^Of_W*v_j *~ 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 To support and facilitate state and local governments' efforts to meet their congestion and air quality goals under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and the Clean Air Act (CAA). Research Findings After a thorough examination of the transportation and air quality consumer literature and conducting the focus group and pilot site market research in several metropolitan areas, the research findings provided the rationale and method regarding how to proceed with the development of the initiative. Problem as identified by stakeholders: • State and local transportation planners and air quality regulators need assistance to meet their congestion and environmental objectives under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and the Clean Air Act (CAA) » Transportation and air quality organizations have limited resources to meet these goals at best » Past public education messages at the state and local level about transportation and air quality issues have been inconsistent and confusing About the Public » Citizens don't understand the link between transportation choices and air quality » Citizens as transportation consumers are largely unaware of the range of alternatives to solo driving which exist and are available in their community • Air quality and transportation are not typically high priority issues for citizens • Citizens feel that the government and indnstry should share responsibility for improving air quality and congestion Solutions identified by literature and market research * Transportation and air quality stakeholders have identified a need to educate citizens regarding the impact of individual transportation choices on air quality « Organizations would greatly benefit from sharing expertise, messages, and tools because significant duplication of effort exists in attempts to educate citizens * A dual-tier public education effort allows personal interaction with the target audience at the local level broader dissemination of messages establishes transportation and air quality issue as a national priority * Develop messages relating to air quality and mobility that have a credible rationale stress the voluntary aspect of individual action ------- are encouraging — positive in tone and substance link transportation choices and air quality to lifestyle to encourage options to solo driving suggest "do-able" or convenient options speak to both consumer and organizations ------- |