Dear City Council members,
As a founding board member of the Palo Alto TMA, I saw how difficult it was to form a TMA successfully in the best of times. A TMA for a single city has a high degree of overhead relative to its customer base given the need for permanent staff. The cost is increased further if the TMA expects to serve small and medium businesses as well as very largest businesses, because smaller businesses require labor-intensive services to create mode shift. Founding a TMA at the tail end of a pandemic and with the uncertain impact of telework complicates the situation further.
As a single employer, however, the city can pursue TDM for its own employees relatively easily and cheaply because its incentives as an employer are aligned with the City Council's direction.
I encourage you to take advantage of existing programs like Commute.org and Manzanita Works and encourage TDM within the city.
Thank you,
Bob McGrew
Vintage Oaks
