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| Welcome
to ADOT’s East Valley eNewsletter
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| ADOT
CREATES COMMUTE CALCULATOR |
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Arizona
residents have a new budgeting resource from the
Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).
It’s a user-friendly “Commute Calculator”. |
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Drivers enter their commute information — commute distance,
federal vehicle operation rate, and parking costs — into
the calculator, and it returns the approximate cost of a single
driver’s commute.
The Commute Calculator gives drivers a quick way to estimate and track
the cost of day-to-day travel for errands, recreation, and trips
for medical treatment. While no calculator computes all the
variables of an “average” trip with scientific accuracy,
consumers are benefiting from the information they have at their
fingertips.
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| CALCULATOR
IS A QUICK AND EASY RESOURCE |
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All across Arizona, the higher price of gasoline
is changing consumer behavior.
“We keep an ‘airport vehicle’
for times when we need to transport a mob of out-of-town
visitors or attend events with friends. The information
from the calculator reinforces that at $30 or $40
per round-trip, we do not take that vehicle out
of the garage unless every seat is full,”
says Meg Gaeta of Fountain Hills. |
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drive times and high fuel costs are changing the way consumers
approach employment as well. |
Jady Mook of Cave Creek finds the calculator useful
as he weighs employment opportunities.
”When I consider a job possibility, it takes
me less than a minute with the ADOT calculator to
determine the financial impact of traveling to and
from a new job site. The calculator lets me weigh
the ‘net’ impact of traveling to a new
job opportunity. Realistically, I can consider a
more interesting job with lower pay if the commute
distance is substantially less." |
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SOARING
FUEL PRICES BRING COMMUTING COST
INTO SHARP FOCUS |
The
travel calculations are even more dramatic for commuters
who traverse wide areas between home and work or school.
If a single driver travels 30 miles each way — 60
miles round-trip — the annual cost can be as much
as $8,000 per year for a standard fuel vehicle.
If two people share the commute, each saves nearly $4,000
per year on their commute expense!
Three and four individuals sharing the ride produce even
greater savings.
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| WOULD
YOU DOUBLE UP FOR $4,000 PER YEAR? |
What
would you do with an extra $3,000 or $4,000 saved by ride
sharing? Take a cruise? Fly to exotic places? Sue O’Brien,
Nancy Beck and Marilyn Campbell took less than one minute
to say what they would do with $4,000. “Home improvements!”
was the simultaneous answer. “I could update my
master bath with $4,000,” says Sue O’Brien.
Without hesitation, Nancy and Marilyn concocted instant
‘honey-do’ lists ranging from refurbishing
kitchens to updated landscaping that would fit nicely
into the $4,000 category.
East
Valley residents Sue O’Brien, Nancy Beck and Marilyn
Campbell
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| STUDENTS
CAN COVER TUITION WITH RIDESHARE SAVINGS |
Area
college students who share a ride can use their theoretical
“$4,000 savings” to offset the cost of a semester’s
tuition at ASU or one of the area’s technical or
community colleges.
If they share a ride with two or three more passengers,
they can put aside enough money for books and maybe an
occasional latte!
Ridesharing also gives the “gift of time,”
as two or more commuters in a vehicle can travel in the
High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.
HOV lanes reduce the number of cars in the regular traffic
flow and can reduce cross town travel time by as much
as 50 percent during peak travel times.
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ADOT’s
EXPANDING HOV SYSTEM
SMOOTHES THE WAY FOR COMMUTERS |
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| The
Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is working
diligently to complete the segment of High Occupancy
Vehicle (HOV) lanes on Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) between
Via de Ventura and Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway)
in the East Valley. |
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Slated for completion in November 2008, this will be the
newest portion of HOV lane on the east Loop 101. When
completed, the 38-mile stretch of continuous HOV lane
will start in north Phoenix, traverse Scottsdale, and
connect to Tempe and Gilbert to the south.
Commuters who rideshare have access to the Valley’s
growing network of HOV lanes, saving time and money and
reducing the amount of pollutants in the air we breathe.
For HOV lanes in the East Valley and throughout the Phoenix
metro area, refer to the The
Regional Transportation Plan Freeway Program 2006-2025.
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| REDUCING
CO2 EMISSIONS IS CRITICAL FOR SUSTAINABILITY |
Personal
budgets notwithstanding, one of the most significant advantages
of ridesharing ultimately may be the benefit to the environment.
Commuters who take just one car off the road by doubling
up for a 60-mile round-trip each day can reduce carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions significantly. Our ability to
sustain a reasonable quality of life in Arizona depends
in large part on our ability to reduce emissions from
automobiles and maintain good air quality. For more ways
that motorists can reduce CO2 and particulate emissions,
visit www.RunningOutOfAir.com.
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| RIDESHARE
RESOURCES ABOUND |
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| Many
employers, area colleges and universities provide
rideshare incentive programs, such as preferred
parking options, vanpools and mass transit subsidies.
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Arizona drivers have a number of Rideshare matching programs
available online:
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Our
Valley freeway system is part of the 2004 voter-approved
Regional Transportation Plan. We are working hard with
our transit partners to implement the voters’
vision and are committed to quality, safety, open communication
with our neighbors, and minimal inconvenience to the
traveling public. |
This
is your electronic connection to ADOT activities in the East
Valley.
This email list will not be shared for non-ADOT purposes.
Since the 2004 voter-approved extension of the half-cent
transportation tax, ADOT has been working diligently with
local and regional governments to implement the Regional Transportation
Plan.
The Regional Transportation Plan is a comprehensive, multimodal
20 year regional plan that provides the blueprint for transportation
investments in the Maricopa County region through 2025. You
can view the Regional Transportation Plan at www.mag.maricopa.gov
This archived eNewsletter is presented as historical information.
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ADOT
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East Valley Transportation Projects
Arizona Department
of Transportation
Communication and Community Partnerships Division
Copyright
Arizona Department of Transportation 2008.
All Rights Reserved.
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