2022 Movability Annual Report
Foreword from Board Chair Sandy Hentges Guzman
Leadership and collaboration are integral parts of Movability’s mission and vision, and in 2022 the association put those values into action.
While the year started with a new Covid-19 outbreak, it also saw the return of more in-person events, regular and predictable schedules, and of course traffic congestion. For Movability it was also a year of milestones: an updated strategic plan, a landmark agreement with the City of Austin, expanded programming, and new faces both on staff and on the board.
A five-year contract with the City of Austin approved by City Council in April 2022 gives both the City and Movability more resources to bring transportation demand management (TDM) education and services to a greater Central Texas audience. The timing couldn’t be more critical – as massive infrastructure projects that will greatly reduce vehicle capacity move closer to turning dirt, it’s imperative for regional leaders to collaborate on traffic mitigation. I’m delighted that Movability is an active participant in these important conversations.
A dearth of affordable housing options is also adding to our region’s traffic congestion, as high prices push commuters farther away from infrastructure and services that allow them to use non-drive-alone transportation options. Longer commutes are more costly for Central Texas employees in terms of gas and vehicle maintenance, time wasted in traffic, and the toll from an increasing number of road deaths. Moving more people, and not just more vehicles, is a matter of equity as much as it is a matter of economic development.
As Movability’s Board Chair, I’m proud of the work Movability is doing to help our region grow in a way that fosters economic vitality, better air quality, and healthier lives. We couldn’t do this work without CapMetro, the City of Austin, and the Downtown Austin Alliance – our dedicated Founding Partners – our innovative staff, and most importantly the members who want to be part of this movement.
Strategic Priorities
Covid-19’s sudden appearance changed commuting and the workplace overnight. Movability immediately pivoted to update its programming to provide the best value to our members. While the pandemic and other factors continue to influence commutes and travel patterns, in 2022 Movability staff set out to create a five-year strategic priority roadmap that will allow our organization to remain nimble in the face of a rapidly growing and changing region while staying focused on the services our members have told us they find most helpful.
Focusing initially on areas with more dense mobility options, the priorities lay a path for Movability to increase awareness and use of transportation demand management (TDM) practices regionwide.
By the Numbers: A Snapshot of Central Texas Mobility in 2022
Sources: City of Austin, Capital Metro, data.census.gov, TomTom.com, traillink.com
Chart shows ACS 2021 estimates based on 2020 Census data, the latest data available. Source: https://data.census.gov/
About our Members
Movability Members
In 2022 Movability welcomed a host of new members. Our work with members continues to focus on a variety of events and services, from networking opportunities and discussion groups for employers to hands-on mobility training and commute planning.
Movability members span three Central Texas counties and range from corporations with thousands of employees to small businesses and non-profits with fewer than 10 employees. Member surveys indicate that the top reasons members join are networking with other companies; getting help with implementing employee mobility programs; and promoting environmental sustainability.
2022 Members
Founding Partners
- Capital Metro
- City of Austin
- Downtown Austin Alliance
Members
(* denotes new member in 2022)
- Actionfigure
- AGE of Central Texas
- Archer Malmo
- Austin Chamber of Commerce
- Austin Creative Reuse
- Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce
- Austin Technology Council
- Austin Theatre Alliance
- Austin Young Chamber of Commerce
- Ballet Austin
- Bird*
- Bitlocks*
- Block by Block*
- BOE Consulting
- Brain + Trust Partners
- theBulletin.io
- Burns McDonnell*
- BusUp
- CAPCOG
- Central Texas Mobility Authority
- Cherrywood Coffeehouse
- Chez Zee
- Circles X*
- Cirrus Logic
- City of Round Rock*
- CivilCorp*
- Commute With Enterprise*
- CP&Y, an STV Company*
- Cushman & Wakefield
- Danielle Skidmore Consulting, PLLC
- dwg.
- Endeavor Real Estate Group
- Fetii
- Fleet
- Flexigo*
- Ghisallo Cycling Initiative*
- Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce
- Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce
- Hahn Public*
- Halff Associates
- Hallcon
- HNTB
- Indeed*
- Institute for Community Micromobility
- Jackson Walker
- K Friese + Associates
- Leander Chamber of Commerce
- Liftango*
- Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam*
- Luum by Health Equity
- Maxwell Locke & Ritter
- Meta
- MetroBike
- MODBikes
- The Mosaic Workshop*
- Moore Associates
- Pavemint*
- Red Line Parkway Initiative*
- RideAmigos
- Rifeline*
- Sabot Development
- Samsung
- St. Edward's University
- San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce
- Shop LC
- Silicon Labs
- Something Cool Studios
- Southwest Strategies Group
- Statesman Media
- Spaces*
- Tesla
- Texas Department of Transportation*
- Texas Gas Service
- Texas Parks & Wildlife
- Texas Water Development Board
- Thrival
- Tokyo Electron
- Trakk
- The Transtec Group*
- TransWest
- The University of Texas at Austin
- Uber Transit*
- Urban Roots
- Via*
- Walter P. Moore*
- WeDriveU
- Whole Foods
- Young Voices of Austin
Central Texas member map: explore where we provide services to our members in the region
2022 Central Texas-based Movability members
Events
2022 included a return to in-person events, including the Annual Mobility Breakfast and the Movability Summit, both of which had record attendance numbers. Regional gamification challenges also returned in the spring and fall. Movability's events calendar included virtual events in partnership with other organizations and member-exclusive gatherings.
- January 19: Motivational Interviewing Webinar
Movability and Steer partnered on this webinar that gave participants an overview of the key strategies for successful motivational interviewing, an evidence-based approach to behavior change.
- February 9: Annual Mobility Breakfast
Mayor Steve Adler, Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion, and Google's Chris Ivarson spoke at this in-person event about the region's mobility and how employers are reducing drive-alone commutes.
- May 25: Movability Summit
Now in its second year, the Summit was an in-person event in 2022, and featured a panel discussion about regional mobility coordination and trends. Panelists included Round Rock Director of Transportation Gary Hudder, CEO of Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area Paul Fletcher, Kyle City Manager Scott Sellers, Royal Blue Grocery Owner Craig Staley, and Director of Austin Transportation Rob Spillar, with Downtown Austin Alliance Director of Research & Analysis Jenell Moffett moderating.
- May 1-31: Bike Month Challenge
Open to the general public, this monthlong challenge encouraged people to post photos of their bike rides on Instagram to be entered for weekly prize drawings.
- July 29: Barton Springs Bike Ride
Together with the Ghisallo Cycling Initiative, Movability hosted an urban bike ride using MetroBike electric bicycles. Participants got a hands-on experience using the bike share and urban trails, with a refreshing swim as a reward at the destination.
- September 8: MetroRideShare Lunch and Learn
Movability member Commute with Enterprise, which partners with CapMetro to offer vanpooling in Central Texas, gave an overview of the benefits of vanpooling for employees.
- September 10: ULInsight and Movability live stream
ULI Austin invited Movability to participate in its monthly interactive session, with a focus on new City of Austin transportation policies.
- October 1-31: Mobility Games
Movability gave weekly prizes for users who logged non-drive-alone trips in the Get There Central Texas platform throughout October.
- October 27: Hallcon and Movability Happy Hour
Annual platinum supporter Hallcon and Movability held a happy hour for members and their guests at Easy Tiger in East Austin.
TDM Agreement
In April 2022 Austin City Council approved a five-year, $2 million transportation demand management (TDM) contract between Movability and the City of Austin. While Movability and the City have worked closely together for more than a decade, this contract and its scope of work mark the largest agreement yet between the two organizations.
Issues like affordability, housing stock, and population growth have all pushed Central Texas growth – and the commutes of its residents – farther and farther away from employment hubs and fixed-route transportation services. Commutes that span multiple counties are becoming more common, adding to traffic congestion, roadway accidents, air pollution, and time lost.
Infrastructure projects such as the expansion of I-35's Central corridor and Project Connect will expand transportation capacity, but not for several decades. In the meantime, those massive construction projects will reduce roadway capacity. The need to increase and incentivize TDM practices has never been greater, particularly for residents who do not have reliable access to a vehicle or are losing access to jobs, childcare, or healthcare because of a dearth of commute options.
Under the terms of the contract, Movability will expand the reach of TDM-related events, programming, and other services to employers and communities throughout the Central Texas region, with a focus on equity. Movability will also support the efforts of the City of Austin’s TDM initiative, GetThereATX, and help communities outside of Austin form and manage their own GetThere programs.
"Our upcycled bike racks are a great fit for our mission to foster conservation and reuse through creativity, education, and community building. The racks have made it easier for our employees, volunteers, and shoppers to commute to our center by bike securely and conveniently. Our employees, in particular, have told us that the new racks and the pump and tools/supplies make them feel well cared for and confident that they can get to and from work by bike more confidently."
-Jenn Evans, Executive Director, Austin Creative Reuse, a GoGrant recipient
The July 2022 Mobility Camp, led by the Ghisallo Cycling Initiative and Movability, gave participants hands-on experience with urban bike lanes and ended with a refreshing dip in Barton Springs.
Movability Programs
In 2022 the region continued to see changes in mobility and transportation demand management (TDM) trends. A growing workforce increasingly living and commuting across multiple counties, together with shifting demographics among commuters who travel to work in person, has led to a new direction in Movability's programs.
While white-collar, downtown businesses continued to work with Movability to provide robust commute options to their employees, we also tailored programs to reach organizations whose employees don't have many mobility resources.
The pilot MovePass initiative and a revised GoGrant program in particular are bringing TDM resources to smaller businesses and organizations whose employees and clients may not have consistent access to vehicles, or who face barriers to learning and using the transit system.
Get There Central Texas participant Tyson Bird won a Starbucks gift card by logging trips in 2022.
Get There Central Texas
Using Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization's (CAMPO) Commute Solutions platform, Get There Central Texas builds on existing ride-matching and ride-logging capabilities to offer users a network with more frequent rewards and challenges.
2022 marked Movability's first full year of running Get There. The platform saw modest growth, adding 60 active users.
Get There allows commuters to map their commute, see travel options side by side, and find people to carpool, vanpool, or bike with. While any Central Texan can use the Get There platform to find different ways of getting around and log rides to be entered for prize drawings, Movability members get access to more rewards for employees who use the network.
Of the more than 7,000 trips logged on Get There Central Texas in 2022, a majority recorded telework. Spikes in trip logging correlate with regional challenges Movability hosted, indicating that this form of community engagement was effective.
By increasing regional trip logging Movability and its partners will gain a clearer picture of regional mode split and how effective employer commute programming is in shifting modes.
GoGrant
GoGrant, which provides funding to Austin-based businesses and organizations for TDM projects and consulting, grew in scope in 2022.
The program added a new category for larger businesses to take advantage of TDM consulting. This grant is available to any size employer, and takes the place of the former Mobility Challenge, which Movability offered its members pre-pandemic.
Grants for infrastructure – like bike racks – or programmatic benefits – like subsidized transit passes – are available only to Austin-based small employers, those with fewer than 50 employees.
Nineteen applicants applied for funding in 2022. Six have been approved, and their projects will take shape in 2023. The grants increased in size to $7,500 from $5,000.
MovePass
Movability’s MovePass program is designed to take the burden of administering bulk transit passes purchased from Capital Metro’s MetroWorks program off the shoulders of the businesses using them.
With MovePass, Movability members choose which bulk transit pass options work best for them. Movability handles the distribution of those digital passes to employees, supports commuter needs, tracks the usage, and provides reporting.
MovePass took on two new pilots at the end of 2022: one with small businesses in Central Austin and one with Google’s downtown Austin offices.
A $10,000 donation from Google allowed Movability to offer an additional subsidy to small businesses in the downtown pilot. Movability also won a $10,000 grant from Bank of America for outreach and marketing of that pilot.
By the end of 2022 three Austin employers, with operations spread across five different locations, had signed on to the pilot and will begin receiving passes through the program in 2023.
Google MovePass Pilot
The Google MovePass pilot launched in October 2022. Movability worked with Google and CapMetro to simplify the bulk purchasing, distribution, and tracking of a variety of transit passes for downtown Google employees.
Between October and the end of December, 2022, Movability had helped Google purchase and distribute 174 transit passes covering a variety of commute options.
That pilot will continue into early 2023, at which time Google and Movability will assess data from the program and determine if it will continue on a more permanent basis.
Best Workplaces for Commuters
Through a partnership with the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida, Movability is able to offer members free assistance with applications to this prestigious recognition.
Member Resources
Movability members have varying needs, depending on their size, location, and employee demographics. Movability provided member-exclusive resources to help members engage employees and simplify access to commutes across many modes.
A Central Texas Commuter Guide helps employees who are relocating to Central Texas from other parts of the country and acts as a reference to understand where commute options and amenities are most concentrated.
A Bike Month resource kit combined graphics and templates to help Central Texas employers promote and engage employees with Bike Month and Bike to Work Day events and trainings.
Member-exclusive videos provided additional resources for members, including how employers can promote active commutes year-round and a recording of Movability's Motivational Interviewing webinar.
Research and Communications
Movability conducts community research and surveys within our membership to better understand mobility trends and demands.
Downtown storefront employee commute modes
As the impacts of the pandemic abated, downtown Austin returned to a pre-pandemic level of automotive and pedestrian traffic. Yet for storefront businesses, hiring and retaining employees remained difficult. Downtown storefront businesses face an added staffing challenge in that most cannot provide sufficient parking resources for their employees. Retailers and storefront businesses in other parts of the city - areas with as many commute options and more affordable parking - are better able to attract and retain employees. The Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA) asked Movability to engage with these downtown storefront businesses to analyze their commuter mobility challenges and develop potential solutions.
Through a focus group and outreach conducted in person and electronically, Movability gathered information and made a set of recommendations to the DAA regarding better commute options for downtown storefront and retail employees.
Movability made six recommendations for helping downtown retail and storefront businesses improve commute options for their employees:
- Increase parking flexibility
- Provide subsidized transportation
- Expand mobility-on-demand options for late-night shift employees
- Build educational programming targeted at businesses and their employees to improve awareness of existing mobility options
- Identify or create high security locations for bike parking
- Create a Get There Central Texas subnetwork for downtown businesses that the DAA could subsidize and promote
Newsletters and social media
Movability communicates with its members and the general public through its website, four social media channels, and two newsletters – one exclusively for members and one for all subscribers. In April 2022 Movability launched a channel on Instagram and began to grow a base of followers through contests and other online engagement.
About Us
In early 2022 Movability said goodbye to our former Program Manager Anton Cox and welcomed Alex Vogt as our new program manager. Former intern Alex Terrazas came on board as a part-time Communications Assistant.
Our board also saw some changes: founding board member and former board Chair Joe Cantalupo retired from the Movability board, board members Rob Spillar and Sam Sargent left the board upon transitioning to new positions, and we welcomed several new board members.
Financial Reports
2022 was a year of growth in partnerships.
Movability offered annual sponsorships for the first time in 2022, giving members an additional way to engage with Central Texas businesses and mobility providers.
Movability staff continued attending in-person conferences and events. Staff members took on panelist and workshop roles at the Association of Commuter Transportation's Annual International Conference, which meant some conference expenses were waived.
The biggest financial change of 2022 was the transportation demand management contract with the City of Austin, which will bring in $2 million in revenue over the next five years. For the first two years of the contract, Movability will receive $550,000 annually. The programs that Movability establishes as part of that contractual work are expected to generate additional revenue, and in years three through five the City will pay Movability $300,000 annually. The contract also changed the structure of some Movability programs, including the Mobility Challenge. The jump in revenue on that line item reflects the program's shift from stand-alone program to part of the GoGrant program, which is funded by the municipal contract.
