Rome has one of the highest rates of car ownership in the world, with 76 cars to every 100 inhabitants (CIVITAS, 2013a). During peak hours, many of the cars circulating in the centre of Rome have a single occupant travelling to work. In order to reduce city-centre congestion, home-to-work trip plans, with a focus on car-pooling, were developed to change commuters’ travel habits.
A comprehensive survey, comprising over 100,000 interviews, was carried out to analyse current travel behaviour. A simulation model was then designed to manage car-pooling services, using origin and destination data, and incorporating revealed preferences about trip characteristics and scheduling. This was implemented by the Sustainable Mobility Department of the public transport operator ATAC, who also provided technical support through computer-based tools. This led to the design of several home-to-work plans and car-pooling schemes and agreements with local parking lots to provide facilities at special rates.
A total of 1,180 employees participated in the trial; with 383 car pools and a vehicle occupancy rate of 75% (CIVITAS, 2013b). The scheme engaged 480 employees at the municipality’s offices, with 160 car pools formed; 600 employees at the Policlinico Umberto I hospital forming 200 car pools; and 100 employees and 23 car pools at the Ministry of Public Health. Carbon savings were captured as part of the wider CIVITAS-led MIRACLES (Multi-Initiative for Rationalised Accessibility and Clean Liveable Environments) project; results of which can be reviewed at http://www.civitas.eu/sites/default/files/d2_2_annex1_rome_v_6_0.pdf Table 1 (MIRACLES, 2006).
Table 1: Ex-ante and ex-post measure indicators (MIRACLES, 2006)
