a social network 

(neighborhood).

INCENTIVE SUMMARY

Figure 9. Photo. The NECO Pass is offered by RTC and the 

City of Boulder as an incentive for residents to shift their mode of 

travel to transit.

Source: City of Boulder, Colorado.
34

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

The City of Boulder periodically evaluates the overall 

effectiveness of its programs to reduce SOV travel. 

According to the report Modal Shift in the Boulder 

Valley: 1990 to 2015, SOV trips have declined by 7.7 

percent since 1990. (National Research Center, Inc., 

2016) The report also states that while the proportion of 

trips made on transit remained virtually unchanged 

nationally (1.8 percent in 1990; 1.9 percent in 2009), 

Boulder experienced a 2.1 percent increase in public 

transit use (1.6 percent in 1990; 3.7 percent in 2012). 

In addition to the NECO Pass, similar transit pass incentives are available for businesses and 

colleges. The city has learned that if transit access is made more accessible and affordable, usage 

will increase. To be eligible to become a participating neighborhood within the NECO Pass 

program, the neighborhood must be located within the RTD service area, which includes all of 

Boulder, Broomfield, Denver and Jefferson Counties, parts of Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas 

Counties, and a small portion of Weld County. 

For more information on NECO Pass, see: https://bouldercolorado.gov/goboulder/neighborhoodeco-pass.

NECO Pass supports the City of 

Boulder’s TDM goals, including:

• Improved access and 

mobility for the community

• Increased parking 

availability at peak times

• Decreased congestion, 

emissions, and air pollution
35

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

BELLA MOSSA IN BOLOGNA, ITALY

In 2017, an innovative approach to promote 

environmentally sustainable (non-motorized or transitbased) transportation and reduce single-occupancy 

vehicle trips was launched in Bologna, Italy. Bella 

Mossa, which means “good move” in English, is run by 

Bologna’s transport agency, SRM, and uses a system of 

gamification and rewards to encourage people to 

choose environmentally friendly transportation modes 

such as walking, bicycling, or transit.

The Bella Mossa program, funded in part through the 

European EMPOWER Project (see related story on 

page 28), supports urban sustainability and mobility while promoting a better quality of life for the 

citizens of Bologna. According to Giuseppe Liguori, SRM’s Project Manager, “There are almost 

60 cars for every 100 inhabitants here in Bologna. We want to decrease this kind of ownership of 

cars, but we also want to decrease the use of private motorized vehicles.”5

SRM collaborated with the BetterPoints Behavior Change Management 

System in order to offer a global positioning system (GPS)-based 

smartphone application. BetterPoints is a behavior change technology 

company in the United Kingdom that builds tools to help motivate people 

to make positive behavior changes. The application used by SRM can track 

users’ sustainable trips and then provide various rewards and incentives for 

their choices. The program has been a successful public-private 

partnership, with 85 businesses, restaurants, stores, and other commercial 

partners offering discounts and prizes to participants. Participants may also 

opt to donate their points to charities in lieu of cashing in for themselves.

During the initial 6-month launch 

of the Bella Mossa program (April 2017 to October 2017), 

15,000 people actively participated in the incentive 

program, which resulted in an estimated 3.7 million 

kilometers (2.3 million miles) of sustainable travel and 

900,000 sustainable trips. (Amadori, Liguori, and Bristow, 

2017) Bella Mossa also offered a corporate challenge 

which involved nearly 40 business teams, comprising 

1,800 employees, and found that the corporate challenge 

participants earned double the amount of points compared to the average person participating in 

the program. These results have led the program’s administrators to consider the “team 

competition” component to be a strong contributor for influencing people’s behavior.

5 Liguori, Giuseppe, SRM. “Bella Mossa Program.” Telephone interview. May 4, 2018 and email communication.

TYPE: STUDY

CURRENTLY: ONGOING

STARTED IN: 2017

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Games.

Point-based rewards.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY

“A lot of people are talking 

about this campaign and we 

are very satisfied with the level 

of engagement. It is really a big 

success.”

Giuseppe Liguori

SRM’s Project Manager

CARBON IMPACT

CO2

728 TONS

of CO2 have been 

saved due to the 

Bella Mossa Initiative
36

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

Overall, the participants provided favorable reviews of this initial introduction of Bella Mossa. For 

example:

f Eighty-four percent of participants would participate in another Bella Mossa challenge.

f Seventy-seven percent of participants said Bella Mossa motivated them to walk more.

f Seventy-three percent of participants reduced their car usage.

f Sixty-three percent of participants said that their opinion of public transport improved after 

participating in Bella Mossa. (Amadori, Liguori, and Bristow, 2017)

The City of Bologna was awarded a CIVITAS6

 Award in the “Bold Measure” category for its 2017 

deployment of Bella Mossa. This European award is given each year to the most innovative and 

successful initiatives relating to sustainable mobility. 

Due to its success and popularity, the city of Bologna and SRM launched the second edition of 

Bella Mossa, which ran from April through September 2018. Along with maintaining the basic 

rules and operation of the 2017 initiative, where individuals and company teams can participate, 

compete, and gain rewards, the 2018 initiative also included a shorter, 2-month School Challenge 

in which primary schools in the metropolitan city of Bologna were able to participate and compete 

for educational materials and school equipment. Preliminary results of the School Challenge show 

that 1,250 parents were involved from 93 different schools, resulting in savings of 3.8 tons of CO2

on 18,000 kilometers travelled by parents and students.7

 One out of five trips were made by 

“Pedibus,” which is a group of students walking together to school. SRM is currently planning a 

new edition of the challenge for next year.

For additional information on the program and the results, contact Giuseppe Liguori, SRM - Reti e 

Mobilità at giuseppe.liguori@srmbologna.it.

6 CIVITAS (City VITAlity and Sustainability) is a network of cities for cities dedicated to cleaner, better transport in Europe 

and beyond. For additional information, see http://civitas.eu/about.

7 Email communication with Giuseppe Liguori, SRM on October 2, 2018.

 Source: Amadori, M., G. Liguori, and C. Bristow.

Figure 10. Chart. Bella Mossa by the numbers.
37

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

FLEXPASS PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

To help alleviate parking demand on the University of 

California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) campus, a parking 

incentive program was created by the University’s 

Parking and Transportation Office. In this program, 

called FlexPass, participants are offered incentives for 

parking less and taking other modes of transportation. 

In 2015, UC Berkeley, in partnership with FHWA, 

studied this value pricing project before rolling out the 

FlexPass program to measure the program’s 

effectiveness.

The study targeted current Central Campus C Permit holders and Faculty/Staff F Permit holders 

who together make up the majority of regular campus parking. To be eligible for the study, 

participants had to have already purchased an F or C permit for the entire 2015 spring semester, 

which was $95 and $131 per month, respectively. Participants were randomly assigned to a 

treatment group or a control group. Those in the treatment group traded their original permit tags 

to new ones for the study.

There were 4,272 C and F permit holders at UC Berkeley that semester who were contacted about 

this study, and of those, 392 completed the sign-up process. (Tang et al., 2015) 

Throughout the study period, participants recorded their daily parking choices on working days 

(Monday through Friday) via the FlexPass application, available on both iPhone and Android 

platforms. The application defaulted to “Parked on Campus” each day, but users could change 

the choice to “not parked” up until noon the day of. At that time, decisions became final and 

were synchronized with the Parking and Transportation Office’s systems. If users had 

indicated they were not parking by noon, but vehicles were found parked on campus, users 

were given parking citations.

If users indicated they would not park, they had to also indicate whether they would be coming to 

campus at all, and if so, what modes of transportation they would be using instead. Participants in 

the treatment group were eligible for refunds based on their permit types and number of days they 

parked on campus in a given month. The maximum rebate was $95 for F permit holders and $131 

for C permit holders—meaning participants could be fully subsidized their parking costs. 

By the end of the 3-month study period, $4,256 was paid out to the 158 valid participants in the 

treatment group, equating to an average of $26.94 per participant. The highest rebate for an 

individual was $285, while most others remained under $20. (Tang et al., 2015) 

TYPE: MAINSTREAMED

CURRENTLY: STUDY

STARTED IN: 2015

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Cash rewards.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY
38

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

The treatment group members who saw refunds as a result of their decisions had a 4.2 percent 

demand reduction in parking over the study period, or 2.23 days. Parking demand on the UC 

Berkeley campus is fairly inelastic, although knowing a reduction is seen in just the treatment 

group, researchers believe providing these incentives to all users will result in additional demand 

reductions once the program is rolled out. (Tang et al., 2015) The study showed that the FlexPass 

would create a potential for freeing parking resources from a portion of campus via these 

incentives. 

Figure 11. Screenshots. FlexPass smartphone application interface. 

For more information, see A Casual Analysis of FlexPass: Incentives for Reducing Parking 

Demand by Tang, Dounan, Ziheng Lin, and Raja Sengupta. Available at: https://trid.trb.org/

view/1394492. 

You are scheduled to park on 

campus today. February 9, 2015. 

Please click the button below to 

change that.

You are permitted to park everyday 

by default. To receive a rebate for 

not parking on a particular day, use 

this app to let the system know by 

12 noon the same day. You will be 

cited if you park on the day after 

declaring that you will not.

Flex Pass Study Today

Dismiss Save Choice

Bike and Transit I will not park on 

campus today.

Today

(a) Main Screen (b) Mode Reporting (c) Calendar 

Source: Tang et al.
39

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY’S ACCESS MIT 

PROGRAM

In 2006, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

(MIT) launched an institute-wide energy initiative to 

address challenges relating to energy demand and 

mitigating environmental impacts. (Moniz and 

Armstrong, 2007) Since the establishment of the MIT 

Energy Initiative, students and faculty have become 

increasingly interested over the years in traveler 

behavior motivations and various incentives that could 

potentially influence people to make different modal 

choices. With the increasing cost of building parking 

garages and low return on these structural investments, 

MIT administration officials sought solutions that could 

potentially convince people to move from driving and 

parking on campus to other modes, such as transit. MIT 

secured a grant from FHWA relating to value-pricing, 

which allowed researchers to put more effort into studying and developing a successful program 

that could influence traveler behavior and further support environmental sustainability.

In the summer of 2016, MIT launched Access MIT, a significant travel demand management 

program for their faculty and staff that includes a five-pronged approach to reduce parking 

demand on campus and change commuter behavior. The program includes:

1. Free, unlimited transit access via electronic chips embedded in the employee identification 

cards.

2. A shift from annual parking contracts to daily parking pricing, with a maximum expense 

capped at the annual parking rate.

3. Increased commuter rail subsidy from 50 to 60 percent.

4. Subsidized parking of 50 percent at the transit stations.

5. AccessMyCommute, an online commuter dashboard that allows commuters to compare 

travel modes, analyze their carbon footprint, and earn points/rewards by using public 

transportation, carpooling, walking, or biking to work.

The Access MIT program set out to reduce parking demand by 10 percent per year, reduce 

congestion, increase campus sustainability, and reduce single-occupancy vehicle trips to campus. 

The program has been in place nearly 2 years, and the researchers are evaluating its performance, 

successes, and any lessons learned. Preliminary findings show that annual registration for 

permission to park on a daily basis has decreased by 15 percent and overall parking transactions 

TYPE: MAINSTREAMED

CURRENTLY: ACTIVE

STARTED IN: 2016

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Free transit access.

Daily parking pricing.

Commuter rail subsidy.

Online resources.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY
40

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

have gone down by 10 percent. By reducing the parking transactions, MIT has been able to 

defer additional parking garage construction. In fact, a 400-space parking garage was 

recently demolished to build a dormitory, and 17 percent of the group that used that parking 

lot ultimately decided not to renew their permit.8

MIT has been pleased with the overall results of the program and has plans to continue. 

Researchers have found that free transit, daily parking, and free parking at the transit stations had 

the most influence on traveler behaviors. MIT’s next direction for the program will be looking into 

potential options for the commuters who have no other option than to drive. One solution the 

university is considering is casual carpooling incentives.

For additional information on MIT’s program, go to: https://sustainability.mit.edu/access-mit.

8 Attanucci, John. “Access MIT Program.” Telephone interview. May 1, 2018.
41

Incentivizing travelers to avoid taking a trip helps to reduce demand on congested 

roads and transit systems. Most of the incentive programs reviewed for this primer 

focused on changing time or mode of travel as a way to offer alternatives to travelers 

rather than ask travelers to avoid taking a trip. The study featured in this section 

rewarded participants for reducing their vehicle miles traveled.

FLORIDA IDRIVELESS RESEARCH PROGRAM 

After looking into different financial incentives offered 

for transportation demand management and how to 

improve upon these offers, the Florida DOT (FDOT) 

and the Center for Urban Transportation Research 

(CUTR) at the University of South Florida developed 

a controlled, quasi-experimental initiative called 

“Idriveless.” The program was designed to provide 

financial rewards to people who reduced their vehicle 

miles traveled (VMT). FDOT measured VMT every 

2 weeks throughout the study period, and participants 

were compensated based on the number of miles they 

reduced.

Incentives were structured based on how many VMT participants were able to cut from their 

baseline trips. Once participants were able to reduce 20 VMT, they received a $5 payment. The 

incentive structure was increased by $5 for every additional 20 miles reduced, with a maximum 

payout of $40 at 160 VMT or more reduced. An additional $20 was added to the 10th week of the 

study to retain participants in the study and complete the exit interview in a timely manner. The 

maximum payout for those who eliminated 160 or more VMT and completed the survey was $200. 

Participants were recruited initially based on positive responses to an interest survey. Additional 

recruitment was performed through a database of registered vehicle owners in Florida – nearly 

50,000 registered vehicle owners in Miami-Dade, Broward, Hillsborough, and Duval counties 

were contacted by email. Seventy-eight participants were enrolled in the study, with a minimum of 

TYPE: STUDY

CURRENTLY: INACTIVE

STARTED IN: 2013

INCENTIVE(S) APPLIED: 

Cash rewards.

INCENTIVE SUMMARY

5 APPLYING INCENTIVES 

TO ELIMINATE TRIPS
42

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

20 participants in each study group, including the control group. By the end of the 10th week, the 

end of the study, 61 participants were still participating in the study. (Lee et al., 2013)

To evaluate the incentive structures in this study, different schemes were adopted, and participants 

were randomly assigned to each scheme. Group A was a traditional incentive scheme, providing 

cash rewards after participants completed and reported their saved VMT. Group B was assigned a 

new incentive scheme, which was designed to provide the incentive in advance of VMT savings 

based on a pre-committed VMT reduction. If a participant in Group B was unable to meet the 

pre-committed VMT reduction, they were required to return the incentive. This scheme was 

designed based on the “prospect theory” and the “loss aversion effect,” where people have a 

tendency to prefer avoiding losses than to acquiring gains. Group C was the control group. 

Throughout the study, participants in Group A, those with a reactionary incentive payout, 

maintained nearly 10 percent or higher VMT reduction each week. Group B, with the preincentive payout, achieved significant VMT savings in the first 6 weeks of the program, but 

reduced VMT reduction during the rest of the study period. Approximately 50 percent of both 

Groups A and B participants were able to save VMT during the study—so much so that a 

significant amount of VMT was saved in both groups beyond that for which the participants were 

compensated. The control group, Group C, showed an average of zero percent change in VMT 

from the baseline. With such a small sample size, the researchers did not reach firm conclusions on 

whether up-front or reactionary payments would produce more behavior change. (Lee et al., 2013)

During the exit interviews, participants were asked to identify their primary strategies for saving 

VMT during the time period. A majority of respondents claimed to have a strategy, and the most 

common responses included reducing number of trips or trip chaining, carpooling, taking public 

transportation, biking or walking to work, and telecommuting. (Lee et al., 2013)

For more information, see: http://www.fdot.gov/research/completed_proj/summary_pto/fdotbdk85-977-41-sum.pdf. 
43

The incentive studies and programs to influence traveler behavior highlighted in this primer show 

several effective, emerging practices. Organizations interested in creating an incentive-based 

program to reduce congestion and better manage demand on the roads and rails can use this 

primer to access some of the lessons learned and ongoing work in this area. Concepts from 

behavioral economic theory can inform the development of programs to more effectively modify 

traveler behavior than standard approaches. 

The nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute issued a 2018 report entitled Mapping Incentives to 

Change: How Comutifi’s Commuter Score Can Influence Sustainable Commuting, which 

highlights the application of behavioral economic concepts to developing a successful incentive 

program. (Keeton et al., 2018) The report identified five best practices for using behavioral 

economics to encourage change:

f Choice Architecture: Use the way in which options are presented to influence choice. Set 

reference points that serve as goals that participants can use to compare their performance 

against and work toward. Incentivize both small and large shifts in behavior using a tiered 

structure of rewards.

f Round Number Clustering: In general, individuals are inclined toward round numbers 

(e.g., 0s, 5s, 10s, etc.), especially in terms of performance scores or accomplishments. The 

Rocky Mountain Institute recommends increasing rewards or payouts every 5 or 10 points. 

f Time (Temporal) Discounting: One established behavioral theory is that rewards that are 

given in the future are perceived as being less valuable than those that are received now. To 

promote participation in the program, give out rewards earlier in the program.

f Social Norms: Peer influence and what is considered appropriate behavior can persuade 

individuals to make changes or stay in a program. Use this concept to encourage participants 

to make a public commitment to change and make it possible for them to see how others are 

doing in comparison to their own performance.

f Status Quo Bias: People generally show a preference towards how things are. They resist 

changing habits and overvalue what they currently have. To counteract this bias, programs should 

demonstrate that the alternatives represent a three-fold increase in their current travel choices.

The EMPOWER Project categorized positive incentives in the form of information, rewards, and 

feedback. Information consists of campaigns and educational information that can influence 

travelers to shift their travel behavior. (EMPOWER, 2018b) EMPOWER researchers provided 

some useful tips on how to use information to effect change:

6 SUMMARY
44

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

f Campaigns to raise awareness: 

o Are more effective within a neighborhood.

o Are most successful with newcomers to a city, especially for public transportation.

o Can best be organized with local stakeholders.

o Do more than education alone.

o Are useful for starting behavioral change, but cannot stand alone and should be 

followed up by other interventions to sustain that change.

f Travel information:

o Could include apps that provide multi-modal travel information and that may 

raise awareness of viable alternatives to automobiles that otherwise may not have 

been considered.

o For active transport, route planners may show healthy routes for walkers and 

bikers avoiding locations with high concentrations of harmful particles.

f Informational content: 

o Should stress the benefits of bicycling and walking, not only in global terms such 

as air cleanliness and climate improvement, but also relative to improving the 

livability of local neighborhoods and the individual’s general health. 

In a review of previous studies on the use of positive incentive schemes to shift travelers to other 

modes, times, or residential locations, the EMPOWER group reviewed 33 studies from 12 

countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, 

the Netherlands, UK, and the United States). (Hof et al., 2017) They found that the effects of the 

incentives were mixed. Studies that reported a significant change in travel behavior were primarily 

based on self-reporting surveys as opposed to objective measurements. Studies that provided free 

transportation cards (transit passes, etc.) were more effective in changing behavior. The 

effectiveness of the incentive appeared to depend on the match between the intervention and the 

target group. 

Based on this information, the reviewers noted that gifts, rewards, points, and discounts can have 

a strong but short-term effect on travel behavior, but often people tend to return to their old travel 

habits when the programs are discontinued. They recommended additional research into how these 

external motivations could change behavior in the long-term.

The review team recommends customizing incentives or the incentive scheme to individual or 

target group needs and to consider using programs that allow for social comparison and support. 

Researchers partnering with EMPOWER shared several points of advice at a 2017 workshop for 

“Designing Positive Incentives: Practical Insights and Sharing Knowledge with the EMPOWER 

Project.” (Hof et al., 2017)
45

EXPANDING TRAVELER CHOICES THROUGH THE USE OF INCENTIVES: A COMPENDIUM OF EXAMPLES

For travel behavior change programs with rewards, points, or discounts, they recommend:

f Providing a reward each time the desired behavior occurs when the individual is learning the 

behavior and only part of the time for those who are regularly performing the behavior.

f Offering a “chain of rewards” such that there are immediate rewards as well as delayed ones.

f Trying different reward schedules to find out what works best for the target groups.

When using challenges, goals, and personal commitments to incentivize behavior change, the 

researchers advised allowing participants create their own goals (instead of using only assigned 

goals or challenges); include frequency, context, and duration in the goal statement; and allow 

people the ability to make the goals public. 

47

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