Vancouver staff propose 2025–29 Commute Trip Reduction plan, set 60% drive‑alone target for affected worksites

City staff presented the proposed 2025–2029 Vancouver Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) plan during a City Council workshop on March 3, 2025, saying the plan must be adopted by local jurisdictions under state law and would take effect July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2029.

The plan sets a regional performance target — a weighted average drive‑alone rate of 60% or less for CTR‑affected worksites — and lays out education, incentive and subsidy strategies intended to shift employees from driving alone to other modes, staff said.

City staff member Olivia Khan, who led the briefing, told the council that the CTR law dates to 1991 and applies to employers with 100 or more employees who commute at least two days a week between 6 and 9 a.m. She said the city has implemented the program regionally for about 20 years on behalf of Clark County and neighboring cities. "Commute trip production plans are required by state law," Khan said during the presentation.

Why it matters: The plan is a compliance document required by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and a policy tool for congestion, emissions and cost‑of‑commute goals. Staff said the CTR program targets large employers because employer programs and commute benefits (for example employer transit passes or stipends) can influence mode choice where the city and region have leverage.

What staff presented: Khan summarized recent travel data and the reasons for updating a plan last revised in 2015. Key data points staff cited include: the 2020–21 American Community Survey showing about 69% of Clark County workers drive alone to work; CTR‑affected worksites typically report roughly 5 percentage points lower drive‑alone rates than the county average; the county‑level drive‑alone rate measured by CTR surveys fell from about 87% in 2017 to 65% in 2021, driven largely by an increase in telework from roughly 3% to about 25%.

Khan said the project team selected a 60% weighted drive‑alone goal for CTR‑affected worksites as "ambitious yet not unrealistic," noting it measures program performance at affected worksites rather than community‑wide behavior. She described the primary measurement tool as employee commute surveys at affected worksites and noted that the program operates on a biennium; the next survey biennium results are expected in July 2025.

Engagement and strategies: Staff reported a year‑long planning process that included a regional survey (available in English and Spanish that drew about 250 responses), one‑on‑one conversations with employer transportation coordinators, two roundtable sessions, partner interviews with organizations such as C‑Tran, Community in Motion, Bike Clark County and the Vancouver Downtown Association, and tabling at dozens of community events.

Those outreach results informed the plan’s primary strategies: employer outreach and education, transit pass enrollment assistance, targeted incentives, potential subsidies or commuter stipends (to be researched using WSDOT CTR formula funding), and promotion of alternative modes including bicycling, carpooling and transit. Khan said staff will explore how much WSDOT formula funding can subsidize employer transit passes so employers need not cost‑share with employees.

Alignment and dependencies: The plan is written to align with local policy statements including the City of Vancouver Climate Action Framework, the city’s strategic plan and the Transportation System Plan, and with regional transit plans including C‑Tran and TriMet long‑range planning and the interstate bridge replacement (IBR) project. Khan said Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council (RTC) confirmed plan consistency in November 2024 and WSDOT’s Transportation Demand Management Technical Committee confirmed compliance in January 2025.

Next steps: The project team plans to bring the final plan to council for formal action by June 30, 2025. If adopted, staff will prepare an implementation plan prioritizing employer outreach, expanded education about commute options, and research into offering commuter stipends or employer transit pass subsidies under the next WSDOT funding cycle.

Council questions and concerns: Council members pressed staff on how telework and return‑to‑office trends affect the target and on how childcare needs and first/last‑mile gaps influence mode choice. Khan said telework remains an important commute‑reduction strategy and that the CTR program specifically measures commute trips; she said other studies are needed to capture vehicle miles traveled (VMT) for all trip types. Councilors raised feasibility questions about achieving a 5 percentage‑point reduction in drive‑alone rates and suggested adding survey questions about weather sensitivity and other behavioral drivers.

What staff did not decide at the workshop: The council received the briefing and offered feedback; staff said they would incorporate council input before presenting a final plan for council action in the second quarter of 2025. No formal council vote occurred during the workshop.

Ending: Staff said the plan’s measures and implementation would be coordinated regionally with Clark County, Camas and Washougal and that the plan’s effectiveness will be tracked through future CTR biennial surveys and the implementation steps adopted after council action.