Are We Measuring the Right Things? [Corporate Partner Article]
Article by Agile Mile, 2024 Champion-level ACT Corporate Partner
A few months ago I decided it was time to go on a diet. I didn't want some crazy fad diet. I just wanted to eat fewer calories and exercise more. This sounds easy in practice, but I needed help. So, what did I do? I downloaded an app of course!
The weight loss app I downloaded helped me create a plan with weight loss goals, healthy meal options, and exercise. I quickly set up the app and got started. After a few months of logging my activity, I’m happy to say it worked! I lost weight and changed my eating and exercise habits. Simply put, the app was a success. However, once I achieved my goal, I stopped logging my activity. I really love the app, and it’s still on my phone. I just stopped logging every day since I now know what to do.
Does this behavior change journey sound familiar to you? It seems to me this could easily be a commuter who wants to stop driving alone. They might download an app, discover their transportation options, log their trips, and change their behavior. However, after a while they may stop logging their trips because they successfully changed their behavior.
Whether it’s eating donuts or driving alone, once someone has changed their behavior, they may no longer need to continuously log their activity.
This made me wonder if our current TDM measurement techniques are incomplete. Logging greener trips is certainly valuable, but it only represents part of the picture and does not account for the millions of individuals who take greener trips and just don’t tell us about it.
For TDM, what if instead of just measuring logged trips, we start interacting more directly with users. This could be done through well designed polls, surveys, and other online tools. It could also be done with in-person interviews or get-togethers over coffee. The information collected from these qualitative techniques can help us further understand TDM’s impact while also uncovering powerful stories that can inspire others.
People will still want and need apps, and TDM programs will always report how many people joined their program, vehicle miles reduced, and so on - and that’s a good thing! It provides a baseline for performance and indicates progress. However, by adding qualitative measurements to the picture we can further expand our understanding of TDM’s impact in our communities.
With this in mind, let’s imagine a future where we collect and share these measurements with each other. At Agile Mile, we have a vision for how to make this possible and we’re excited to share more at the ACT International Conference in Denver, CO … so stay tuned!