UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 4, Page 1
September 23, 1993
Survey seeks info on how & when you arrive at work

     Next week, some 4,000 University employees will be asked how they
traveled to work on each day of the five-day work week, Monday through
Friday, Sept. 20-24.
     According to Douglas Tuttle, director of public safety, the survey is
the first step in a lengthy process to ensure that the University is in
compliance with the federal Clean Air Act.
     Completion of a survey form by every employee who works at least half
time is critical, Tuttle said. The act, he added, includes a number of
obligations for employers of more than 100 workers. Newark is considered
within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, which has a
higher-than-permissible level of ozone pollution, so the University and
other area employers fall under the strictest provisions of the new law.
     Individual states are charged with enforcing compliance with the Clean
Air Act. In northern New Castle County, the state's objective, which must
be met by 1997, is to increase the number of passengers for each commuting
vehicle to 1.5. The SOV (single occupant vehicle) is a major focus of the
legislation.
     Tuttle explained that, while every employer of more than 100 persons
will be affected by the regulations, employers with smaller staffs will be
given more time to organize their particular compliance efforts.
     The University's Newark campus is the only site included in the
state's initial compliance phase. The University's Lewes and Georgetown
facilities are not affected since they are located in Sussex County. The
University's Wilmington and Dover operations, which both have less than 100
employees, also are exempt.
     Other employers in the first-round effort include the DuPont Co., MBNA
America, ICI Americas and the Medical Center of Delaware, among others.
     "The first step in the development of the state's compliance plan,"
Tuttle explained, "is a required survey of all employees to determine their
present mode of travel, as well as what time each of them reports to the
work site."
     When the results are analyzed, he said, the University will formulate
and file its plan for compliance by Jan. 10. The final proposal will be
sent to the state Department of Transportation.
     The questionnaire will be used to determine the present status of each
employee's mode of transportation and time of arrival at work.   Tuttle
said the UD Employee Commute Survey lists 17 ways one can respond to the
question about getting to work during each day of the focus week. An
example of some choices are: using the Unicity Bus, bicycling, walking and
driving alone.
     The second section includes a series of half-hour choices-from
0600-0629  to 0930-1000-to determine more precise arrival times for those
staff who arrive on campus between 6 and 10 a.m.
     Tuttle said the survey will take less than five minutes to complete.
When the finished surveys are received, they will be analyzed and the
results will be placed into a mapping program that will focus on New Castle
County and adjacent counties, to determine exact residences of employees
and their current routes and times of travel.
     The data then will be used to create computer models that will suggest
areas where carpooling and public transportation opportunities might be
most advantageous and have the best chance of being utilized, Tuttle
explained.
     The federal regulations require that New Castle County employers
reduce the number of SOVs. But, Tuttle said, without doing surveys the
University and other employers have no way of knowing how close the
commuting habits of current staff are to the 1.5 person per vehicle goal at
the present time.
     He said it is extremely critical that every questionnaire be accounted
for, since any unanswered survey is considered to be that of a SOV used
five days a week. The surveys will be distributed through supervisors and
department chairpersons, and it is requested that they be returned
promptly.
     Following receipt and analysis, Tuttle said, the Parking and Transit
Advisory Committee, which includes representatives from all segments of the
University community, will meet to develop a recommended plan of action.
     Tuttle said there may be spin-off benefits of the survey, in addition
to the information that is critical to the development of a plan for
compliance with the new federal regulation.
     "The data will be able to be applied to our institutional short- and
long-range planning for staff and student parking and for local and
regional modes of transit operations. What we learn from the survey may
have applications well beyond its original intent, and they could be very
beneficial to us and other area employers as well," Tuttle said.
                                        -Ed Okonowicz