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There is a national trend toward consolidating rental carfacilities (CRCFs) at commercial metropolitan atfporfê! but limited trip generation data are available for this land use. This article reports on trip generation characteristics for a CRCF in Baltimore, Maryland, and discusses appropriate variables, analysis methodology, and transferability in estimating trip generation for use in travel forecasting.
Major airports are often a nucleus of local area planning and development. However, vehicle trip generation data for this land use are lacking. This article presents a case study for the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport with a focus on methodology, data analysis, and potential transferability to other locations.
Introduction and Background
Major commercial passenger airports fit the classic definition of multimodal transportation facilities. They support a wide range of trip purposes and function as the interface between air travel and various modes of ground transportation. Rental car facilities have traditionally been part of commercial airport complexes, and there has been a recent trend toward developing consolidated rental car facilities (CRCFs) at or near airports. The first on record was at Sacramento International Airport in 1994, and today there are more than 30 CRCFs operating nationwide, with several more in the planning stages.1,2
There is often a strong synergy among a variety of airport-related activities and local land uses, generally resulting in mixed development activity within the area of major airports. This generates the need for reliable data to support travel demand forecasting related to airport operations and management, along with local infrastructure planning and development, often including mass transit connections and toll facilities.
The Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshall Airport is representative of this situation. Located in reasonable proximity to the cities of Baltimore, MD, Washington, DC, and Annapolis, the Maryland state capital, this airport is within a fast-developing local area in Anne Arundel County, one of the six jurisdictions comprising the Baltimore Metropolitan Council Metropolitan Planning Organization. (See Figure I.)
The BWI-CRCF was planned over the period 1998 to 2000 and was opened in 2003. While the facility was built to accommodate 10 rental car companies, there are currently eight companies at the location, due in part to recent mergers in the industry. The facility is located about 2.7 miles from the airport terminal and is connected by...