VA: Research Summary

So far in this project I have contacted several different types of people in a few different ways. First I tried calling the Missouri Department of Transportation in order to get an inside view on the highway/traffic problem. However, this proved less than fruitful since the main office people in Jefferson City told me to call the Kansas City office since Kansas City would have more direct information. Kansas City in turn directed me back to Jefferson City because “they have all the information at ‘central’.” Then Jefferson City directed me to the website because, “all their information is made public by publishing it on their site.” So I made up an internet questionnaire and sent it to a few businesses that I had contacts at and I got back something like 50 responses. I also joined a website that MoDot had directed me to called Carpool Connections a site that is supposed to match people with carpool associates. I got a number of responses back from them, all suggesting that they don’t use the service because it doesn’t really work to well. Also I learned from this research, which I didn’t ever come across online, that 100% of the people that carpool do it to save money, and the people that don’t would like to if their was an easy way to make carpooling work within their business schedule. I would say in all this process was pretty simple due to the volume of responses I got back and the resounding agreement that carpooling would reduce traffic and save money so long as their was a way to streamline the process of connecting people with matching work schedules and destinations.

Initially my problem was that there is too much traffic in Kansas City, but through my research I realized that traffic isn't a problem if there are less cars, and less cars can easily be a reality if people road together in the same car. CARPOOLING!

The real problem is thus restated to be that people don't carpool.

I'm trying to reach people like this. He is a businessman that commutes from the suburbs to the city for work everyday and is always caught in rush hour traffic. If only he knew how many people were goin' his way then maybe he wouldn't have to drive in that hectic traffic everyday.

The social behavior that needs to change in Kansas city is driving to work, or anywhere for that matter in a four+ seat car with no one but yourself. I want to encourage and facilitate carpooling in Kansas City since only less than %20 do carpool, and even less than that carpool on a regular basis. This would reduce traffic, reduce fuel consumption, save money, reduce pollution, and eliminate a need for expensive and unnecessary highway construction.

I think their are several ways to measure the effectiveness of my project in reducing the number of cars on the road, and they are as follows.

1. Businesses would notice and could report a reduction in the amount of employee parking spaces they need to buy in local city parking garages.

2. The news reports every morning on traffic jams and accidents, and would definitely notice a reduction in congestion and accidents.

3. The Missouri Highway commission also monitors this information closely, and would also notice and report a reduction in the number of cars on the road during rush hour.

4. The city tests air quality for the EPA, and would be able to tell if their was an increase in air quality, which would indicate a reduction in vehicle emissions, and thus a reduction in the number of cars on the road, which would point to increased carpooling.