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U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
Transportation and Air Quality Public Information Initiative
"It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air"
Initiative Goal
Objectives
Significance
Partners
To support and facilitate state and local governments' efforts to meet their
traffic congestion and air quality goals under the Transportation Equity Act
for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and the Clean Air Act (CAA).
• Increase public awareness of the connection between travel behavior
and air quality,
» Increase public awareness of alternative modes of transportation and
the importance of travel choices on traffic congestion and air quality.
The American public desires both mobility and clean air, WhEe progress has
been made in achieving these goals, significant challenges remain to reduce
traffic congestion levels and improve air quality. Growth in vehicle travel
contributes to traffic congestion and air pollution and, unless technology
improvements keep pace, could begin to offset emissions reductions made
through cleaner cars and fuels. Consequently, a successful community-based
program will help address increases in vehicle miles driven and air pollution
by encouraging people to take such actions as trip chaining, regular car
maintenance, and using alternative modes of transportation.
U. S. DOT — Federal Highway Administration
U.S. EPA — Office of Mobile Sources
U. S. DOT — Federal Transit Administration
The federal partners are working collaboratively with metropolitan areas as
Demonstration Communities on the transportation and air quality public
education initiative.
Initiative Design
Core Messages;
Meeting the objectives of the initiative requires a carefully coordinated and
consistent effort. Thus, the federal partners are conducting a long-term
initiative on both the national and local levels. There are five primary
components to the initiative: pilot site tests, demonstration community roll-
out, national coalition implementation, outreach and communications, and
evaluation.
The core messages of this initiative focus on actions that people can take
which are convenient and can make a difference in air quality when they are-
practiced on a wide scale. The messages include; -
(1) Trip-chaining, or linking trips in the car to accomplish a number of trip
purposes without letting the engine cool down completely, thus cutting
down on "cold-starts" that produce much greater exhaust emissions
Maintaining the car in top running condition, which also can have a large
payoff, because out-of-tune vehicles account for a disproportionately
large share of auto emissions
Choosing alternate modes of transportation whenever possible. Sharing a
ride with a Mend, car- or vanpooling to work, taking mass transit, biking,
(2)
(3)
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walking — all of these options reduce congestion and transportation
emissions by eliminating auto trips.
The common thread in these messages is that drastic changes in lifestyle aren't
necessary in order to make a difference. When enough people are motivated
to make small and manageable changes in their daily routines, the cumulative
impact is improved air quality and less congestion,
Two years of research and focus group testing conducted by the federal
partners, indicate that, in order for people to be willing to listen to these
messages, the tone must allow them to receive credit for actions they're
already taking, while encouraging them to do more.
For additional information contact:
Joann Jackson-Stephens Kathy Daniel Abbe Marner
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Federal Highway Administration Federal Transit Administration
Office of Mobile Sources Office of Environment and Planning Office of Planning
(734) 214-4276 (202) 366-6276 (202) 366-0096
j ackson-stephensjoann@epa.gov kathleen.daniel@fhwa.dot.gov abbe.marner@fta.dot.gov
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