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| SmartTrips | |
|---|---|
| Name | SmartTrips |
| Formation | 2003 |
| Type | Nonprofit / Program |
| Location | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Parent organization | Community Cycling Center; initially from local transportation agencies |
SmartTrips SmartTrips is a travel behavior program that promotes multimodal transportation, active travel, and sustainable mobility through neighborhood-based outreach, marketing, and incentives. Originating in the Pacific Northwest, it engages households with personalized travel planning, events, and materials to shift trips from single-occupancy automobiles to walking, cycling, transit, and carpooling. The program has been adopted, adapted, and evaluated by municipal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academic researchers interested in urban planning, public health, and environmental policy.
SmartTrips operates as a community-scale initiative combining tactical outreach, travel demand management, and behavior-change marketing to reduce vehicle miles traveled. It integrates strategies from Portland Bureau of Transportation, Metro (Oregon regional government), Oregon Health & Science University, and nonprofit partners like Community Cycling Center to promote alternatives such as TriMet, MAX Light Rail, Portland Streetcar, and regional bicycle networks. The model emphasizes localized distribution of customized route maps, travel training with organizations like BikePortland, and collaboration with institutions including Oregon Department of Transportation and universities like University of Oregon and Portland State University for evaluation.
The concept emerged in the early 2000s amid regional planning initiatives tied to 2004 Portland climate action plan and broader shifts following projects such as Congestion Pricing studies and transit expansions like MAX Green Line. Early pilots drew on precedents from programs in San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Seattle Department of Transportation, and international examples in Copenhagen and Amsterdam for biking promotion. Over successive phases the program worked with neighborhood associations, business improvement districts, and agencies including Multnomah County, testing interventions during major events tied to Walk+Bike to School Day and infrastructure rollouts like new protected bike lanes.
Core components include door-to-door materials delivery, personalized travel planning, group events, and incentive schemes coordinated with local transit agencies and employers. Outreach includes collaboration with TriMet for transit passes, partnerships with bicycle retailers such as REI and non-profits like PeopleForBikes for bicycle access programs, and coordination with school districts participating in Safe Routes to School initiatives. Educational elements draw on curricula and training models from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration bicycle safety programs and public health campaigns associated with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant-funded active-living projects.
Implementation blends municipal transportation departments, regional planning bodies, community organizations, and academic evaluators. Lead partners historically have included City of Portland, Metro (Oregon regional government), TravelSmart (programs in other cities), and the Community Cycling Center, with advisory input from firms and consultants in transportation planning such as Toole Design Group and research teams at Portland State University. Funding sources have ranged across local bond measures, federal programs like Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, philanthropic grants from organizations like Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and corporate sponsorships. Implementation often coordinates with events hosted by Portland Bureau of Transportation and planning efforts such as the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030.
Evaluations led by researchers at institutions like Oregon Health & Science University and Portland State University measured outcomes including reductions in vehicle miles traveled, increases in transit ridership on TriMet routes, bicycling counts on corridors monitored by PBOT, and household-reported mode shifts. Studies referenced methodologies used in transportation demand management literature similar to work by Transportation Research Board committees and drew comparisons to outcomes from programs analyzed by Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Reported impacts included measurable increases in walking and bicycling trips, modest declines in solo driving, and ancillary public health benefits such as increased physical activity.
Critics have highlighted issues common to travel-behavior programs: scalability limits, equity concerns, and attribution challenges when multiple interventions coincide with infrastructure changes like new protected bike lanes or transit service improvements. Equity advocates, including community groups and organizations like Urban League affiliates, have questioned outreach depth in historically underserved neighborhoods and the sufficiency of linking incentives to low-income transit riders reliant on Fareless Square-era precedents. Methodological critiques from scholars tied to National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine stress the difficulty of isolating program effects from broader trends in fuel prices, land use shifts, and regional economic cycles.
Category:Transportation planning Category:Active transportation