Spreading Commuter Work Hours Could Reduce Transit Costs

GAO examined six subway, streetcar, and bus routes in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to see whether peak transit demand could be relieved by spreading commuter work-hours. GAO undertook this study because transit authorities are experiencing a financial drain during peak period service and there have been initiatives to change employee work-hours.

GAO found that, if the present rush hour were spread evenly over a period longer than the approximately 30-minute peak period that now exists, fewer transit vehicles would be needed on these routes. Vehicles could make more trips during the extended period and still carry the same number of passengers. On the six routes examined, GAO estimated that potential long-term savings of $4 million to $44 million could result from rehabilitating vehicles or purchasing fewer vehicles and annual labor costs could be reduced up to $400,000. Outside of the peak period, sometimes more than half of the equipment is idle or underutilized. GAO believes that the potential for savings identified on the six transit routes studied also exists on other routes and that the potential federal savings due to reduced vehicle requirements could be significant. A GAO questionnaire sent to large employers in the cities showed that over half of their employees already had some kind of variable work schedule and the potential for spreading variable work schedules exists. Nearly half of the employers with fixed work-hours said that they could shift starting times easily or with little impact on operations. Employees who received the GAO questionnaire also expressed a willingness to change starting and finishing times away from peak periods. Finally, GAO noted that the Urban Mass Transportation Administration's (UMTA) own efforts to encourage the spreading of employee work-hours have been modest.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Oliver W. Krueger Team: General Accounting Office: Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division Phone: (202) 275-4914