Mineta Transportation Institute issues recommendations for vehicle miles traveled program

The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) at San Jose State University recently developed policy recommendations for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) for an equity framework for the proposed Equitable VMT Mitigation Program.

The proposed program would provide a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) mitigation option for local government agencies and developers. The intention is to improve travel options for the community while emphasizing cross-jurisdictional collaboration and equity.

“A major transportation need identified by the community is improved connectivity, frequency, reliability, and speed of public transportation,” the study’s authors said. “Identifying these community needs and providing recommendations as this research does can help advance the equity framework of the proposed Equitable VMT Mitigation Program for Santa Clara County.”

The institute, the university and VTA collaborated on research. They issued best practices including defining equity in a way that reflects the experiences of inequity within affected communities; incorporating equity throughout the program development and implementation phases; developing an informative and implementable accountability plan; and embedding equity into the project selection process and program evaluation criteria.

VTA plans to release a draft report on the program along with recommendations later this year.

Dr. Serena Alexander, a Northeastern University associate professor of public policy and environmental engineering, and two graduate students wrote the report.

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