2021 Movability Annual Report

While the pandemic made planning events difficult in 2021, Movability added a number of new events to our annual calendar that helped us educate Central Texans about transportation demand management, bring together leaders for fruitful discussions, and celebrate the employers leading the way toward better mobility options for all Central Texans.

"Making [transit] passes available to our staff has been a real benefit to our company culture and single passenger vehicle reduction efforts. As an organization located downtown and without parking available in our building, we encourage our staff to take advantage of alternative transportation options whenever possible."

-Lauren Womack, Director of Grants, Austin Theatre Alliance, a 2021 GoGrant recipient

The shift in programs that Movability began in 2020 continued into 2021, with new and expanded services aimed at employers and employees with fewer transportation resources and choices. A growing employer base in suburban and even semi-rural areas in Central Texas has meant more commuters traveling longer distances combined with fewer public mobility resources – like transit and bike lanes – to help employees who may not have consistent access to a vehicle. At the same time, new Covid variants and a rising demand for commute flexibility also meant fewer traditional commutes for white collar workers in 2021.

Movability conducts community research and surveys within our membership to better understand mobility trends and demands.

From early February to mid-March 2021, Movability surveyed individuals about the motivations behind their travel choices during the pandemic. The purpose of this study was to provide decision-makers, business leaders, and policymakers with data explaining where and why there is so much traffic, even as traditional commute patterns were disrupted. More than 1,500 Central Texans participated in the survey.

 Visit the survey dashboard to see more data  

By holding employer discussion groups and conducting surveys among members, Movability was able to gather information throughout 2021 about return-to-work plans and the challenges facing employers around commute policies, and convey their questions and concerns to service providers and public officials.

Movability communicates with its members and the general public through its website, three social media channels, and two newsletters – one exclusively for members and one for all subscribers.

In 2021 Movability added a new role, Strategic Partnerships Manager, to help us better reach and serve Central Texas employers. It was also a year of recognition: the Association for Commuter Transportation awarded Movability the Strategy Pivot Award for our shift in programming during the pandemic, and also named Movability Program Manager Anton Cox one of its 40 Under 40 TDM Professionals.

2021 was a year of adaptation and growth.

Movability changed its membership structure, decreasing membership rates for mobility providers in order to encourage their financial support of specific programs and events.

Movability staff began attending in-person conferences and events again. Two staff members were awarded scholarships for the Association of Commuter Transportation's Annual International Conference, which helped reduce conference expenses.

Like many small businesses and organizations, Movability received COVID-related financial support from a PPP grant. We also added a new staff member and launched a new program - Get There Central Texas - with funding from the City of Austin.

2021 was Movability's first full year of operating independently after an amicable ending of our management oversight contract the Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA). The DAA continues to be a Founding Member and an active, engaged partner.