ICF Consulting Receives 2005 Research Excellence Award from Transportation Demand Management Institute

FAIRFAX, VA—The Transportation Demand Management Institute (TDMI) presented ICF Consulting with the 2005 TDMI Research Excellence Award for its report "Analyzing the Effectiveness of Commuter Benefits Programs." The award recognizes ICF Consulting’s research for the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) examining the impacts of employer-provided transit benefits programs on employee travel behavior and on transit agencies’ ridership, revenues, and costs.

ICF Consulting’s study found that employer-based transit benefits programs can effectively encourage employees to switch from driving to using mass transit, and that transit ridership increases most when employers fully cover the costs of employees’ commutes via mass transit. The report documents the impacts of employer-provided transit pass programs and provides information to help transit agencies, commuter organizations, and employers understand how to assess the effects of their individual programs on transit ridership, vehicle travel, and other goals, like fuel savings and emissions reduction.

“ICF Consulting’s findings are significant in light of recent national efforts to encourage consumers to voluntarily reduce fuel consumption in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and continued high oil prices,” says Sergio Ostria, an ICF Consulting senior vice president who directs the firm’s transportation work. “Our research also emphasizes the potential role of employer-based commuting programs at meeting local and regional goals to reduce traffic congestion and motor vehicle emissions, while saving employees money on commuting costs and creating a positive business environment,” says Michael Grant, an ICF Consulting transportation expert.

The report is available at http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=5564.

TDMI is a charitable foundation established by the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT) to promote research related to programs to manage travel demand and reduce traffic congestion.

ICF Consulting (http://www.icfconsulting.com) is a leading management, technology, and policy consulting firm. Drawing upon extensive industry knowledge, distinguished professionals, and innovative analytics, the firm develops solutions to complex defense, homeland security, social program, energy, environment, and transportation issues. ICF Consulting’s approach to these issues is strengthened by its expertise in information technology, organizational improvement, research and evaluation, program management, and communications. Since 1969, ICF Consulting has been serving major corporations, government at all levels, and multinational institutions. More than 1,500 employees serve these clients in the Americas, Asia, and Europe.