The RM3P team conducted an online questionnaire last month to collect information and gauge initial support of the goals of RM3P among key stakeholders. The questionnaire received nearly 40 replies, with respondents representing nearly 20 different stakeholder groups, including state and local governments, transportation and transit providers, as well as business advocacy groups such as the Greater Washington Partnership and the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
The questionnaire replaced a planned in-person stakeholder summit that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to taking the questionnaire, respondents were asked to view a video presentation describing the program and its five elements to ensure that respondents could speak thoughtfully about how their organization may be able to contribute to and gain from RM3P.
Respondents reported a very positive initial view of RM3P:
- 88 percent either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “RM3P aligns with the goals and needs of my agency.”
- Questionnaire takers also expressed a strong degree of interest in all five program elements, with at least 65 percent of respondents interested in each one.
- This ties in well with the respondents’ own initiatives toward innovation with 68 percent of respondents reporting that their agency has plans to implement new mobility initiatives by 2022, with such initiatives including micromobility pilots, the Virginia 511 system, ITS implementation, and automatic commuter parking counter systems.
Respondents were also asked about sharing data with third parties. The stakeholders were generally supportive of the possibility of sharing data with RM3P, but suggested that data-privacy concerns, the organization’s existing policies about data-sharing, and restrictions in existing vendor-licensing agreements would need to be addressed. Respondents expressed similar sentiments about the possibility of “ingesting” data derived from RM3P, with interested stakeholders seeing its potential in analyzing travel trends and providing insights to inform operational improvements.
The questionnaire results show a high degree of interest in RM3P and a strong commitment by regional stakeholders to participate and make RM3P as effective and integrated as possible. The RM3P team looks forward to keeping this conversation going!