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Public Act 98-119 requires the Department of Transportation to establish a comprehensive intermodal and interregional transportation plan for the southwest corridor of Connecticut from Greenwich to Branford to be known as the Southwest Corridor Implementation Plan (the "Plan"). The same legislation further requires that the Department develop and present to the Southwest Connecticut Action Council (SCAC) a five year schedule for the implementation of the Southwest Corridor Implementation Plan. The Department is then further required to update the Southwest Corridor Action Council on a semi-annual basis as to the progress being made in achievement of the Plan. Then, in January of each year, the Southwest Corridor Action Council is required to submit a report to the legislature on the progress being made to achieve and implement the Plan.

The basis of the Southwest Corridor Implementation Plan was outlined in the Department's February, 1998 Southwest Corridor Study Update (the "Update"). The Update recommended that the Department adopt a philosophy of "the commuter as a customer" and implement a series of strategies designed to provide the commuter with a range of transportation choices. To implement this philosophy a series of actions consisting of the following elements were proposed:

1. Creation of an Implementation Task Force which would work with the Department and monitor the progress being made to achieve the goals of the Plan. Effectively this element of the plan was achieved by the statutorily-created Southwest Corridor Action Council.
2. Rail Station Parking Management -- The Update proposed three actions related to increasing rail station parking which was identified as an essential ingredient to increase rail ridership. These actions were:

1. evaluate and implement, where feasible, rail parking management strategies as recommended by the Stakeholder Group of the SCSU and the Coastal Corridor Coalition, an ad hoc group which worked with the Department in the Southwest Corridor Study Update.
2. conduct a major study of rail station parking as a "prelude to the development of commuter parking strategies."
3. continue the Department of Transportation's program of rail parking expansion and optimization to meet the needs of rail patrons, with an emphasis on locating new parking capacity in locations with greatest peak period congestion reduction value.

3. Local Bus Study -- The Update called upon the Department to undertake a comprehensive study of local bus systems statewide (with regional subsets) which would evaluate the operations, performance, productivity and efficiency of local bus systems. In the Southwest Corridor Study Update, the Department indicated that emphasis would be given to the coordination of services among the eight transit operators, intermodal connectivity between commuter rail and bus systems, and shuttle bus service.
4. Enhanced Rideshare Services -- As part of the Update, the Department agreed to fund a market analysis and product development effort to identify potentially successful strategies for incenting commuters to rideshare.
5. Commuter Choice Incentive Program -- The Department agreed to work with the Southwest Corridor Action Council and business groups to seek legislative changes which will make commuter choice financial incentives possible that are financially neutral to employers and nontaxable events for both employers and employees.

The Southwest Corridor Study Update also established a variety of numerical goals for the Department. The Update calls for a reduction of 5% in the peak hour vehicle count from the major highways in Southwestern Connecticut within a five-year period, 1998 to 2003 from the 1997 base level. Furthermore, the Update established a series of specific goals for various elements of the action plan. It called for five-year goals of increasing:

• train ridership by 1,750 per day
• ridesharing by 2,400 per day
• vanpooling by 200 per day
• full time telecommuting by 750 per day
• part time telecommuting by 1,250 per day
• inter-regional bus ridership by 500 per day
• ferry ridership by 250 per day
• alternative work schedules removing 1,500 riders

In total, these proposed goals would amount to a reduction of 8,600 vehicles during the peak travel hours.

In addition to establishing specific numerical goals the Southwest Corridor Study Update also set forth a series of 15 steps along with suggested strategies for achieving the goals. These 15 steps paralleled the numerical goals but also added additional actions for the Department and the Action Council to consider:

• Make state government a model employer in providing commuting flexibility
• create financial incentives for individuals to make new commuting choices
• eliminate barriers for employers wishing to increase employee commuter choices
• expand and improve incident management techniques
• increase the amount of "real time" information to help avoid incident created congestion
• create a diverse, permanent working group to oversee and assist in the implementation of the five year plan.

Since the legislation was passed and became effective on July 1, 1998, several actions have been taken by the Department in furtherance of our achievement of these goals. In some cases these actions have already achieved SOV reductions. In others, they lay the foundation for future actions by the Department and its partner in this process, the Southwest Corridor Action Council.

As directed by Public Act 98-119 the Department has set up a five-year schedule for achieving the goals outlined in the Southwest Corridor Study Update. A matrix outlining the schedule is attached as appendix A.

The Department believes that SOV reduction in peak periods will be achieved within most goal areas, every year. However, in some years, in some areas of the plan, the Department's activities will be geared primarily towards setting up future programs for implementation. In those preparatory years, little SOV reduction may occur within a specific strategy area. In total, SOV reduction will occur in every year of the five-year plan.

• Improving Schedules -- establish maximum 20-minute intra-state "headways" during peak commuting hours -- ("Headways" refers to the intervals between trains heading in the same direction.)
• Creating Regional Train Stations and increasing express service out of those stations with limited intra-state stops and faster service to NYC
• Expanding rail station parking:

• Open "free parking" lot in Bridgeport in 1999 -- $ 1 million
• Construct New Haven Parking Garage in 2002 --$19 million
• Construct Stamford Parking Garage in 1999 -- $23 million
• Construct parking deck in Fairfield in 2001 -- $10 million
• Seek opportunities to build parking at existing stations such as Milford, Stratford, New Canaan, Darien, and as other opportunities arise -- $500,000 annually
• Continue to work with local municipalities such as Bridgeport and New Haven in the development of Intermodal/multi-function transportation facilities.

• Conduct, in 1999, a comprehensive study of rail stations, rail parking facilities, and the governance of rail parking --$350,000. As part of the study, investigate the possible use of "Brownfield" sites for rail station parking. Also, investigate innovative use of rail station parking such as dedicated areas for carpools, vanpools, and electric vehicles.
• Integrate Shore Line East Service into Metro North operations and use excess Shore Line East equipment to improve service on the Metro North branch lines
• Construct new train station at State Street in New Haven -- $5 million
• Aggressively continue the Department's efforts to replace and improve the public transportation infrastructure including replacing the catenary, replacing rail tracks, constructing the center island platforms in Stamford, and replacing, on a regular basis, transit rolling stock.
• Consider adding, either through Metro North, the upcoming DOT statewide toll free number, or through the new "I-Travel" initiative "on-line" customizable commuter rail schedule access.

1. Increase ridesharing by 2400 people a day.

The Department proposes to rearrange the goals of #2 and #3 (vanpooling) so that we have a higher goal for vanpooling. Thus, the numerical target for this goal will be reduced to 1800 people a day over the five years.

The target objective for fiscal 1999 is 200 people per day. The Department proposes to achieve this target by the following actions:

• Continue and expand the ongoing activities of the ridesharing brokerages to encourage ridesharing modes. This would include the ongoing Transportation Options Strategies (TOS) outreach where brokerage employees provide information to employees at the work sites, and promote TOS strategies to employers, such as preferred parking and other in-house incentives for carpoolers,
• Evaluate the effectiveness (both marketing and cost/benefit) of the Commuters Register magazine and, if found warranted continue and improve ridesharing matching services utilizing the Commuters Register magazine - both the printed version and the on-line version.
• Expand awareness to customers of the "Ride Stuff" program, a commuter rewards program which provides incentives to commuters who utilize any kind of ridesharing or transit mode at least one day a week. Increase the attractiveness of the Ride Stuff program by expanding the number of participating merchants and by surveying users for desired additional benefits and adding as feasible.
• Continue to conduct marketing campaigns that provide awareness of current services and the value of ridesharing to the intrastate commuter.
• Introduce a statewide toll-free telephone number in 1999 to provide one-call access to information on bus, rail and ridesharing modes, especially, in this case, for those potential carpoolers who need assistance in setting up a carpool. Budget $112,000 for capital costs in FY 99.
• Initiate a "State of the Commute" Survey (a.k.a. a commuter census) which will provide base line data as to the extent to which individuals are now commuting during peak hours so that we can periodically evaluate progress being made against objectives.

1. Increase vanpooling by 200 people a day.

• Employee Commute Benefit Program - This new federally authorized program allows employees to use pre-tax dollars to purchase public transportation services including vanpool fares. The state will be expanding the reach of this program through an aggressive outreach campaign in Fairfield and New Haven Counties. This will include personal contacts, how-to brochures on designing and implementing a benefit program, and targeted marketing to increase employer awareness of the benefit.
• Ride Stuff - Expand awareness to vanpoolers of the Ride Stuff program, a commuter rewards program which provides incentives to commuters who utilize any kind of ridesharing or transit mode at least one day a week. Increase the attractiveness of the Ride Stuff program by expanding the number of participating merchants.

In order to increase the number of vanpoolers, other activities will be undertaken, such as:

• Continued TOS outreach to the employers encouraging use of preferred parking and other in-house benefits to vanpoolers;
• Generic marketing that encourages commuters and sells the benefits of transit and ridesharing, asks them to consider changing modes, and provides them with a phone number as a "call to action" if they need assistance in learning about services or setting up a vanpool; and
• Increased utilization of the printed and on-line versions of the Commuters Register as a tool for those seeking new vanpool riders, or for potential new riders who want to find an existing vanpool to join.

For the remainder of the five-year period, goals for increasing vanpool participation will be: 140 new riders in fiscal 2000; and 200 new riders per year for 2001 through 2003. The achievement of these goals will be primarily accomplished by the existence of the Southern Connecticut vanpool office and the incentives noted above.

During the current fiscal year the department does not propose to set a goal for full time telecommuting, and only target 150 part time telecommuters.

The Department has a Telecommuting Demonstration Program underway. The goal for this fiscal year will be to complete the work program. The tasks are:

• Complete the Demonstration Project in which the Department's consultant will be assisting participating employers to develop telecommuting programs for their employees.
• Following the initial demonstration implementation, work with the media and business organizations to publicize how the participating companies had successfully made the transition to telecommuting. This outreach effort will encourage additional companies to take part in the second phase of the program.
• In phase two, the consultant will provide one-on-one assistance to companies who are interested in initiating telecommuting programs.
• Next fiscal year, the Department will conduct an annual survey including companies in the Southwest Corridor area. This survey will measure the effectiveness of the program and the attainment of the programs telecommuting goals.

1. Alternate work schedule arrangements.

The annual goal for fiscal 1999 is to move 300 employees daily into alternative work schedule arrangement, or flex-time. The object of this task is to encourage employees to move their work hours outside of the 7:00am to 9:00am peak period. Or, as an option, encourage employers to consider compressed workweek schedules.

This goal will be addressed through the ongoing regional ridesharing brokerages and their TOS Outreach efforts. Through this effort, the TOS managers in the corridor work with corporations and offer a variety of services to educate employers on the benefits of setting up a flex-time program. Each sub-area of the corridor has an assigned TOS manager who can more closely tailor programs to meet the specific needs of the employers in their immediate area.

2. Increase inter-regional bus ridership by 500 a day.

• Improved marketing efforts targeted to the bus and rail transit market, specifically targeting the I-Bus, routes that serve the community colleges and routes that provide connections between transit systems;
• Increased awareness of the Employee Commute Benefit program, the new federally authorized program that allows employees to use pre-tax dollars to purchase public transportation services including bus fares.
• Use of fare strategies such as the fare simplification that was implemented in July 1998. This fare structure change eliminated zone fares which discouraged long-distance bus commutes, but also added a number of customer-friendly new fare media such as one-day, seven-day and thirty-one-day passes and ten-trip tickets.
• Introduction of a statewide toll-free telephone number in order to provide one-call access to information on bus, rail and ridesharing modes, especially, in this case, for those potential bus riders who need information about bus services in a corridor that has seven different transit service providers.
• Increase the awareness of the Ride Stuff Program, the commuter rewards club, which offers bus users discounts and offers at hundreds of merchant locations in the region. Consider using regional/local business associations & Chambers of Commerce to promote the program.
• Expand the Guaranteed Ride Home program beyond its current limited scope (employees of participating employers only.).

Additional activities will be undertaken over the course of the five-year period to encourage additional growth in inter-regional bus ridership. These will include:

• Design of seamless services which includes better coordination among transit operators in neighboring service areas; timed transfers; free transfers; through routing for "one-seat" rides across service area boundaries; etc.
• Improved intermodal connections which will involve more frequent and coordinated connections between bus and rail, for both commuters who need buses to feed to trains in the morning and to distribute from train stations at the destination end of the trip.
• Expand the guaranteed ride program. Currently the program is provided only for the employees of participating corporations. An expansion will be designed to allow holders of monthly bus or rail passes or participants in eligible vanpools to get rides home in the event of emergency situations.
• Take advantage of the latest technology. A study is underway that will examine the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of using Global Position and Vehicle Location Systems in transit. These systems would allow for real-time vehicle location information to be available to dispatchers and customers. This would improve the ability to guarantee connections for intermodal commuters, and potentially provide real time information to customers, at bus stops, via the Internet, or via telephone from the transit information centers.

Technology also allows us to provide schedule information to customers in a variety of formats, included printed timetables, access to schedules on the Internet, etc.

The Southwest Corridor Study Update and the recommendations of the Coastal Corridor Coalition placed a heavy emphasis on the need for the Department to increase its efforts to promote and target public transportation more effectively. Although a considerable amount of money is spent annually by the Department and its service partners on marketing and advertising, the Department's Bureau of Public Transportation agrees that this money is spent in a somewhat fragmented fashion and could be more closely focused. To deal with this problem the Bureau has solicited proposals from various advertising and marketing firms seeking a single advertising firm that would help the Department develop an overall theme for public transportation in Connecticut. In addition the advertising firm would be asked to develop a strategy which would incorporate the funding now being spent by the Department on promotion of CT Transit, on ridesharing and vanpooling, on the Metro North railroad's main line and on Shore Line East service. The Department will work with Metro North to insure that Metro North commits an increased amount of its advertising budget to intra-state service improvements. In addition Connecticut's advertising agency would work to ensure that Metro North's efforts are coordinated with and reinforce the state of Connecticut's own advertising expenditures. The Department expects to have the new advertising firm selected in early 1999, the new plan developed by mid-1999 and projects a total advertising budget expenditure in calendar 1999 of $750,000 for public transportation and ridesharing within Connecticut.

Public Act 98-119 directs the Department to provide the Southwest Corridor Action Council with a status report on its efforts to implement the plan every six months. Although the Department's efforts to implement the plan are only getting underway, it is possible to point to several significant accomplishments during the first six months since the legislation was approved setting up the Southwest Corridor Implementation Plan.

The Southwest Corridor Implementation Plan clearly identifies the lack of adequate amounts of rail station parking as a significant inhibiting factor to any substantial rail ridership growth. To deal with this problem eight major actions have been taken:

• Creation of a new 750 car "free" parking lot for rail commuters in Bridgeport.

• Fairfield Railroad Station Commuter Parking Expansion

• Fairfield Railroad Station Parking Site Study

• New Haven Rail Station Parking Expansion

• Stamford Parking Garage Expansion

• Lower Fares
• Under a special arrangement, financed by Connecticut DOT, fares on Metro North from Bridgeport were reduced by approximately 15%. This reduction reduced the fare differential between Bridgeport and Fairfield, on monthly commutation tickets, by approximately 40%. In comparison with the new "free parking at Bridgeport this makes commutation out of Bridgeport an attractive alternative.
• UniRail, a deeply discounted rail-to-rail combined monthly ticket, was introduced for those rail commuters who transfer between the Shore Line East and New Haven Line services.
• Rail Parking/Governance Study Initiated

• Changes in Train Schedules to Promote Greater Train Use

Several of the strategies outlined in the Southwest Corridor Implementation Plan call for increasing the Bureau of Public Transportation's marketing and promotion efforts. Mentioned in the Plan are such suggestions as: more aggressive marketing, incentive programs, consumer marketing campaigns, employer education programs, etc. The Bureau of Public Transportation's Marketing Department has developed and implemented the following promotions:

• Special Bridgeport Bluefish Train Promotion.

• Public informational campaign for the new parking lot in Bridgeport.

• Try Transit Week

• Southern Connecticut Transportation Guide

• Stamford Shoppers Shuttle

• Smart Ride Stuff

• Enhanced Marketing

• Employee Commute Benefit

• Telecommuting Program

• I-Bus