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Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - November 1993
Click HERE for graphic. Prepared by the Employer Trip Reduction Staff Bay Area Air Quality Management District 939 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 November 1993 - PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE - Who should use this Guide This Guide is designed to help Employee Transportation Coordinators (ETCS) develop effective Employer Trip Reduction Programs. The task of developing a trip reduction program may seem daunting, especially if your organization is starting from scratch or if you have been newly designated as the ETC. But there is no need to feel discouraged or overwhelmed. You can develop an effective program for your work site even if your time and resources are limited. Developing a trip reduction program provides an opportunity to exercise your creativity and to perform a positive service for your employees, your company, and society as a whole. Remember that there are many resources available to help you. - How to use this Guide This Guide is designed to serve as your "user manual." It synthesizes a great deal of information on Employer Trip Reduction Programs into a single document that can serve as your basic reference. Part I provides practical advice on how to develop, implement, and monitor a successful program. Part 11 analyzes various trip reduction measures for their applicability, potential cost and effectiveness, and provides examples of work sites where these measures have been successfully implemented. Part 11 also provides a list of resources that you can draw upon. Part III is a workbook that provides several worksheets and forms that can help you in designing and monitoring your program. Use the Guide as befits your needs. First get a sense of how the Guide is structured. Read Part I and those measures in Part 11 that seem most relevant to your work site. Look at the worksheets in the Part 111; consider how to use the worksheets or to modify them to suit your needs. Once you become familiar with the Guide and digest the basic points, refer to it as needed. Of course, this Guide does not tell you everything about trip reduction programs and measures. You should supplement the Guide by consulting other resources, talking with fellow ETCS, taking advantage of seminars and training opportunities, etc. - Acknowledgements Air District staff received assistance from several sources in compiling this guidance document. RIDES for Bay Area Commuters, Inc., provided referrals of employer program components that were valuable in identifying the examples in Part 11. District staff also drew from a number of written sources, including RIDES' TSM: Getting Started handbook; trip reduction guidance documents prepared by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District; and Implementing Transportation Demand Management Programs prepared by Comsis for the Federal Highway Administration. A special recognition and thank you is extended to the companies cited in the examples for allowing their programs to be mentioned herein. Funding for administration of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District employer trip reduction rule, including the development of this guide, is provided by the Transportation Fund for Clean Air (AB 434). - Disclaimer This document provides information and advice on developing and implementing an Employer Trip Reduction Program. It is not a substitute for legal or tax advice where such advice is necessary or prudent. - Comments and Suggestions This document will be revised in the future. If you have any comments, suggestions, examples, or additional information that you think would be helpful to share with other employers, please contact the BAAQMD Trip Reduction Staff- Edward Miller (415) 749-4665 David Burch (415) 749-4641 Jennifer Dill (415) 749-4902 Mark Kragen (415) 749-4643 Written comments should be submitted to: David Burch BAAQMD 939 Ellis Street San Francisco, CA 94109 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Part 1: Program Development INTRODUCTION What Needs to be Done?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 What is a Trip Reduction Program? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Why is this Necessary?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Do Trip Reduction Programs Work?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 What are the Benefits?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 What are the Performance Objectives for the Program?. . . . . 3 Are the Performance Objectives Achievable?. . . . . . . . . . 4 BASIC INSIGHTS Ways to Improve VER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Process of Developing a Trip Reduction Program. . . . . . . . 6 Keys to a Successful Trip Reduction Program . . . . . . . . . 9 Myths and Realities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 ANALYZING YOUR SITUATION Analyze Your Survey Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Evaluate Employee Attitudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Consider Your Work Force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Examine Your Work Site. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Analyze Your "Corporate Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Try the Alternatives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Look Beyond Your Work Site. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING YOUR PROGRAM Involve Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Gain Management Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Estimating Resource Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Minimizing Costs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Selection of Trip Reduction Measures. . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Implementation Schedule and Annual Work Plan. . . . . . . . .24 Program Budget. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Monitoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 - Part II: Trip Reduction Measures Introduction and Summary Table Trip Reduction Program Measures: 1. Marketing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1 2. Ride matching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1 3. Preferential Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1 4. Guaranteed Ride Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1 5. Transit Information & Ticket Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 6. Incentives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1 7. Transportation Allowance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1 8. Parking Pricing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1 9. Vanpool Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1 10. Compressed Work Week Schedules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-1 11. Home-based Telecommuting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-1 12. Bicycle Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-1 13. Showers and Clothes Lockers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13-1 14. Support for Bicyclists and Walkers. . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-1 15. Shuffles to Transit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-1 16. Midday Shuffles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-1 17. On-Site Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17-1 18. Site Modifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-1 19. Clean Fuel Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19-1 20. Housing Assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20-1 A. Resources for Employers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1 - Part III: Workbook Worksheet A: Work Site Analysis Worksheet Worksheet B: Vehicle Trip Reduction Worksheet Worksheet C: Program Measure Development Form Worksheet D: Program Summary and Budget Form Worksheet E: Trip Reduction Program Monthly Activity Log Worksheet F: Example Employee Log Sheet Part 1: Program Development BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - INTRODUCTION - What Needs to be Done? Employers that are subject to the rule (i.e. 100 or more employees at a work site) must develop and implement an Employer Trip Reduction Program within six months of conducting the initial employee transportation survey. In addition, employers must notify employees regarding the content and implementation schedule of the trip reduction program during its development (Section 13-1-402). The rule makes a distinction between an Employer Trip Reduction Program (Section 13-1-407) and an Employer Trip Reduction Plan (Section 13-1-408). Employers are required to develop and implement a program for each work site. However, the program is not submitted to the BAAQMD. Employers are required to submit an Employer Trip Reduction Plan to the BAA QMD for review and approval only if the work site does not achieve the applicable performance objective in the rule. (For an explanation of the performance objectives, see page 1-3.) - What is a Trip Reduction Program? A trip reduction program is a set of measures designed to reduce motor vehicle trips to the work site by promoting the use of commute alternatives such as transit, ridesharing, bicycling, walking and telecommuting. The program may include any combination of services, incentives, disincentives and support measures. Rather than prescribe a particular set of measures, the rule provides employers with flexibility to develop programs that are appropriate for their work sites and employees. The program must address vehicle trips made by employees who start work during the 6:00 a.m. through 10:00 a.m. peak period. Employers may choose to apply the program to all employees at the work site, including employees who start work outside the peak period. Employers with multiple work sites may develop a customized program for each site or one program covering all sites. The Workbook in Part III provides optional worksheets to help employers develop effective trip reduction programs. Employers are not required to complete these forms. However, employers may find that completing the forms is a helpful step in developing a trip reduction program. Employers must provide a description of their trip reduction program as well as appropriate documentation of program implementation in response to any audit conducted by BAAQMD trip reduction staff or any request by the Air November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Program Development - I-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Pollution Control Officer. These worksheets could be used to fulfill any such request. - Why is this Necessary? Although Bay Area air quality is generally good, the region violates the State ozone (smog) standard approximately 20 days in a typical year. Measures to reduce motor vehicle travel are part of a broad strategy to further improve Bay Area air quality. Motor vehicles are the primary source of air pollution in the Bay Area. They account for approximately 50 percent of reactive hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides (NOx)--the precursors of smog--and 80 percent of carbon monoxide. They are also a major source of air toxics and particulates (PM10). Commute trips are a major cause of both air pollution and traffic congestion. Because commute trips generally occur on a regular route and schedule, they are well- suited for trip reduction efforts. Employers already influence their employees' commute mode choices, consciously or unconsciously, through their work site location and design, parking policies, work hours, etc. While the choice of commute mode ultimately rests with the employee, the rule requires employers to consciously use their influence to reduce drive alone commuting and promote the use of commute alternatives. - Do Trip Reduction Programs Work? Yes. Existing Employer Trip Reduction Programs demonstrate that these programs can be effective in reducing commute trips to employment sites. Some sites have quickly reduced vehicle trips by 20 percent or more. However, because each employer and work site is unique, it is difficult to predict exactly what success a given set of measures will achieve at a specific work site. For this reason, it is important that the employer develops a well integrated program that is appropriate for its work site. Key factors that contribute to successful trip reduction programs are discussed on pages 1-9 to I-10. - What are the Benefits? Trip reduction programs provide important social and environmental benefits by helping to improve air quality and public health, reduce traffic congestion, and conserve energy. In addition, a well-crafted trip reduction program can provide a wide range of benefits to the employer and to employees. The morning and evening commute trips are an integral part of every employee's work day. The commute experience can have a profound effect on work performance and other aspects of life. For many employees, the 1-2 - Program Development November 1993 (Revised 8/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs commute trip has become more grueling over the past decade. Traffic congestion has increased, and commute distance has lengthened as workers move to outlying communities in search of affordable housing. In addition to the financial costs associated with drive alone commuting, employees pay a price in fatigue and stress. Commute stress can cause higher blood pressure with a negative impact on employee productivity and employee health. The potential benefits from trip reduction programs include: - significant savings in employee commute costs - reduced commute stress - enhanced employee benefits package - reduced absenteeism - increased employee productivity - retention of valuable employees - reduced demand for parking - greater opportunity for interaction among employees - enhanced community relations Taken together, these benefits can help to offset the costs of an Employer Trip Reduction Program. - What are the Performance Objectives for the Program? The specific objective of the Employer Trip Reduction Program is to achieve and maintain the performance objectives that are established in the rule. By achieving the performance objectives, the employer avoids the need to submit an Employer Trip Reduction Plan to the BAAQMD. The rule divides the region into four zones and establishes different performance objectives for each zone.2 The performance objectives are expressed in terms of Vehicle Employee Ratio (VER), the ratio of vehicle trips to peak period employees.3 VER is calculated based upon the results of the employee transportation survey (see the BAAQMD survey guidance). Table I shows the performance objectives for each zone. __________________________ - Notes 1 Raymond Novaco, Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Irvine, has published a number of studies examining the impacts of commute stress 2 The zones are described in Section 13-1-233 of the rule. The performance objectives are established in Section 13- 1-301. 3 In the trip reduction rule, the performance objectives are expressed in terms of both average vehicle ridership (AVR) and vehicle employee ratio (VER). AVR and VER are reciprocal. Employers have the option to use whichever measure they prefer. For purposes of simplicity and because BAAQMD staff believes that VER is easier to use, this Guide always refers to the performance objectives in terms of VER. November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Program Development - I-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Table 1 VER Performance Objective 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Zone 1 0.66 0.61 0.55 0.50 0.45 0.40 0.40 Zone 2 0.83 0.79 0.76 0.72 0.69 0.66 0.66 Zone 3 0.91 0.87 0.83 0.80 0.77 0.74 0.74 Zone 4 0.93 0.90 0.87 0.83 0.80 0.77 0.77 - Are the Performance Objectives Achievable? Most definitely! The rule was designed to provide employers with realistic, achievable objectives in each zone. The BAAQMD recognizes that trip reduction represents a new initiative for many employers. For this reason, the rule sets initial performance objectives that should be easy for employers to achieve. The objectives become gradually more stringent as employers gain experience in designing and implementing effective programs. Starting from the baseline objectives in 1993-1994, the employer needs to decrease VER by 0.03 or 0.04 per year until the final performance objectives are reached in 1998; this means eliminating 3 or 4 vehicle trips per year for every 100 peak period employees. While this may be a challenge for some employers, such a rate of progress is reasonable and achievable. Table 2 illustrates commute mode combinations that would achieve the final 1998 performance objective in Zones 2, 3, and 4. The table shows that it is possible to achieve the final objectives even when the majority of employees continue to drive alone. The table also shows that the objectives can be achieved with a program that is based primarily on carpooling, even in the absence of vanpools or a high level of transit ridership. I-4 - Program Development November 1993 (Revised 8/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Click HERE for graphic. NOTES: 1 Examples are based on a work site with 100 peak period employees. Examples assume zero use of vanpools, telecommuting and compressed work week schedules. Numbers can be extrapolated for larger work sites. 2 Combination A emphasizes use of carpools. 3 Combination B has higher use of transit, bicycle and walk than Combination A. November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Program Development - I-5 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - BASIC INSIGHTS - Ways to Improve VER Employers may pursue any combination of the following approaches to achieve and maintain the VER performance objectives. Shifts in employee commute mode will account for the greatest improvement in VER at most work sites. - Mode shift--encouraging employees who drive alone to switch to transit, carpools, vanpools, bicycling or walking; - Work arrangements that reduce the number of commute trips to the work site, including telecommuting and compressed work week schedules; and - Use of clean fuel vehicles (electric, compressed natural gas, propane, dual or flexible fuel) for employee commute trips. As an Employee Transportation Coordinator, you may say: "That's fine. I understand how to improve our work site VER in theory, but how can Input together a program that will get my co-workers to stop driving alone? " You can use many different measures to persuade employees to use commute alternatives. Some measures, such as bike lockers, encourage employees to use a particular mode. Other measures, such as a guaranteed ride home program or a cash incentive, can apply to a broad range of commute alternatives. You should think of the various program measures as the building blocks of your trip reduction program. The measures can be organized into several categories: services; incentives; marketing; facilities/equipment; and policies (see Table 3). The descriptions of individual program measures in Part 11 will help you to determine which measures are most appropriate for your work site. - Process of Developing a Trip Reduction Program û Start early -- it takes time to develop a program The process of developing and implementing a trip reduction program will vary from employer to employer, depending on the organizational structure and decision-making process, the nature of the employer-employee relationship,etc. However, a number of key steps and activities are involved in developing takes time to a program at any work site. These include analysis, employee input, gaining develop a management support, selecting program measures, securing resources, program developing a budget and work plan, and marketing. These steps are explained in pages I-13 through I-26. You should begin developing a program as early as possible to allow time to perform all of the necessary steps and consult with all relevant parties (employees, management, unions, outside resources, etc.). Table 4 provides a diagram of the basic process for developing a program. I-6 - Program Development November 1993 (Revised 8/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs You should consider the development of your trip reduction program as an evolutionary process. Build your program in an incremental fashion. Start with a basic set of measures, then enhance the program by adding new measures, or revising existing ones, as appropriate, based on monitoring and feedback from employees. Your goal is to construct an integrated program composed of complementary measures. Click HERE for graphic. November 1993 (Revised 8194) Program Development - I-7 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Click HERE for graphic. I-8 - program Development November 1993 (Revised 8/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Keys to a Successful Trip Reduction Program A Dedicated Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC): A creative and enthusiastic ETC is the most important asset for any program. The ETC must play a wide range of roles--analyst, problem-solver, advocate, public speaker. The ideal ETC is persistent, flexible, personable, and self-motivated. Analysis and Research: Careful analysis, research and planning is important to develop an effective program and to avoid unnecessary costs. Employee Participation: Success depends upon developing a program that responds to the needs of your employees. The best way to achieve this is to actively involve employees (including unions) in developing your program. The chances of success are much greater if employees view the program as a cooperative venture, rather than imposed from the top down. Management Support: Strong support from top management is essential. Management must endorse the program and provide adequate resources. Equally important, managers should set a positive example by using commute alternatives. Appropriate "Fit" - Because each work site is unique, there is no ideal model trip reduction program. In fact, the same program may yield different results at different work sites. You must develop a program that fits your employees, company culture and work site characteristics. Synergy: In a well-designed program, the various measures work together so that the program is greater than the sum of its parts. Successful programs include both direct measures (e.g. a shuttle between a transit station and the work site) and support measures (e.g. marketing, ridesharing and transit information, etc.). For example, providing free transit passes may not be effective unless you also provide transit schedules and a guaranteed ride home program. See page 1-24 for more examples of synergistic measures. Comprehensive Measures: A good program should include measures that address all commute distances (including short commutes), as well as the full range of commute alternatives that are appropriate for the site. Marketing and Communication: Marketing is key to success. Even the best program is unlikely to succeed without an effective marketing and communications strategy. You must "sell" the services and incentives in your program and make sure that employees understand the benefits that they can reap from the program. Successful marketing is based on analyzing your employees travel needs and preferences, identifying specific groups of employees who can be persuaded to use commute alternatives, and developing an effective set of messages and services for each target group. Clear Program Identity: Many employers, such as Applied Materials and Apple Computer, encourage their employees to register in a formal Commute November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Program Development - I-9 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Alternatives Program. Such programs are open both to employees who already use commute alternatives and to solo drivers who want to find an alternative. Marketing a formal program to employees serves several purposes: it integrates the various services and incentives into one cohesive program with a clear identity; it defines who is eligible for certain program benefits (e.g. only employees in the Commute Alternatives Program are eligible for the guaranteed ride home program); it provides employees with the sense of being part of a special group; and it helps the employer to monitor the use of commute alternatives. Continuity and adaptability: The objective of the trip reduction program is to achieve and maintain the VER performance objective. The trip reduction program requires a long-term commitment, as well as regular monitoring and evaluation to adapt to changing conditions such as turnover in your workforce, changes in employee residential patterns, etc. - Myths and Realities Employers should bear in mind a few common "myths" and "realities" as they develop a trip reduction program. Myth #1: Trip reduction programs can be effective only at very large work sites. Studies of existing trip reduction programs have not found any correlation between size of the work site and success of the program. Experience indicates that well-designed programs will be effective regardless of the number of employees at the work site. The key factors in the success of a program, such as a good ETC and strong management support, apply for all work sites. Myth #2: There's no way to implement a successful trip reduction program without good transit service to the work site. Clearly, good transit service is a ma or asset. But many sites have little transit service, or the available transit does not link employees' homes to the work site. Such work sites can implement effective programs based upon carpooling, vanpooling, bicycling, walking, telecommuting, and compressed work week schedules. Myth #3: The success of a trip reduction program is directly related to the number of measures in the program and the amount of money invested Studies of trip reduction programs have found little correlation between the cost of a program and its effectiveness. In fact, a well-crafted program that offers a limited number of appropriate measures may be more effective than an unfocused program which provides a broad range of measures. The amount of money invested in a trip reduction program will clearly influence its success. But other factors, such as the energy of the ETC, the degree of management I-10 - Program Development November 1993 (Revised 8/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs support, and the creativity of the marketing effort appear to be just as important as the cost of the program. Reality #1: You need to target your efforts. The truth is that some commuters are die-hard drive alone; no matter how hard you try, they will never give up their single occupant vehicle. Your challenge is to identify those employees who m be persuaded to use an alternative commute mode, find out what will motivate these employees to make the change, and provide the necessary services and incentives to accomplish this. By concentrating on what is achievable, you can focus your energy and resources where they are most likely to produce positive results. Reality #2: You have to prioritize. Few employers have unlimited resources to devote to trip reduction. You will not be able to implement all measures. Be pragmatic. You need to prioritize and figure out where you can get the most "bang for the buck." Reality #3: Many employees cannot (or will not) use commute alternatives on a full-time basis. Part-time use will help improve VER. Try telling your employees, "Don't drive one in five" Some employees can use commute alternatives on a full-time basis, but for many employees this is simply not feasible. However, they can still make a positive contribution toward the success of your program. Promote the idea that each employee can be part of the solution by using a commute alternative at least one or two days per week. Employees are much more likely to respond if they feel that what you are proposing is realistic and does not entail a major sacrifice or inconvenience. Getting a significant proportion of your employees to use a commute alternative one or two days per week can go a long ways toward helping achieve the performance objective for your work site. Reality #4: Carpooling is the backbone of most trip reduction programs. It is easy to overlook the humble carpool in favor of high-profile commute alternatives like vanpools, shuttle services or telecommuting. But the fact is that most successful programs place a strong emphasis on carpools. Carpools offer important advantages in terms of flexibility, versatility, convenience, and cost. Carpooling is the most realistic commute alternative for many employees, and it is the most cost-effective mode from the standpoint of the employer. Since carpools use existing employee vehicles, they generally require no capital investment on the part of the employer. Reality #5: Financial incentives and/or disincentives are the most effective means to achieve a significant shift in employee commute mode. Information, encouragement, and support services are important elements of a good trip reduction program. They can persuade a certain percentage of employees to use a commute alternative. But to accomplish a large reduction November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Program Development - I-11 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs in vehicle trips (greater than 5-10 percent), the trip reduction program will generally need to include some type of financial incentive (e.g. transit and ridesharing subsidies) and/or disincentive (e.g. parking charges). Financial incentives are also important because they demonstrate to your employees that company management is really committed to trip reduction and is willing to make a financial investment to achieve it. Reality #6: Parking management is critical. If parking is free and plentiful, employees have little motivation to use commute alternatives. Providing free parking is like giving employees free gasoline to drive alone. This undermines the effectiveness of a trip reduction program. Many employers are reluctant to deal with the issue of "free parking." However, parking fees can fully fund a trip reduction program at no net cost to the employer. Combining parking fees with a "transportation allowance" (see Measure #7 in Part II) provides the basis for an equitable package of transportation benefits for all employees. Reality #7: Your program must minimize "backsliding." This key point is easy to overlook. Helping employees continue to use alternative modes is just as important as getting them to switch in the first place. Without support and encouragement, employees who switch to commute alternatives may revert to driving alone. Recognizing and rewarding current users of commute alternatives should be an important part of your program. By minimizing "backsliding" you can make steady progress in reducing vehicle trips, thus achieving and maintaining your VER objective. I-12 - Program Development November 1993 (Revised 8/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - ANALYZING YOUR SITUATION The first step in developing a successful, cost-effective trip reduction program for your work site is to learn more about your work site, your co-workers and their commute needs, and the transportation system in your area. Time invested in research and analysis at the outset of program development can help to ensure that your program gets off to a solid start. Employers that neglect to perform up-front analysis may patch together a program based on gut feeling or anecdotal evidence. This can result in spending limited resources on ineffective measures, which then erodes management support for the program. First off, consider what sources of information are available to help in developing your trip reduction program. Basic information sources include the employee transportation survey, personnel data, and input from your employees (via suggestions, an employee advisory committee, focus groups, etc.). Also see the Resource list at the end.of Pad II. - Analyze Your Survey Results Your employee transportation survey results are your most important resource, both for analyzing current employee commute modes and patterns and for determining the types of trip reduction measures that would be most effective at your site. Employee Commute Mode: To design your trip reduction program you need to closely analyze current employee commutes modes. (Information on employee commute mode is summarized on Survey Form B, Part 1. Refer to the BAAQMD Survey Forms and Instructions document.) Consider the percentage of employees who drive alone and the percentage using each commute alternative. Do certain alternative commute modes seem to be under utilized? Think about what types of measures could help to increase the use of each alternative mode. Can existing carpools or vanpools be expanded? Do you see significant variation in the mode split during the course of the survey week? If so, consider how your program might promote the use of commute alternatives on days when the drive alone rate is especially high. Commute Distance and Mode: Commute distance often has a strong influence on the employee's choice of commute mode. Commute distance also helps determine which commute alternatives are most feasible or appropriate. You can use cross-tabulations to analyze the relationship between employee commute mode and commute distance. Table 5 shows the types of commute alternatives that are most appropriate for each distance range. November 1993 (Revised. 8/94) Program Development - I-13 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Click HERE for graphic. û Each time you start a care with a cold engine, a burst of pollutants are emitted. This is a "cold start" and equates to about 110 miles of driving. Pollutants are also emitted after you turn off the engine. At most work sites roughly half the employees live within 10 miles of the work site. Short distance commuters generally have a high drive alone rate. Short commutes are a significant source of pollution due to the high rate of emissions associated with cold starts. Therefore, it is important that your program include measures to promote the use of commute alternatives for these shorter commutes. Reducing the drive alone rate among short distance commuters can be especially challenging because these employees have less motivation to pursue commute alternatives; their costs are relatively low and their commute time is generally short. In many cases, short distance commuters do not see themselves as having a personal stake in trip reduction nor do they see themselves as part of the larger problem of air pollution and traffic congestion. Example: Let's assume that the survey indicates that, overall, 74 percent of your employees drive alone. However, a cross-tabulation of employee commute mode by commute distance shows that the drive alone rate for employees who live within 5 miles of the work site is 90 percent, compared to 55 percent for employees who, commute more than 20 miles. This type of information can help you to develop appropriate measures for specific target groups. The high drive alone rate among short distance commuters may suggest promoting bicycling and walking to this group. Employee Home Location: This information is available from the employee transportation survey as well as personnel records. You can use a zip code map to plot the distribution of employees in order to identify clusters of employees who are candidates for forming carpools, vanpools, or buspools. RIDES for Bay Area Commuters provides blank zip code maps of the region as a service to employers. I-14 - Program Development November 1993 (Revised 8/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Work Schedules: Employee work schedules can be an important factor in determining commute mode choices. Information on work schedules is available from survey results as well as from your human resources department. Frequent unscheduled overtime and varied work schedules may inhibit ridesharing, Conversely, compressed work week schedules or flextime that is specifically designed to help facilitate ridesharing can reduce vehicle trips and help to improve VER. Try to understand how work schedules and policies at your work site may inhibit or promote use of commute alternatives. - Evaluate Employee Attitudes You need to understand how your employees perceive their transportation needs and commute options in order to predict the types of trip reduction measures that would be most effective in your program. Employees generally choose their commute mode based upon three key factors: travel time, cost, and convenience. These factors are relatively objective; the cost, time and convenience of each mode can be measured and compared. However, employee commute decisions are also strongly influenced by subjective factors. Employees may be impeded from using commute alternatives by fear of trying a new and unfamiliar mode, negative perceptions of transit or ridesharing, concern about how to get home in an emergency, lack of knowledge about options, or sheer inertia. Try to understand both the objective and subjective factors that affect the commute mode decisions of your employees. An effective program requires measures that improve the time, cost or convenience of commute alternatives in relation to driving alone, as well as measures that address the subjective factors. The BAAQMD employee transportation survey questionnaire contains four attitudinal questions (Questions J through M) to assess employee attitudes and perceptions. Carefully analyze employee responses to these questions to identify the services and incentives that are most likely to persuade employees to use commute alternatives. Employers that perform their own survey processing should consider tailoring the attitudinal questions to the specific conditions at their work sites. - Consider Your Work Force Consider the characteristics of your employees in terms of job classification, education, income, age, gender, ethnic and cultural background, household composition, their values and lifestyles, etc. (You can get this type of information from your human resources department and by observing and talking with your employees.) These factors can affect employees commute mode decisions. For example, bicycling may appeal to physically active employees. Financial incentives may be especially effective in encouraging November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Program Development - I-15 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs lower income employees to rideshare or use transit. Managerial employees may want to join a carpool or vanpool in order to reduce commute stress. Employees with young children or elderly parents at home may be willing to rideshare if you provide a guaranteed ride home program. - Examine Your Work Site The characteristics of your work site.(location, access, parking, etc.) can have a strong impact on employee commute mode choices. Prepare a profile of your work site. The Workbook in Part III provides an optional Work Site Analysis Form to assist you in analyzing your work site. Be sure to consider the following: Road Access: What are the main access routes? Are these routes congested during commute periods? Are high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes provided on any of the routes? Parking: What type of parking is available on-site and off-site? Is there any charge to park? Is off-site parking restricted? Is parking in heavy demand, or is it plentiful? Is preferential parking provided for carpools and vanpools? Transit: What type of transit service is available from employee residential areas to the work site? Is a transit stop conveniently located at or near the work site? Is shuttle service provided to nearby rail stations? Is there a potential market for a shuttle? Bicycling and Walking: Is the site easily accessible for bicycles and pedestrians? Are there physical barriers that make biking and walking inconvenient, unsafe or unpleasant? How can access be improved? Do you provide secure bicycle parking and shower and locker facilities? Adjacent Area: Consider surrounding land uses. Are other employers located nearby? Can your employees form carpools and vanpools with their workers? Could you develop joint programs and services with these neighboring employers? Can your employees walk to restaurants and shops at lunchtime? On-Site Services: What type of services are provided on- site: e.g. cafeteria, ATM machine, childcare? On-site services can decrease your drive alone rate by reducing the need for employees to run errands during lunchtime or en route to and from work. - Analyze Your "Corporate Culture" Every organization, whether public, private or non- profit, has a unique "culture" that influences how decisions are made and implemented, how information is communicated, and how employees work, dress, and interact. Identify the values that permeate your corporate culture and figure out how to I-16 - Program Development November 1993 (Revised 8/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs incorporate these values in developing and marketing your program, winning management support, and communicating with your employees. - Try the Alternatives As an ETC you will have a better understanding of your employees' commute needs and options--and more credibility with your employees--if you have direct experience with the full range of commute options. Make a point to try a vanpool, ride in a carpool, take the bus or train, ride a bike, etc. This experience will give you insight into the factors that influence your employees' commute mode choices. - Look Beyond Your Work Site Once you have performed the analysis discussed above, you should have a better feel for the types of measures that would be appropriate at your work site. You can now look beyond your site for examples that are relevant to your situation. One of the best -ways to develop a program is to borrow ideas and experience from other employers. You can network with ETCs at neighboring companies, or join the Northern California chapter of the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT). See the Resource list at the end of Part 11. November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Program Development - I-17 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING YOUR PROGRAM - Involve Employees You should encourage employees to participate in the development and implementation of your trip reduction program. After all, employees are the ultimate clients or "users" of your program--the way they respond will determine its success. Employees who already use commute alternatives are the best salespeople for your program. They provide a positive example for co-workers by demonstrating that ridesharing, transit, and bicycling are viable, indeed preferable, alternatives to driving alone. û Go to your employees. Don't wait for them to come to you. Communicate with your employees at every opportunity. Find out about their commute problems. Solicit their ideas and their reactions to potential program measures. Be sure to correct any fears or misperceptions they may have about the purpose of the program (e.g. that solo drivers will be penalized or you stigmatized). You can communicate via newsletter articles that invite employee suggestions, meetings or focus groups, messages on your in-house E-mail system, informal one-on-one conversations, etc. Consider forming an employee advisory committee for your trip reduction program. Rolm Corporation in Santa Clara has an employee committee composed of volunteers from different parts of the company. The committee helps to organize and publicize events, offers suggestions about the trip reduction program, and helps the ETC keep informed about transportation issues. According to the Rolm ETC, "The committee volunteers are my eyes and ears. I couldn't do without them." Be careful not to create false expectations when you solicit employee input. Some employees may advocate incentives or policies that are not feasible or cost- effective for your work site. Make it clear that not all proposals can necessarily be accepted or implemented. If you have to reject certain suggestions, be sure to provide employees with a clear explanation of your rationale. Notification: The rule requires employers to notify their employees about the content and implementation schedule of the trip reduction program (Section 13-1-402). Notification can be accomplished through employee bulletins, notices posted on bulletin boards, articles in any newsletter distributed to all employees, or other reasonable means--or some combination of these approaches. Evidence of how the notification is accomplished must be retained for three years. I-18 - Program Development November 1993 (Revised 8/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Equity: Employees must perceive the trip reduction program as equitable. In developing your program, try to provide all employees with an opportunity to use at least one type of alternative mode. The issue of equity is especially important regarding any monetary incentives or disincentives included in the program. Consider whether your program measures would create any potential negative impacts on employees and, if so, ways that such impacts can be mitigated or offset. Be sure that your program does not single out a particular group of employees (for example, low income employees) to carry the full burden for reducing vehicle trips to the work site. Unions: Be sure to work with any unions or employee associations to gain their cooperation. Contact union representatives early on to identify and resolve any issues or concerns. Support or opposition from unions can make or break your program. Collective Bargaining Agreements: The rule does not absolve an employer from any obligation under an existing collective bargaining agreement with employees or any provision of law (Section 13-1-1 10). In developing your program, you should review collective bargaining agreements to determine if there are any potential conflicts with the trip reduction measures you plan to implement. Also, consult with your human resources department to be sure that the policies and measures in your program conform to all laws and regulations, including wage and hour regulations issued by the California Industrial and Welfare Commission (IWC). - Gain Management Support Gaining management support for your trip reduction program is critical. Active support from top management will provide credibility to your program and help you get the resources that you need. A strong endorsement from top management also provides leverage to enlist the cooperation of line managers and supervisors--the managers who work directly with your employees on a day- to-day basis. Making managers and supervisors responsible for meeting the program goals in their units will enhance the effectiveness of your program. Winning the support of top management can be a real challenge. Managers may be reluctant to commit resources to a trip reduction program that they see as peripheral to their core business. Therefore, the ETC must act as an advocate for the program. The most effective way to do this is to appeal to managers on their own terms: show them that the issue of employee transportation is directly related to employee productivity, employee retention, community relations, etc. Try to demonstrate how a relatively small investment in a trip reduction program can provide significant benefits to your company. Use your understanding of your "corporate culture" in determining the best way to approach management and frame your proposals. November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Program Development - I-19 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Know Your Audience: Identify the key players within management. Assess their attitude and level of awareness. Are they already informed about the rule and transportation and air quality issues, or will you have to educate them? Look for a Hook: Develop a strategy for how to approach management and get their attention. Try to identify existing problems at the work site that the trip reduction program could help to solve. For example, if your company has been experiencing a high rate of absenteeism or employee turnover, emphasize how the trip reduction program can help to reduce these problems. If on-site parking is at a premium, show how the program can alleviate this problem. Find Allies: Work with other parts of your organization (human resources, community affairs, security and facilities, taxation and accounting, etc.) to enlist their support for your program. Show them how your program can work to their advantage. Draw on their resources and expertise to strengthen your case with management. Build Your Case: When you have prepared a draft program, request a meeting with key decision-makers. Explain the key requirements of the trip reduction rule. Be prepared to respond to questions and to clear up any misconceptions that management may have about the rule. Make sure that management understands that substantial financial penalties apply for failure to comply with the rule, and that it will be cheaper to implement a trip reduction program than to pay such penalties. Emphasize that implementing an effective program can avoid the need to submit a formal Employer Trip Reduction Plan to the BAAQMD. Point out how the trip reduction program can be an asset to your company in its community and public relations. Present a formal proposal which includes: - key data from your employee transportation survey; - your vehicle trip reduction goal; - your proposed set of program measures; - an implementation schedule; and - a program budget. Be sure to emphasize any potential tax benefits. Identify resource needs, explain any changes in company policies that are needed to implement the program, and describe the marketing strategy that you will use to sell the program to employees. Explain the broader benefits that a trip reduction program can achieve for the company, employees, and the community as a whole. Be prepared to justify your proposed budget and to respond to potential concerns that management may express regarding employee relations, liability issues, etc. I-20 - Program Development November 1993 (Revised 8/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Make sure that management understands that the trip reduction program requires an on-going effort and that the program may have to be enhanced or expanded in future years to achieve the final performance objectives. Seek Active Support: Strive to get managers in your program. Active support may include the following: - a commitment from managers to set a positive example by using commute alternatives at least one or two days a week on a regular basis; - a directive from top management making line managers and supervisors accountable for the success of the program in their units; - a high-profile role for top management at transportation fairs and any special promotions; - a memo from your CEO to all employees asking them to support the program and use commute alternatives; and - management support in securing any cooperation that you may need from other departments. Once you get management's support for the program, be sure to preserve that support. Provide regular reports (perhaps quarterly) that describe your progress in implementing the program and summarize your achievements. To maintain credibility, be sure to describe problems or shortcomings in the program and how you plan to deal with these problems. Two executives at Oracle Corporation caned to work on Beat the Back-Up Day (1992). The CEO at Palo Alto medical Center came to work in stagecoach. The CEO at Apple Computer sent a voicemail message to all employees urging them to use a commute alternative on Beat the Back-Up Day. - Estimating Resource Needs In designing a trip reduction program, your goal is to maximize effectiveness while minimizing cost. The two basic costs associated with trip reduction programs are administrative costs and program costs (incentives, subsidies, services, etc.). The Workbook in Part III contains two forms, a Program Measure Development Form and a Program Summary and Budget Form, that can help you to estimate your costs and resource needs. Administrative Costs: ETC salary and overhead generally account for the lion's share of administrative costs. This cost clearly depends on the number of hours that the ETC spends administering the trip reduction program. One common question is: "How much time will I need to spend on the program?" The time that the ETC devotes to the program will depend upon such factors as the number of employees at the work site, the type of program measures being implemented, the demands of other job duties, etc. Very large work sites often have a full-time ETC or even multiple staff administering the program. At smaller sites, the ETC may spend as little as 5- 10 hours per week running the November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Program Development - I-21 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs program. Setting up a new trip reduction program (or adding new elements to an existing program) can be very time- consuming, but once a program is up and running, the time required to administer it is generally much less. Program Costs: As with administrative costs, program costs will vary considerably among employers, depending upon the size and location of the work site, the number of vehicle trips that need to be reduced, the particular measures in the program, the number of employees who take advantage of the services and incentives offered, etc. A low-cost program that is creative, well conceived, and effectively marketed may be much more successful than an expensive program which does not respond to employee needs and preferences. Part II analyzes various trip reduction measures, including the potential cost. In evaluating trip reduction measures and estimating costs, you need to consider both the program costs and the administrative costs associated with each potential measure. Consider the initial set-up or capital costs as well as on-going operating costs. Some measures, such as bicycle racks or lockers, may involve a one-time capital cost, but no operating or administrative costs. Other measures, such as a monetary subsidy for use of alternative commute modes, may entail both program and administrative expenses. Measures such as an in-house ride matching program may require staff time, but no cash outlay. In estimating the cost per measure, consider both the cost per use and the frequency of usage. For example, a guaranteed ride home program may be relatively costly each time it is used, but evidence indicates that the frequency of usage is generally very low. Conversely, a $1 per day subsidy for each day that employees use a commute alternative would have a low cost per use, but a high frequency of usage. Be sure to consider how much your program measures would cost to provide to employees who already use commute alternatives, in addition to your target employees, i.e. the ones that you want to persuade to switch from driving alone to an alternative. - Minimizing Costs There are several ways that employers can minimize the cost of implementing a trip reduction program: Target Your Program: Remember that the ultimate goal of your program is to achieve and maintain the final VER performance objective. Focus your resources on those employees who can be persuaded to change. Don't waste precious resources trying to win over die-hard drive alone. Make Use of Available Resources: There are many existing resources in the Bay Area that can assist employers in developing trip reduction programs. These include non-profit organizations such as RIDES for Bay Area I-22 - Program Development November 1993 (Revised 8/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Commuters and Solano Commuter Information, public agencies, as well as private consultants. RIDES and Solano Commuter Information both offer a wide range of services to assist employers in implementing trip reduction programs. See the Resource list in Part II. Cooperate with Neighboring Employers: There are many ways that employers can cooperate in implementing trip reduction programs. They range from informal exchange of ideas, information, and experience to more formal collaboration such as lobbying for improved transit service, or joint funding of a shuttle service. The most integrated level of cooperation involves forming or joining a Transportation Management Association (TMA). TMAs can provide a wide variety of services, and can even develop and administer an Employer Trip Reduction Program. A list of existing TMAs is included in the Resource list in Part II. Click HERE for graphic. Implement Parking Fees: Parking fees can generate revenues to fund a wide range of trip reduction services, including a transportation allowance (see Measure #7 in Part II). Tax Credits and Deductions: The California tax code provides a number of tax credits and deductions for certain costs associated with Employer Trip Reduction Programs. The federal tax code provides more limited tax benefits. RIDES provides a summary of tax benefits in its "Facts about Ridesharing Tax Benefits and Parking Guide lines for Employers" brochure. Consult your tax advisor or accountant for detailed information. Grants: Grants maybe available to help employers establish specific types of trip reduction measures or services. Examples of grants that have been offered in the recent past include vanpool acquisition grants, guaranteed ride home start-up grants, start-up grants for Transportation Management Associations (all via Caltrans), and matching grants to help fund shuttle services (Peninsula Joint Powers Board and Santa Clara County Transit). The BAAQMD Transportation Fund for Clean Air provides funding to local agencies (cities, transit districts, congestion management agencies, etc.) for transportation projects to improve air quality, including projects to support employer-based trip reduction. The best way to find out about grant funding is to stay abreast of information provided by RIDES, the Northern California chapter of ACT, and the BAAQMD. November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Program Development - I-23 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Selection of Trip Reduction Measures Selecting the measures for your trip reduction program is your most important step. The basic question you must answer is: "What combination of measures will achieve the necessary reduction in vehicle trips to my work site? " There is no way to predict exactly how effective a particular measure or set of measures will be in reducing vehicle trips, but it is possible to make an informed judgement. The description of each program measure in Part 11 can help you estimate the potential effectiveness of the measures that seem most appropriate for your site. The Vehicle Trip Reduction Worksheet (Worksheet B) in Part III is an optional form designed to help you determine what combination of commute alternatives will best achieve your trip reduction objective, based upon your analysis of current employee commute mode and distance, employee attitudes, and work site characteristics. The worksheet will help you to 1) determine how many vehicle trips need to be reduced to reach your VER objective, and 2) find a combination of alternative commute modes that can achieve the necessary reduction in vehicle trips. Based on this information, you can develop a set of measures to achieve the necessary shift to each commute alternative. (To test various scenarios, you may find it useful to set up the worksheet as a computerized spreadsheet.) Try to structure your trip reduction program so that the measures complement and reinforce one another. Examples of synergistic combinations of trip reduction measures are provided below. Carpool/Vanpool Transit Bicycle Ridematching On-site transit pass Bicycle parking sale Preferential Parking Showers & Clothes Guaranteed Ride Commuter CheckTM Lockers Home vouchers Incentives Vanpool support Guaranteed Ride Site Modification Home Incentives Shuttles to Transit Marketing Marketing Marketing On-site services On-site Services - Implementation Schedule and Annual Work Plan Once you have selected your program measures, you need to develop a realistic implementation schedule for your program. You may need to set different implementation dates for different measures. The rule requires that the trip I-24 - Program Development November 1993 (Revised 8/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs reduction program be developed and implemented within six months of your initial employee transportation survey. Your implementation schedule should be integrated into an annual work plan for the program. The work plan should lay out activities for the coming year in chronological fashion. You should include implementation dates (including any interim dates) for your program measures, key steps leading to your next employee transportation survey, regular promotional and marketing activities, as well as special events such as an on-site transportation fair, Beat the BackUp/California Rideshare Week, Bike to Work Day, etc. The time that you need to devote to the program will probably fluctuate throughout the year. For example, the period when you conduct your employee transportation survey will be busy, along with California Rideshare Week,- etc. Other times, such as the winter holiday period, may be relatively slack periods in terms of trying to promote trip reduction. Such periods may offer a good opportunity to reevaluate your program, plan your activities for the next year, etc. - Program Budget Developing a trip reduction program budget can serve to: - ensure that you anticipate all necessary expenditures related to the program; - help you compare the costs of different trip reduction measures and select the most cost-effective program; - help track your outlays and expenditures; and - isolate the costs of the trip reduction program from other programs or other employee benefits. The Program Summary and Budget Form (Worksheet D) in Part III provides an optional form that you can use in preparing a budget. Your budget should identify the following: - estimated staff time, including wages and benefits - facilities and capital improvements (bike lockers, vanpool vehicles, etc.), including maintenance costs - services (shuttle, guaranteed ride home, etc.) - incentives (financial or other) - survey processing costs - promotional and marketing materials - training and career development - travel (to meetings, seminars, etc.) - miscellaneous (TMA membership fee, software programs, etc.) November 1993 Program Development - I-25 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Marketing Marketing is an essential element of successful program implementation. You must market your program to your employees on an on-going basis. Marketing is discussed in greater detail as Measure #1 in Part 11. - Monitoring Once you begin to implement your trip reduction program, it is important to monitor its effectiveness. Monitoring can serve to: - demonstrate the results of the program to management; - determine which program measures and alternative commute modes are effective; and - identify ways to improve the program. Several of the most common types of monitoring are described below. Activity Records: One basic form of monitoring is to track the activities associated with each element of your trip reduction program. It is best to track activities on a monthly basis. Examples of activity records include: - sales of transit tickets - Commuter Check TM transit vouchers (number and total value) - number of registered carpools and vanpools - number of shuttle riders - number of uses of guaranteed ride home service The Trip Reduction Program Monthly Activity Log in Part III is an example form that you can use to track activities related to your trip reduction program. You may want to customize this form for the program at your work site. Records of employee Participation (Log Sheets): While it is important to track the activities related to your trip reduction program, these activities do not necessarily translate directly into changes in employee commute mode. The annual employee transportation survey provides one means to track changes in employee commute mode. But to more closely monitor the effectiveness of your program, you need to monitor employee commute mode on a more frequent basis. One good means to track the effectiveness of your program in changing employee commute modes is through the use of employee log sheets to measure employee participation rates. Log sheets are especially useful if your program provides a financial incentive that is based upon the number of times that employees use commute alternatives (e.g. employees receive a subsidy of $2 per day for each day that they use a commute alternative). An example of an employee log sheet is provided in Part III. I-26 - Program Development November 1993 (Revised 8/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Feedback from Employees: Though less easily quantified than activity records or log sheets, feedback from employees is a very important type of monitoring. It provides a good way to determine employee awareness of your program, get reaction and suggestions regarding specific program measures, etc. Use a variety of means to encourage employees to provide comments and suggestions on your program. Consider holding quarterly meetings open to all interested employees, forming an employee trip reduction advisory committee, or offering a special prize to the employee who submits the best suggestion on how to improve the program. - Summary Now that you have read Part I, you should have a better understanding about: - basic principles and realities in trip reduction - how to analyze your work force and work site - key steps in developing an effective program With this foundation, you can now use the descriptions of the trip reduction measures in Part 11 and the Workbook in Part III to design and implement a program that is appropriate and effective for your employees and work site. November 1993 Program Development - I-27 Part II: Trip Reduction Measures - Part II: Trip Reduction Measures Part 11 includes information on 20 trip reduction measures. For each measure, the following information is included: - The effect of the measure on reducing trips and improving VER; - Costs to implement the measure; - Examples of employers who have implemented the measure, usually from the Bay Area; - Implementation steps; - Resources for further assistance; and - Related measures that are also discussed in Part II. The information presented here is intended as a starting point to implementing any particular measure. If you decide to pursue any of the measures further, you will need to explore other sources of information. A Resources section is provided for each measure. You can also consult the summary list of Resources for Employers at the end of Part II. On the next two pages is a summary of the measures in Part II, including key information on the costs and effectiveness of each measure. This will give you an overview of all 20 measures. November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Trip Reduction Measures - II-i BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Summary Table Trip Reduction Program Measures Click HERE for graphic. II-ii - Trip Reduction Measures November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Summary Table (Cont.) Trip Reduction Program Measures Click HERE for graphic. November 1993 Trip Reduction Measures - II-iii BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 1. Marketing Marketing is vital to the success of your trip reduction program. Good marketing will increase the effectiveness of each program measure and maximize employee participation in your program. Your marketing campaign should educate employees about the true costs of solo driving, motivate them to help solve our air quality and traffic congestion problems, and promote the services and incentives that your program offers to encourage use of commute alternatives. An on-going marketing effort is needed both to get employees to switch from driving alone to commute alternatives, and to persuade them to keep using alternatives on a long-term basis. Marketing can be the most enjoyable aspect of your job as an ETC. It offers a great opportunity to exercise your creativity, enthusiasm, and powers of persuasion. You can use a wide spectrum of activities and media in your marketing effort: - bulletin board displays - in-house mail and memos, voice mail, E-mail, etc. - newsletter articles - on-site commute information center - transportation fair (commuter fair) - special events (e.g. California Rideshare Week) - prizes, games, contests, awards - new employee orientation - competition between departments or with neighboring employers - meetings with employees - T-shirts, commuter mugs, key rings, refrigerator magnets, etc. - Effect Marketing may be the single most important factor in determining the effectiveness of your program. But marketing cannot create a successful program by itself; you need to offer tangible services and incentives. - Costs Marketing costs will vary substantially. If your budget is tight, you can develop an effective marketing program at relatively little cost. The key ingredients-- enthusiasm, imagination, a clear theme--are free. Most companies already resources and systems to communicate with employees. Try to draw on in-house talent and ideas (see the Roadhogs example below). You can also minimize marketing costs by taking advantage of the many free materials available from organizations such as RIDES, and by coordinating your efforts with regional and national promotional events such as California Rideshare Week, National Bike to Work Day, etc. Build your calendar of on-site promotions and events around these regional/national events. November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Marketing - 1-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Examples Sun Microsystems posts prominent signs near the entrance to employee parking lots. The signs, which are rotated every few months, display messages such as: "Are you driving yourself crazy?" "Have you considered the alternatives?" "Let's clear the air." The ETC for the Sonoma County Water Agency formed a band called The Roadhogs which plays old melodies with lyrics promoting commute alternatives. At Oracle Corporation in Redwood Shores two executives canoed to work on "Beat the Back-Up Day." The CEO at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation rode to work in a stagecoach. The City of Santa Rosa issues commute alternatives Costs ridesharing material in its rest rooms. The City also maintains a "library" with written material and videos on transportation and air quality issues that employees may borrow. - Steps to Implement 1. Analyze your employee population. Look at your employee demographics, employee attitudes, and survey results. Are there any special language needs or cultural perspectives that should be considered in your marketing? 2. Define target groups. Your most cost effective strategy is to identify and win over those employees who are the best candidates for using commute alternatives. Based on your analysis in Step 1, determine which employees you want to target in your marketing. 3. Honey our message. Develop an overall theme for your marketing campaign. Create a catchy slogan for your program or a clever name that plays on your corporate identity. Your theme can emphasize social and environmental concerns (air quality, energy conservation), individual cost savings, teamwork, etc. Examples of themes/slogans include: "Don't Drive One in Five," "Don't be an SOV," and "Only the Lonely Drive Alone." 4. Develop materials. Create a piece that summarizes your trip reduction program: the reason for the program, the services and incentives you offer, etc. Make the piece visually interesting-use bold colorful graphics. 5. Build on outside sources. Contact RIDES. Share ideas with fellow ETCS. Look for marketing materials, borrow good ideas. In the words of the ETC at Intel, "Be a bandit." MARKETING TIPS - Promote part-time use of alternatives (e.g. 1 or 2 days per week). Emphasize that you are not asking employees to make a tremendous sacrifice. By using commute alternatives on a part-time basis, we can all be part of the solution. - Be persistent. For many employees, the drive alone habit is deeply engrained. Even employees who use commute alternatives need regular encouragement. A strong marketing effort must be an on-going feature of your program. - Display your marketing materials where employees are sure to see it: Cafeteria, restrooms, etc. - Emphasize flexibility. Make your employee understand that using commute alternative doesn't have to mean a reduction in freedom, flexibility or convenience. Highlight your guaranteed ride home program (if you offer one). 1-2 - Marketing November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 6. Choose your media. You have a wealth of ways to market your program: newsletters, posters, bulletins boards, Email, etc. Be imaginative--use all the channels at your disposal. 7. Plan ahead. Develop a schedule and work plan for the upcoming year. Build your schedule on major regional promotions like California Rideshare Week. Contact RIDES for an event calendar. Be sure that the marketing effort is sustained throughout the year. Vary your approach from time to time-don't become repetitive or redundant. - Resources RIDES for Bay Area Commuters has two useful brochures: How to Market Your Transportation Program and How to Conduct a Successful Commuter Fair. RIDES also provides marketing assistance, including: - promotional and educational material for distribution to employees; - assistance in organizing commuter fairs (with its "Commute Info to Go" program, RIDES will visit your work site upon request to provide free commute consultations for your employees); - coordinating the California Rideshare Week campaign in the Bay Area. 800-755-POOL. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), through its Public Information Office, offers informational materials including the True Costs of Driving brochure and the Clear Choices for Clean Airvideo. 415-749-4900. NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION Employees are often most receptive to exploring commute alternatives when they begin a new commute. By providing information and emphasizing your company's commitment to trip reduction, you can get new employees to use commute alternatives right from the start. Work with your human resources department to ensure that information on your trip reduction program is provided in your company's new employee orientation. If possible contact each new employee personally to introduce yourself as the ETC, explain the services you can provide, and find out any special commute problems that you can help resolve. Intel has a CAVE (Commute Alternatives Video Extraordinaire) which provides every new employee with an opportunity to hear about commute alternatives from their co-workers who use them. In Santa Rosa, the City cooperated with employers to develop a new employee packet call adventures in Commuting. The expandable packet includes five "commute adventure stories, "information on commute alternatives, etc. - Related Measures 5. Transit Information and Ticket Sales 6. Incentives November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Marketing - 1-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs TRANSPORTATION FAIR Hosting a transportation fair or commuter fair is one of the most enjoyable and visible ways to market your program. Fairs provide a means to bring together a wide range of information and resources on commute alternative in a single setting. They are also an excellent way to meet your employees and learn about their commute problems, and to increase your visibility as their ETC. Fairs require considerable planning, so be sure to start preparing well in advance. Many employers schedule their fairs to coincide with California Rideshare Week or a similar big promotion. Keys to a successful fair include: 1. Contact RIDES, local transit agencies, the BAAQMD Public Information Office, etc., to request their participation. 2. Pick an attractive location that is easily accessible to employees. If you plan to hold the fair outside, pick a date, when the weather is likely to be pleasant. 3. Publicize, publicize, publicize. Get the word out. It helps to have a theme, contest, etc. 4. Make it fun and exciting. Provide entertainment (e.g. a band or a skit). Wear costumes. Give away food and prizes. If you have a large work site with multiple far-flung buildings, you might have more success hosting several fairs in different locations. Lockheed holds "Commuter Coffees" (a sort of portable commute fair) at various buildings around its huge Sunnyvale facility. 1-4 - Marketing November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 2. Ridematching Ridematching means working directly with your employees to facilitate the formation, expansion, and maintenance of carpools and vanpools. Remember that carpools are a key element in any successful trip reduction program. Although some carpools are formed without assistance from the employer, a more pro-active approach is needed to achieve full potential. This is especially true at larger work sites, where employees may not realize that they have coworkers living in the same area. The ETC must help identify and recruit pool members, provide encouragement, resolve logistical problems, etc. Although this can be a time-consuming task, it is one of the most effective ways to reduce single occupant vehicle trips to your site. The most effective approach to ridematching is to combine in-house ridematching with the services of a regional ridesharing agency (see Resources). In-house ridematching can be performed by matching employees on the basis of their home zip codes. Many companies organize employee zip code meetings to form carpools among employees who live in the same or neighboring zip codes. Encouraging employees to place carpool want-ads in your company newsletter and on ridematching bulletin boards is an easy and effective means to facilitate in house ridematching. - Effect Because carpooling is the most popular commute alternative, ridematching is one of the most effective ways to reduce single occupant vehicle trips and improve VER. However, ridematching by itself will be effective only with employees who are already highly motivated to rideshare. For greater effectiveness, your program should' provide complementary measures to promote ridesharing, such as preferential parking, subsidies for carpools and vanpools, and a guaranteed ride home program. - Costs Ridematching is generally a very low-cost service. The regional ridesharing agencies (e.g. RIDES) all provide free match lists. The only cost that most employers will incur is the time that the ETC spends to help organize and maintain carpools and vanpools. The cost to implement an in-house ridematching service will vary depending upon the system. In-house ridematching systems can be as simple as a set of index cards sorted by employee home location, or as sophisticated as on-line computer software that is accessible to all employees. - Examples Sun Microsystems in Mountain View provides a service to its employees called Zip code Alias using employee home zip code and work site location. If an employee wants to rideshare, he or she can put out an E-mail message that is transmitted instantly to all employees with the same zip code. The system is very flexible and can be used to communicate information on traffic conditions and other transportation-related information. About 2,700 employees (out of 7,000 total) are in the system. Other companies that provide in-house online ridematching include Pacific Bell in San Ramon, GTE Government Systems in Mountain View, FMC Corporation in Santa Clara, and Apple Computer in Cupertino. November 1993 Ridematching - 2-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Steps to Implement 1. Get educated. Make yourself thoroughly familiar with the ridematching resources that are available to you. See the Become a Ridematching Expert box. 2. Assess the potential. Use employee survey data and home zip code information to identify clusters of employees who can rideshare. 3. Stimulate interest. Promote the benefits of carpooling and vanpooling to employees. Describe the cost-savings, flexibility, social opportunities and other positive aspects of ridesharing. Highlight the incentives that you offer (preferential parking, guaranteed ride home program, etc.). Emphasize ridematching in your new employee orientation. Make sure that employees know that you can play an active role in helping them form pools. If you have an in-house ridematching system, be sure to promote this service. 4. Generate ridematching requests. Make ridematching forms available at key locations around your work site. Organize a commuter fair at your work site. Invite RIDES to your work site for free ridematching and commute alternatives information for your employees. Be sure to include an optional matchlist request on your employee transportation survey questionnaire. (The standard BAAQMD survey questionnaire contains a matchlist request.) 5. Provide matches. You can match employees via the regional ridesharing agencies (e.g. RIDES) and your in house system. RIDES offers convenient services, including Fax-a-Match and RIDES On-line (see Resources). 6. Be the catalyst. As the ETC, you must play an active role in ridematching. Follow-up is critical! Keep a list of employees who request a new or an updated matchlist. Contact these employees one or two weeks after they receive their matchlists to determine if they've had any success in forming a pool. Find out if they have any good leads, or if they have even bothered to use their list. (If the matchlist produced no good leads, encourage the employee to request another matchlist based on an expanded search.) If no good matches are available at your work site, coordinate with ETCs at neighboring work sites to set up multi-employer pools. 7. Maintenance and support. It's important to keep your carpools and vanpools intact in the face of the natural turnover that will occur as employees change jobs, move their homes, and shift their work schedules. Maintain a registry of all carpools and vanpools at your work site, with a designated contact person for each pool. Check with each contact person on a regular basis; help troubleshoot any problems, and fill any vacant seats. BECOME A RIDEMATCHING EXPERT To be most effective in helping your employees to form carpools and vanpools, make sure that you have full command of the tools at your disposal. RIDES' ridematching program is versitile, flexible, an user-friendly. Make yourself an expert on how the program operates, so that you can help your employees get the best possible matchlists. You can create matchlists directly for your employees by hooking into RIDES On-line (see Resources). If you use RIDES' ridematching service, you should request a periodic Ridematching Report for your company. The report lists the names of all your employees in the RIDES database, sorted by employee home location. This valuable tool will enable you to take direct role in forming carpools among your employees. 2-2 - Ridematching November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Resources RIDES provides many written resources, including: Ridesharing is Easy, a brochure which explains ridematching and includes a matchlist request form. How to Start a Carpool Program How to Create an Employee Zip Code Map The Bay Area Commuter's Survival Guide provides information on Park and Ride lots and HOV lanes. RIDES Commute Info to Go can visit your Work site to provide free commute consultations and personalized ridesharing matchlists for your employees. RIDES provides free on-line ridematching services for Bay Area commuters and maintains a database with over 25,000 interested.participant. RIDES Fax-a-Match service enables an ETC to fax a ridematching request to RIDES and receive a matchlist the same day. With RIDES Online, employers can tap directly into the RIDES database to perform ridematching via modem. 800-755-POOL. Ridematching services are also provided by: Solano Commuter Information for people who live and/or work in Solano County. 800-53-KMUTE Berkeley TRIP 510-644-POOL Santa Cruz SHARE-A-RIDE 408-429-POOL Apple Computer has developed an internal ridematching system for its employees using Hypercard software. Apple will make the program available at no cost to any employer with a Macintosh computer (System 7.0) with Hypercard and disk doubler software. The program may be used either by the ETC or by employees via a file server. Contact Angela Rae at 408-862-7059. FAX-A-MATCH Fax-a-Match offers a quick way to distribute ridematching forms to employees and to submit a ridematching request to RIDES. The ETC at Contra Costa Centre says, "With Fax-a-Match, I can provide efficient service to employees who are looking for a ridematch." Fax-a-Match forms are included in information packets that are distributed to new employees at the Centre. - Related Measures 1. Marketing 3. Preferential Parking 4. Guaranteed Ride Home 6. Incentives November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Ridematching - 2-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 3. Preferential Parking Preferential parking is an easy way to recognize and reward employees for ridesharing. Preferential parking means reserving parking spaces in a desirable location (near the door, in a sheltered or shaded area, etc.) for the exclusive use of carpools and vanpools. Another form of preferential parking is to offer free or lower cost parking to carpools and vanpools at any work site where employees pay parking fees. In addition to stimulating the formation of new carpools and vanpools, preferential parking can help to sustain pools. Once the members of a carpool or vanpool become accustomed to parking in the preferred spaces, they may be reluctant to lose that privilege by reverting to driving alone. Preferential parking also serves as a visible symbol and constant reminder of your company's commitment to commute alternatives. - Effect Preferential parking will have only a modest impact on carpool and vanpool formation at most work sites. However, at sites where parking is limited or where employees normally have to walk a considerable distance from the parking lot to the building, preferential parking can be a strong incentive. - Costs Preferential parking is an easy, low-cost incentive for carpools and vanpools. In most cases, all you need is a few signs and a memo to employees explaining the preferential parking policy and the conditions that apply. - Examples Children's Hospital in Oakland provides reduced rate parking for carpoolers. Employees pay $35 per month for parking if they drive alone. The cost for carpool parking ranges from $5 to $12 per person, depending upon the number of passengers. Kaiser Hospital and Memorial Hospital recently built new parking structures at their facilities in Santa Rosa. In both cases, preferential parking is reserved for carpools and vanpools on the ground floor. - Steps to Implement 1. Estimate demand. Consider the number of existing carpools and vanpools at your site, as well as the number of additional pools that you expect will be formed within the near future. 2. Establish criteria. Determine the number of occupants per vehicle and any other criteria that will determine eligibility to use the preferential spaces. Also determine how the spaces will be allocated (on a first-come, first- served basis; spaces assigned to registered pools; etc.). You may want to establish a dashboard permit system to help in monitoring use of the spaces. 3. Select location. Choose a desirable area that can accommodate the projected November 1993 Preferential Parking - 3-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs number of parking spaces. If you have a sizable vanpool program, you may want to establish separate areas for carpools and for vanpools. 4. Obtain approval Present your proposal to management for approval. If your work site is located in a multi-tenant complex, you may need to work with the building or property manager to implement your proposal. 5. Notify employees. Provide advance notice to employees, explaining the purpose of preferential parking, the location of the reserved spaces, the criteria that apply (the minimum number of passengers needed to qualify), how to obtain a spot, and the effective date. 6. Monitor. Monitor the use of the spaces to be sure that they are not abused by employees in single occupant vehicles(SOVs). Be prepared to expand the preferential parking area if demand exceeds supply. - Resources RIDES publishes How to Start a Preferential Parking Program. 800-755-POOL. - Related Measures 1. Marketing 2. Ridematching 4. Guaranteed Ride Home 6. Incentives 8. Parking Pricing 3-2 - Preferential Parking November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 4. Guaranteed Ride Home Program A guaranteed ride home (GRH) program is an insurance policy for employees that use commute alternatives. A GRH program provides a guarantee that an employee who uses a commute alternative will be able to get a ride home in case of personal or family illness, overtime, or other emergency. There are several options for providing an employee a guaranteed ride home, including taxis, fleet vehicles, rental cars, vanpools and carpools. The mode for the ride home is often determined by the length of the ride. Generally, taxis are better for employees that live less than 20 miles from the work site, with car rentals used for trips greater than 20 miles. For those employers with numerous vanpools or a fleet of vehicles, other arrangements can be made. - Effect The GRH program's effect on VER is indirect because it does not actually eliminate any vehicle trips to the work site. However, many employees are reluctant to even " alternative commute modes for fear of being stranded at work in an emergency. Providing a GRH program alleviates this concern and could spur more employees into alternative commute modes. In fact, in a recent survey of employees working in San Mateo County, the incentive most-often cited as desirable was a GRH program.1 GRH also helps to keep current alternative commute users in those modes. 'A guaranteed ride home is absolutely one of the most effective, and easy to implement, program elements.' - Angela Rae, Transportation Evangelist, Apple Computer - Costs Generally, providing a GRH program for your employees is inexpensive because the service is not used very often. To further control costs, some employers limit the number of times an employee may use the GRH incentive, or require a co-payment to ensure that the GRH benefit is not abused. Co-payment could be required only after a certain number of uses by an employee. The cost of a GRH also depends on the criteria for its use. Some employers allow use of the GRH only for family emergency situations. Other employers expand the range of justifiable uses to include overtime, breakdown of a carpool or vanpool vehicle, and other situations. For smaller employers, the cost may be as low as $250-$500 per year, or even less. For larger employers where the service is used more frequently, it could cost several thousand dollars per year.2 Employers can hold down costs by working together to administer a GRH program. Several employers joining forces may be able to negotiate reduced car rental rates or taxi fares by having a larger pool of potential users of the service. In some cases, a transportation management association (TMA) can provide the GRH service. If you're using fleet vehicles to run the GRH program, the costs involves the extra maintenance required on the cars plus accelerated depreciation. Insurance costs may also be affected. November 1993 Guaranteed Ride Home Program - 4-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Examples Looking for proof that offering a GRH program won't cost an arm, leg and a lot of money. Consider this: At National Semiconductor in Santa Clara, they've had a GRH program in effect for approximately one year, and only five employees have used it. At the Contra Costa Centre near the Pleasant Hill BART Station, the highest bill for one month from the taxi company that provides guaranteed rides home was $88.50. At Intel's work sites in Santa Clara, with almost 4,000 employees, the average usage is 10 to 12 rides home per month. At Syva in San Jose, the average usage was less than once per month from the 500 employees at the work site. To get management support for a GRH program, the ETC at Intel recommends researching GRH programs at other work sites so you can demonstrate GRH's effectiveness and low cost to management. - Steps to Implement 1. Decide on level of benefits to offer. You need to determine exactly what benefit you will offer in guaranteeing a ride home. You may choose to offer employees an unlimited number of free rides home, or you could limit the total number of trips in a year or require employees to make a co- payment, thus reducing the costs. 2. Consider which employees will be eligible. In developing your program, you need to set eligibility criteria. Will all employees who did not drive to work be eligible, or do you want to limit eligibility to those employees that use a commute alternative at least 2, 3, or 4 days a week? Some companies require their employees to tonally enroll in their commute alternatives program to be eligible for the GRH. 3. Determine valid reasons for use of GRH program. Providing a GRH usually conjures up images of the family emergency that an employee needs to tend to immediately. However, there are other situations where offering a GRH may be appropriate, including unscheduled overtime, a missed carpool or broken-down carpool vehicle or bicycle, or an on- the-job injury to an employee. Be sure to clearly define the circumstances that qualify for a GRH. 4. Determine mode. The following modes are possible: taxi, fleet vehicles, rental car, security person drives, carpools, transit. You should involve legal counsel in the selection of an appropriate mode. There may be certain liability issues that arise depending on the choice of the mode. 5. Decide how payment will work. There are several payment options, depending on the means of transportation used for the guaranteed- ride home. For taxis and car rentals, a voucher system could be implemented where you supply the employee with a voucher that is valid for cab fare or a car rental, and then the taxi or car rental company invoices the employer. Conversely, the employee could pay for the cab fare or car rental and then be reimbursed by the employer. 6. Decide your budget based on resources available and options provided. As noted previously, GRH programs are usually inexpensive to operate. It is ultimately up to the employer to determine just how much money will be spent on a GRH program. GRH programs become more expensive as more situations qualify an employee for a GRH and more options are provided for the GRH. 7. Market your program. Once you've done the leg-work getting the program organized, you need to market it as a service to your employees. To encourage your employees to use commute alternatives, let them know they have the "GRH insurance policy." 4-2 - Guaranteed Ride Home Program November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Resources RIDES for Bay Area Commuters has a How to Start a Guaranteed Ride Home Program instruction sheet. Also available from RIDES is the Commuter Transportation Services handbook Guaranteed Ride Home: Taking the Worry Out of ridesharing. 800-755-7665. If you belong to a Transportation Management Association (TMA), discuss the possibility of the TMA providing the GRH service with support from the TMA members. If you don't belong to a TMA, consider jointing one. Resources for Employers at the end of Part II contains a list of several existing TMAs in the Bay Area. - Related Measures A GRH program will complement all program measures that encourage employees to use alternative commute modes. __________________________ - Notes: 1 Multi-City Transportation Systems Management Association Employee Transportation Survey, 1992 and Inter City Transportation Systems Management Association Employee Transportation Survey, 1992. 2 Commuter Transportation Services, Inc., Guaranteed Ride Home: Taking the Worry Out of Ridesharing. November 1993 Guaranteed Ride Home Program - 4-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 5. Transit Information and Ticket Sales "Where do I catch the bus?" "Where does it drop me off" "How often does it come?" "How late does it run?" "How much does it cost?" "Where do I buy a pass?" These are all common questions asked by non-transit riders. Convenience is one of the key factors employees consider when choosing their commute mode and many employees consider transit inconvenient. This often stems from a lack of information. Providing up-to-date transit information and selling transit tickets and passes at the work site can make transit a more attractive option. - Effect If transit (bus, rail, or ferry) is available nearby, providing information is essential to getting new riders. Without information, employees cannot take transit. According to a 1992 survey conducted by RIDES, 29 percent of the commuters said their employers provided transit information and .12 percent sold passes. Transit use for employees where information was provided was 13.5 percent higher than overall. Transit use among employees at work sites where transit passes were sold was 21 percent, about 9 percent higher than overall. Furthermore, one-third of the people who did not get transit information from their employers said they would use the information if offered.1 These two measures are key building blocks to promoting transit at any work site where transit is available. By getting 5- 10 percent of your employees to switch to transit 5 days a week, you could reduce your VER by 5-10 percent as well. Using transit just 3 days a week could reduce VER 3-6 percent. - Costs In general, providing transit information and on-site ticket sales is one of the lowest cost trip reduction measures available. In most cases the only costs are staff time and materials, both of which can be minimal. Transit operators will usually provide maps and schedules for free. Posting and distributing the information should involve little or no cost. Regional Transit Connection (RTC) provides a distribution service for employers selling tickets and passes on site (see Resources). If your transit operator is not covered by RTC, tickets and passes may be available for sale directly from the operator at no or little cost. November 1993 Transit Information & Ticket Sales - 5-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Examples Varian sells about 350 transit passes each month at its Palo Alto work site with 4,000 employees. About 11 percent of the employees use transit, far above that for most Santa Clara County sites. The site is well-served by transit, including five express bus routes and a Caltrain station within walking distance. Passes arc sold to employees at a 25 percent discount. The company uses Regional Transit Connection (RTC) to order passes. Tickets are delivered each month to the employee's building lobby, and the employee gives the receptionist a check. Making the system convenient and personalized, along with having good transit service, are keys to success at this site. Children's Hospital (Oakland) sells BART and AC Transit passes daily at a discounted rate through the hospital's cashier. Over 400 tickets are sold each month at the site with about 1,800 employees. - Steps to Implement 1. Locate transit service. Contact transit agencies or look around to find out what transit service is available within walking distance (1/4 to 1/2 mile) of your work site, If a rail station is further away, see if there are any connecting buses. 2. Contact the transit agencies to get maps, schedules and fare information for routes near your site. 3. Make transit information available to all employees. Post route maps and have schedules available at convenient locations. Keep information in your office to handle phone inquiries. Use other means, such as voice mail, posters, E- mail, memos, and newsletters to keep employees informed. Make sure information is kept up-to-date. Consider a targeted mailing of route schedules and a free one-time pass to employees living along certain routes. 4. Include transit information in new employee packets. Provide information specific to their home location, if possible. Provide a free pass or ticket to get them started. 5. Determine the potential demand for transit. Use your employee transportation survey. Do employees' home locations match with the transit routes that stop near work? A zip code map indicating employee home location is helpful. How many employees said they were willing to consider using transit? 6. Contact Regional Transit Connection or your local transit agency to find out how to sell transit tickets on- site. If you think the demand is high enough, start selling tickets on-site. Sales could take place on selected dates or throughout the month, depending upon demand. 7. Consider other options. If demand is not high enough (e.g. less than 20-30 tickets and passes a month) to sell passes on site, there are other options. Most transit agencies sell passes through the mail. This option should be publicized to employees. Consider setting up a program with neighboring employers or the complex manager, if you're located in a multi-tenant complex. Otherwise, tell employees where they can purchase passes nearby; many grocery and convenience stores sell passes. 8. Promote transit. Spotlight specific transit routes and employees who ride transit in your newsletter. Pair up potential transit riders with veteran riders to help overcome their anxieties and misconceptions. Offer free tickets or passes to potential riders to try it out. Hold a commuter fair with local transit operators. 9. Ride the transit routes your say That way you can answer employee questions from experience. 5-2 - Transit Information & Ticket Sales November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Resources The Regional Transit Connection (RT provides employers with tickets to sell to employees for several transit agencies: BART, Muni, AC Transit, CalTrain, S Clara County Transit Authority, SamTrans, County Connection, Alameda Oakland Ferry, and Golden Gate Transit. RTC delivers tickets to your work site. There is a minimum monthly order to avoid a service fee, but RTC allows employers a transition period to get up to that amount. 415-323-8338. RIDES for Bay Area Commuters offers How to Encourage Your Employees to Transit and The Bay Area Commuter's Survival Guide, which lists all Bay Area transit operators. 800-755-POOL Or 415-861-POOL. The Regional Transit Guide (sixth edition) describes services and routes provided by all Bay Area transit operator The Guide is available through RIDES selected bookstores and newsstands. You can also order it for $5.30 (including postage and tax) from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, MTC Technical Services, Metro Center, 101 Eighth Street, Oakland, CA 94607. 510-464-7700. û COMMUTER CHECK û Commuter CheckTM is a voucher program which provides an easy means for employers to subsidize employee purchase of transit passes. The vouchers are available in denominations of $20 and $30. Over 460 Bay Area employers currently participate in the Commuter CheckTM program. Employers can claim a tax deduction for the subsidy, so that for $20 voucher the actual cost to the employer works out to approximately $13. According to the ETC at Apple Computer in Cupertino, Commuter CheckTM is a breeze to administer and has resulted in an immediate and direct increase in transit usage among Apple employees. For more information on Computer CheckTM, contact RIDES. - Related Measures 6. Incentives 15. Shuttles to Transit __________________________ - Notes: 1 RIDES, Commuter Profile '92, July 1992. November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Transit Information & Ticket Sales - 5-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 6. Incentives There is no better way to get your employees' attention than to offer money, prizes, vacation trips, or extra paid time off. Incentives are one of the most effective means to improve VER because they offer employees a tangible reward for using commute alternatives. The range of incentives is practically limitless. You can experiment with different incentives and vary their value to determine the most effective package. The most direct incentive is a financial subsidy to the employee, either a basic subsidy for the use of commute alternatives or a "transportation allowance." Basic subsidy: The employer provides a subsidy to employees who use commute alternatives. The subsidy may he provided for use of any commute alternative, or the employer may limit the subsidy to specific modes, such as transit and vanpools. One example of a mode-specific subsidy is Commuter CheckTM. This voucher program provides an easy means for employers to subsidize the purchase of transit passes. For more information on Commuter CheckTM, see Transit Information and Ticket Sales (Measure #5). Transportation allowance: The concept of a transportation allowance is usually tied to on-site parking fees: The employer charges employees to park at the work site and provides employees with a monthly transportation allowance that can be applied toward either the parking or an alternative commute mode. See Transportation Allowance (Parking Cash-Out) (Measure #7) for further discussion of this approach. Non-cash incentives: There are many types of low-cost, non- cash incentives that can be highly effective in motivating employees to use commute alternatives. By varying the type of prize or incentive offered, you can maintain a high level of employee interest in the program. Non-cash incentives include: - Credit or point system: employees accumulate points or credits that can be redeemed for prizes or merchandise - Discounts or coupons with local merchants - Drawings for rewards or prizes - Special recognition ceremonies - Subsidized fuel or vehicle maintenance for carpools or vanpools - Free lunches or snack coupons in cafeteria - Extra vacation time - Effect A well-designed incentive program can be highly effective in increasing the use of commute alternatives. The key to maximize cost-effectiveness is to determine the type and amount of incentive that will provide the greatest reduction in vehicle trips per dollar invested. November 1993 Incentives - 6-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Costs The cost of an incentive program depends upon how you structure it. The cost of a direct financial subsidy will vary based upon the level of the subsidy, and the number of employees, both new and existing, who qualify for the subsidy. You can limit the cost of an incentive program by: - Providing a "start-up" incentive (e.g. cash, transit passes, discount coupons) to motivate employees to try a commute alternative and break the drive alone habit. The cost of these incentives is low since they are provided on a onetime or short term basis. - Conducting prize drawings for employees who commute by alternative modes. Prizes and awards under $25 per year are not taxable, so you may want to design an incentive program where each eligible employee "wins" a prize once per year. - Working with local merchants or travel agents to get free or discounted prizes in return for acknowledging their donation or promoting their business. - Providing merchandise or other in-kind awards in lieu of cash. For example, employees who use commute alternatives can be rewarded with points that they can redeem for company products, catalog merchandise, extra time off, etc. - Recognizing employees through special ceremonies, newsletter articles, or certificates of merit is a low-cost and very effective type of incentive. - Examples According to the Applied Materials ETC, "You can get a great set of prizes with a budget of $1,000." Applied Materials provides incentives through its "Frequent Commuter Program." Employees who enroll in the program earn points for each day that they use a commute alternative. The points are accumulated throughout the year. Employees redeem their points at an annual commute fair by bidding for televisions, bicycles, luggage and smaller prizes. The ETC purchases the prizes through a private employee incentive service vendor. This type of program is very cost-effective. Sixty new employees joined Applied Materials Commute Alternatives Program as a result of last year's commute fair. Apple Computer offers employees a $1 per day award for each day that they use any commute alternative. Employees have the choice to receive the award in cash or in credit that can be redeemed at the Apple company store. (Employees are taxed on the award.) The City of Wainui Creek offers two popular incentives. Employees earn one half hour of extra vacation time each week that they use a commute alternative on three or more days. The City also has a biweekly drawing for employees who use commute alternatives. The lucky winner receives $25 for each day that he/she used a commute alternative during that period to a maximum of $250. The City of Redlands offers employees either 15 minutes of comp time or $1.50 for each day they rideshare. According to the City's ETC, "90 percent are going with the comp time." J.C. Penney at the Hilltop Mail in Richmond offers an innovative incentive program. The ETC designates one week each month as "rideshare week." Employees earn trading stamps that can be redeemed for J.C. Penney merchandise for each day that they use a commute alternative during the specified week. Employees earn double value if they use a commute alternative every day during the rideshare week. The company also conducts a drawing in which employees who use commute alternatives during the rideshare week can win gift certificates to local restaurants. (J.C. Penney used this approach to achieve a 100 percent response rate on a recent employee transportation survey.) The ETC said that even though the cost of the incentive program is very low, the employees love it. 6-2 - Incentives November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Steps to Implement 1. Evaluate options/define scope. Consider the range of incentive options and the resources that your company can commit to an incentive program. Determine which commute alternatives should qualify for incentives. Estimate the number of users (both new and existing) who would be eligible for the incentive(s). 2. Get input. Consult with employees to determine the type of incentives that would be most effective and popular. Consult with your human resources department regarding how the proposed incentive program would fit into your overall employee benefits package. Consider whether there are any equity issues that need to be addressed. 3. Develop proposal/evaluate the cost. Consider whether you should invest all your resources in a single incentive (e.g. a cash subsidy) or whether to offer a variety of lower-cost incentives. Once you've identified the incentive(s) that seems most appropriate, estimate the total cost per month and per year to provide the incentive. 4. Consider tax and liability issues. Research the tax implications of your proposed incentives, both for your company and for your employees. Consult with your legal department regarding any potential liability issues related to incentives and subsidies. 5. Seek approval Present your proposal to management for approval. Be sure to spell out the total cost of the package, and the estimated benefit in terms of reduced vehicle trips. 6. Establish criteria. Define policies and criteria to giving the incentive program (e.g. a minimum frequency of participation per week or per month to determine eligibility). 7. Market and promote. Promote your incentive program through posters, memos, E-mail, newsletter articles, etc. Marketing is key to maximizing the effectiveness of your incentives, especially non-cash incentives. 8. Monitor. Establish a system to monitor the incentive program to prevent any abuse. If you plan to provide a cash incentive based upon the frequency that an employee uses commute alternatives, you should develop a reporting system to track each employee's daily commute mode. See the sample Employee Log Sheet (Worksheet F) in Part III for an example of such a system. HELPFUL HINTS û Make sure that any incentives you offer are visible and tangible. It's best not to lump the incentive in with the employee's regular salary. Ideally, the incentive payment should be a separate check; at the least, the inventive should be broken out as a special entry on the employee's pay stub. Some inventives and subsidies are considered taxable income for the employee and must be reported. State and federal requirements vary, and you should check with the IRS, State Franchise Tax Board or a tax accountant. û Try to structure your incentive program so that the value of the incentive increases with the number of times that the employee uses a commute alternative. This motivates the employee to use a commute alternative as frequently as possible. û Consider basing the amount of incentive on the effectiveness of the alternative commute mode in reducing vehicle trips. For example, employees who commute by modes which generate zero vehicle trips (transit, bicycling, or walking) could receive a higher incentive than employees who commute in carpools. November 1993 Incentives - 6-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Resources RIDES for Bay Area Commuters publishes How to Start a Ridesharing Incentive Program. 800-755-POOL or 415-861-POOL. Commuter CheckTM is a voucher program that provides an easy means for employers to subsidize employees' transit passes. Information is available through RIDES. 800-755-POOL - Related Measures 1. Marketing 5. Transit Information and Ticket Sales 7. Transportation Allowance (Parking Cash-Out) TAX IMPLICATIONS Federal tax policies regarding subsidies for commute alternatives were revised by the National Energy Policy Act of 1992. Employer-provided subsidies for transit and qualified vanpools are considered a non-taxable fringe benefit to the employee if the subsidy equals $60 per month or less. If the subsidy exceeds $60 per month, the amount in excess of $60 is considered to be taxable income. Subsidies for other commute alternatives (carpool, bicycle, walk) are treated as taxable income to the employee. However, prizes or awards of less than $25 annually are not taxable. Contact the Internal Revenue Service or your tax advisor for specific tax information. For federal corporate tax purposes, employers may deduct the cost of transit and vanpool subsidies like any employer-provided fringe benefit. Employers receive State tax credits for providing transit subsidies. The amount of the credit depends upon the employer's parking policies. The State allows a 40 percent credit if parking is not free or subsidized, 20 percent if parking is subsidized in part, and only 10 percent if parking is provided free by the employer. See RIDES Facts about Ridesharing Tax Benefits and Parking Guidelines for Employers. 6-4 - Incentives November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 7. Transportation Allowance (Parking Cash-Out) One highly effective incentive program is a transportation allowance linked to on-site parking charges. Employees who drive to work must pay for parking. In turn, all employees receive a monthly transportation allowance that they can apply toward the parking fee, an alternative commute mode, or use as they please. The allowance can be equal to or less than the parking charge. There are several compelling arguments for a transportation allowance which can be summed up in terms of effectiveness, equity, and economy. Effectiveness - "Free parking" undermines the effectiveness of a trip reduction program, because employees who drive alone receive a large hidden subsidy from the employer. Eliminating the hidden subsidy of "free parking" helps remove the bias toward solo driving and create a level playing field among commute modes. This will enhance the effectiveness of all measures in a trip reduction program. Equity - Providing "free parking" discriminates against employees who use commute alternatives. Even when an employer offers incentives for commute alternatives, the value of the parking usually exceeds the incentives that are offered for using commute alternatives. Providing all employees with a transportation allowance that they can apply to their mode of choice eliminates the inequity in "free parking." Special provisions may be needed to address hardship cases, or to structure the fee on a sliding scale where the work site employs a large number of lower paid workers. Economy - From the employer's perspective, the beauty of a transportation allowance is that the parking revenues can be used to finance a highly effective trip reduction program at little or no cost to the employer. - Effect A travel allowance program tied to cashing out free parking can be very effective at improving VER. A model based upon data from downtown Los Angeles predicted that a parking cash-out program would reduce the number of cars per 100 employees from 75 to 62, a 17 percent decline. Charging for parking without offering a travel allowance would reduce the number of cars per 100 employees to 56, a 25 percent drop.1 These reductions would allow most employers to meet the 1998 VER targets. - Costs Employers who own their parking and offer a cash-out program will incur additional costs if the parking charge is equal to the travel allowance. The cost to the employer will be for the employees who take the allowance and use alternative modes. If the parking charge is set higher than the allowance, these costs can be recovered. Furthermore, if the program frees up significant amounts of surface parking, this land might be developed or sold for another purpose. Table 1 shows the monthly cost of an allowance per 100 employees, based upon various levels of allowance and percentage of employees taking the allowance and using alternative modes. Remember that the costs shown are only for employers that do not directly pay for parking through a lease. November 1993 Transportation Allowance (Parking Cash-Out) - 7-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Table 1 Monthly Cost per 100 Employees (Only if employer owns parking) Percent of Amount of Allowance/ Employees Cost of Parking (monthly) Using Alt. Mode $20 $40 $60 10% $200 $400 $ 800 20% $400 $800 $1,200 30% $600 $1,200 $1,800 40% $800 $1,600 $2,400 Administrative costs are not included in the table, but should not be high, particularly in comparison with other trip reduction programs.2 One basic issue is whether to set the parking fee and the transportation allowance at the same level, or to establish the parking fee at a higher level than the allowance. Setting the parking fee at a higher level will result in a greater reduction in vehicle trips, and reduce the cost of the program to the employer. The parking fee can be a flat rate per vehicle; alternatively, the rate for carpools could be set lower than the rate for single occupant vehicles to provide a greater incentive to rideshare. Table 2 shows the economics of a transportation allowance program for a hypothetical work site with 100 employees and a VER of 0.74 (the final performance objective for work sites in Zone 3). Examples show the net monthly cost (or revenue) to the employer based on a $40 per month transportation allowance for all employees and parking fees of $40, $50, and $60 per month. The net revenue would be greater (or the net costs lower) for work sites with a VER higher than 0.74. If a cash travel allowance is provided, the employer will pay payroll taxes on the allowance. On the other hand, under California tax law, employers can take a standard business tax deduction for providing a cash-out program. A cash allowance is considered a taxable benefit to the employee. If the allowance is issued as a transit or ridesharing subsidy, the subsidy is not taxable under State law, nor would it be subject to payroll taxes. Under federal law, transit and vanpool subsidies are tax free up to $60 per month. Employers should consult with a tax advisor for further details and updated information. Table 2 Net Cost or Revenue Monthly Parking Fee Budget $40 $50 $60 Allowance -$4,000 -$4,000 -$4,000 Revenue +$2,960 +$3,700 +$4,400 Cost(-) or --------- -------- -------- Net Revenue (+) -$1,040 -$300 +$400 Assumptions: $40/month allowance 100 employees, 74 vehicles Employer-owned parking Does not include administrative costs - Examples Commuter Transportation Services in Los Angeles instituted a parking cash-out program that included a $55 per month allowance and parking charge. The share of employees driving alone to work fell from 48 to 8 percent.3 Bellevue City Hall in Bellevue, Washington instituted a $30 per month parking charge. Carpool vehicles and transit riders are fully subsidized. Solo driving declined from 75 percent to 58 percent. When CH2M Hill, an engineering firm, moved its offices to downtown Bellevue, Washington, it started charging all solo drivers $40 per month to park. At the same time all employees received a $40 per month unrestricted transportation allowance. Carpoolers park for free and transit riders receive transit passes in addition to the $40 allowance. The share of 7-2 - Transportation Allowance (Parking Cash-Out) November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs solo drivers dropped from 96 to 67 percent.4 Even if all of these solo drivers switched to 2-person carpools (the smallest reduction in trips), VER would have dropped about 15 percent. - Steps to Implement 1. Cost it out. Determine the amount of the transportation allowance and the monthly parking charge that seems appropriate for your work site. Estimate the total income and expenditure based on your projected commute mode split using the formula in Table 3. Table 3 Calculating Costs & Revenues A. Cost __________ x ____________ = ___________ # eligible monthly Gross Cost employees allowance per month B. Revenue __________ x ____________ = ___________ # vehicle monthly Gross Revenue parking parking fee per month C. Net Cost/Revenue __________ - ____________ = ___________ Gross Gross Net Cost or Cost(A) Revenue(B) Net Revenue At most work sites, a transportation allowance of $40-$60 per month ($2-$3 per workday) combined with an equal or greater parking fee should bring about a significant reduction in the drive alone rate. 2. Anticipate potential problem. Consider the potential effects of parking charges, such as spill over to adjacent on-street parking spaces, and how to mitigate any negative impacts. 3. Get input Consult with management, your personnel department, and employee groups. Consider the tax implications for your company and your employees. Be sure to get a solid endorsement from top management. 4. Establish guidelines. Determine how your program will be administered and monitored. Try to structure the parking fee so that employees who need to use the parking facility on an occasional basis may do so. 5. Explain the policy to employees. Marketing and education are critical; you don't want employees to perceive this as a take-away. Make sure that your employees understand that the revenues from the parking fees are funding the transportation allowance and that this approach is more equitable for all employees. - Resources RIDES for Bay Area Commuters offers Facts about Ridesharing Tax Benefits and Parking Guide lines for Employers that summarizes the parking cash-out legislation and California tax credits and deductions. 800-755-POOL or 415-861-POOL. The Air Resources Board has developed an 8-page guide that helps employers determine whether they must offer parking cash-out and explains how to implement it. Air Resources Board, Parking Cash-Out Guide, Transportation Strategies Group, PO Box 2185, Sacramento, CA 95812, 916-445-0098. Commuter Transportation Services in Los Angeles publishes a useful booklet Parking Management as a TDM Tool and a Free Parking? brochure. 213-380-7750. For information about State tax credits and deductions, contact the California Franchise Tax Board 800-852-5711. Form 3518 is used for claiming tax credits. November 1993 Transportation Allowance (Parking Cash-Out) - 7-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Related Measures 3. Preferential Parking 6. Incentives 8. Parking Pricing __________________________ Notes: 1 Shoup, Donald and Richard Willson, "Employer- Paid Parking: The Problem and Proposed Solutions," Transportation Quarterly, April 1992. 2 Shoup, Donald, Cashing Out Employer-Paid Parking, Federal Transit Administration Final Report, December 1992. 3 Bhatt, Kiran, "Review of Transportation Allowance Programs," "Transportation Research Record 1321, 1991. 4 Bhatt, op.cit. 7-4 - Transportation Allowance (Parking Cash-Out) November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 8. Parking Pricing The cost of parking is one of the most influential factors in a person's commute decision. The vast majority of employees currently receive "free" parking at work. Of course, there is really no such thing as "free parking." The employer pays the cost of parking, either directly (e.g. to a concessionaire) or indirectly (e.g. in lease, land, and maintenance and security costs, etc.). "Free" parking is a powerful incentive for employees to drive alone to work. From the standpoint of trip reduction, providing "free" parking or subsidized parking is a self-defeating proposition. It undermines and limits the effectiveness of your entire trip reduction program. In fact, providing free parking is often worth more financially than providing employees with free gas, which most employers would never consider. The simplest parking pricing strategy is to charge all employees for parking. While this is often the most effective strategy for trip reduction, it may not be the most acceptable to employees. In such cases, a parking cash-out program could be the answer. Under a parking cash-out program, an employer charges for the use of a parking space while simultaneously offering employees a travel allowance of equal cash value. Employees may then decide to use the allowance on parking or any other purpose, including transit and ridesharing costs. Under such a system, employees consider commuting costs more realistically, by taking into account the cost of parking. (See Measure #7 Transportation Allowance.) Under an existing State law, some employers are required to offer a parking cash-out option for employees. See the State Parking Cash-out Law box. - Effect Evidence shows that charging for parking is usually the most effective trip reduction strategy. Case studies of four work sites in Los Angeles found that auto trips decrease from 15 to 38 percent after parking subsidies were eliminated. Only one of these sites was located downtown. 1 Reducing trips by this amount would allow most employers to meet the final 1998 VER objectives in the Bay Area. A model based upon data from downtown Los Angeles predicted that a parking cash out program would reduce the number of cars per 100 employees from 75 to 62, a 17 percent decline. Charging for parking without offering a travel allowance would reduce the number of cars per 100 employees to 56, a 25 percent drop.2 Once again, these reductions would allow most employers to meet the 1998 VER targets. - Costs Unlike many other strategies, parking pricing can save employers money and help fund other trip reduction programs. Employers who pay for parking, through a building lease or a parking garage, will save money by recovering these costs from employees, even if a cash-out option is offered. Revenues from parking charges (or the savings from reduced leases) should be used to implement other trip reduction programs. This could include a travel allowance for a cash-out program (see Measure #7). November 1993 Parking Pricing - 8-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Examples At their Oakland medical center, Kaiser Permanente raised employee parking fees to $25 per month to reduce demand in over- crowded garages. At the same time they offered incentives and alternatives, including a guaranteed ride home program, a transit subsidy, and a shuttle from BART. As a result, carpooling and transit use among employees has increased. When 20th Century Insurance imposed a $30 per month parking charge at their suburban site in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, VER dropped from over 0.90 to below 0.70. The company also offered a $15 per month vanpool and transit subsidy and other ridesharing programs. As a result, the company saved $200,000 previously spent on leasing off-site parking spaces.3 - Steps to Implement 1. Determine your true parking costs. Examine your lease to find out if parking is charged separately. If you own your building and parking, include maintenance and security costs as well as capital costs. 2. Determine whether you are subject to the State parking cash- out law. Employers with 50 or more employees who subsidize parking for employees and lease parking (either through a parking vendor or within the building lease), and can reduce the number of parking spaces they lease without penalty must offer a cash-out option under the 1993 law. (See the State Parking Cash-Out Law box.) 3. Evaluate parking pricing options. Consider whether parking charges, without a cash-out option, are feasible. If not, consider a cash-out program which will be more acceptable to employees, particularly those who already use alternative modes and don't benefit from free parking. 4. Consult with unions and employee associations. This is essential to defuse potential opposition and gain employee support. 5. Implement the pricing program If you opt for a parking cash- out program, give employees the option of receiving their allowance in the form of a transit pass, Commuter CheckTM, or vanpool subsidy to avoid the tax burden. Also, consider a flexible program that allows part-time users of alternative modes a partial cash-out. Be sure to explain the program clearly to employees well in advance. 6. Consider off-site impacts. On-site parking fees may tempt employees to park off-site on neighboring streets or lots. Evaluate the off-site parking situation before you implement parking fees. You may need to work with your city or county to address any potential spill-over. If you provide a transportation allowance (parking cash out), have employees sign an agreement that they won't take the cash and then drive and park elsewhere. 7. Provide alternatives. Whether you charge for parking or offer a cash-out program, offer employees options to driving alone and paying for parking. Incentives and programs to promote alternative modes (as described throughout this guide) should be in place before parking charges go into effect. Employees must know that you are not simply penalizing them but giving them options. 8. Reduce or eliminate parking fees for carpools and vanpools. This could be based upon occupancy. For example, vanpools could park for free, whereas two-person carpools park for half-price. 9. Monitor and enforce. Set up a monitoring system to make sure employees who take the cash-out option are not still driving alone and parking in the lot. In addition, periodically monitor carpool parking to assure use by carpools. 8-2 - Parking Pricing November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Resources RIDES for Bay Area Commuters offers Facts about Ridesharing Tax Benefits and Parking Guidelines for Employers that summarizes the parking cash-out legislation and California tax credits and deductions. 800-755-POOL or 415-861-POOL. California Air Resources Board has a fact sheet with questions and answers about the parking cash-out law. Air Resources Board, Parking Cash-Out Guide, Transportation Strategies Group, PO Box 2185, Sacramento, CA 95812, 916-445-0098. Commuter Transportation Services in Los Angeles publishes a useful booklet Parking Management as a TDM Tool and a Free Parking? brochure. 213-380-7750. For information about State tax credits and deductions, contact the California Franchise Tax Board 800-852-5711. Form 3518 is used for claiming tax credits. - Related Measures 3. Preferential Parking 7. Transportation Allowance (Parking Cash-Out) STATE PARKING CASH-OUT LAW Under Assembly Bill (AB) 2109, signed by the Governor in 1992 and in effect January 1, 1993 (Chapter 554), many employers are required to offer a parking cash-out program at their work site. The law affects employers who meet all of the following criteria: - have 50 or more employees - are located in a "non-attainment" area for State air quality standards (such as the Bay Area) - subsidize parking for employees - lease parking and can reduce the number of parking spaces leased without penalty (Health and Safety Code section 43845) Employers who meet these criteria must implement a parking cash-out program, offering employees cash in lieu of parking. The cash allowance must be equal to the out-of-pocket cost to the employer for subsidizing parking, minus any charges paid by the employee. Employers who own their parking are not subject to the law. Employers that lease parking, either through a parking vendor or in their building lease, must comply with the law if they can reduce the number of spaces they lease without penalty. If the lease allows a reduction, the cash-out program must be implemented now. Otherwise, the program must go into effect when the lease is renewed. Employers who do not comply with the law are subject to penalties under the Health and Safety Code. The Air Resources Board has developed an 8-page guide that helps employers determine whether they must offer parking cash-out and explains how to implement it. Air Resources Board, Parking Cash-Out Guide, Transportation Strategies Group, PO Box 2185, Sacramento, CA 95812, 916-445-0098. __________________________ - Notes: 1 Shoup, Donald, and Richard Willson, "Employer-Paid Parking: The Influence of Parking Prices on Travel Demand," prepared for Commuter Parking Symposium, Association for Commuter Transportation, Seattle, WA, 1990. 2 Shoup, Donald and Richard Willson, "Employer- Paid Parking: The Problem and Proposed Solutions," Transportation Quarterly, April 1992. 3 Pratt, Richard, "Employer Parking Pricing and Incentive Programs that Change Modal Split," TDM Review, Summer 1993. November 1993 Parking Pricing - 8-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 9. Vanpool Assistance Vanpools can be an effective means to improve VER at both urban and suburban work sites. They are most suitable for employees who commute long distances, usually at least 20 miles one-way. Vanpools are especially viable if many employees commute from outlying areas, such as Solano County or the Central Valley. Some of the most common forms of employer assistance for vanpools are: - helping to identify and recruit potential vanpool drivers and passengers - organizing group meetings for potential vanpoolers - providing preferential parking for vanpools - providing a start-up subsidy and/or an open seat subsidy - providing a regular monthly subsidy to each vanpool member to defray the vanpool fare - purchasing or leasing vans - helping vanpool groups to obtain liability insurance Employer assistance for vanpools falls into three basic categories, depending upon the services provided and the level of financial commitment. Employer-Facilitated Program: This is the most basic type of program. The employer helps form and maintain vanpools by helping to recruit riders, organize meetings, etc. The employer also provides services that support vanpooling, such as preferential parking and a guaranteed ride home program. The employer may provide start-up subsidies for a limited period. Employer-Sponsored Program: In addition to providing the basic services described above, the employer provides an on-going financial subsidy. The specific form of subsidy may vary. The subsidy could be provided to the van as a whole (e.g. the employer covers a certain percentage of the lease cost) or to the individual passengers to defray their monthly fares. Employer-Operated Program: This term applies when the employer leases or purchases vans for an employer-operated program. The employer typically recovers most or all of its costs through passenger fares. Although vanpools are most common at work sites with 500 or more employees, smaller work sites can also run effective vanpool programs. One way to do this is to establish a joint program with nearby employers. - Effect Some employers have great success with vanpools; others invest considerable time and resources in organizing vanpools, but get little payback. Experience indicates that vanpooling works best in a structured work environment. It is important to consider your "corporate culture" and work schedule arrangements in assessing the potential for vanpools at your work site. In addition to helping improve VER, a successful ;vanpool program can provide other significant benefits. Employees who vanpool experience reduced commute costs and commute stress, Vanpools can help employers retain long distance employees who might otherwise seek jobs closer to their homes. Vanpools can also be an asset from the standpoint of community relations; they provide a visible way for an employer to demonstrate its commitment to improving air quality and reducing traffic congestion. November 1993 Vanpool Assistance - 9-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Costs The cost to implement a vanpool program will vary, depending upon 1) the specific services and incentives that the employer provides, and 2) the allocation of costs between the employer and the vanpool riders. Employer costs can be very low if the employer role is limited to support functions such as helping identify potential passengers, facilitating group meetings, and providing preferential parking. Costs may increase considerably if the employer offers cash subsidies or provides vanpool vehicles. Starting and maintaining a vanpool program can be time- consuming and entail significant administrative costs. Large employers with a sizable vanpool program may be able to reduce administrative costs due to economies of scale. Employer-operated vanpool programs can be designed on a full cost-recovery basis by structuring passenger fares to cover all operating and administrative costs. x TAX BENEFITS x The State of California provides significant tax credits and deduction for employer vanpool programs. The State offers a one-time tax credit to employers that purchase or lease vans for ridesharing purposes. The credit equals 20 percent of the purchase or lease cost for companies with 200 or more employees and 30 percent of the cost for companies with fewer than 200 employees. Employees who commute in vanpools that are not subsidized by the employer can claim 40 percent of their vanpool fare as a credit against their California income taxes. At the federal level, the National Energy Policy Act of 1992 allows an employer to provide a vanpool subsidy up to $60 per employee per month as a non-taxable fringe benefit. The employer can deduct the costs of the vanpool subsidy like any other fringe benefit. - Examples Chevron runs an employer-operated vanpool program with a fleet of nearly 100 company-owned vans serving its major work sites in the Bay Area. These vanpools serve 1,200 employees (9 percent) out of a total of 13,000 Chevron employees in the Bay Area. The program is revenue-neutral. Employee fares cover the full costs, including the administrative costs to run the program. The Pacific Bell Administrative Center in San Ramon runs an employer-facilitated vanpool program. Forty-five vanpools serve 600 employees--more than 10 percent of the 5,500 employees at the site. Pac Bell does not provide any direct financial incentives or subsidies. The company does provide extensive suppose services including preferential parking, rider recruitment, trouble- shooting, as well as a quarterly newsletter and an annual breakfast for vanpool drivers. Facilitating the vanpool program requires 40- 50 percent of one ETC position. PG&E runs an employer-operated program with a fleet of 20 company-owned vanpools in the Bay Area. The company formed an internal committee with specialists on insurance, accounting and legal issues, as well as union representatives, to develop a comprehensive set of guidelines for the vanpool program. - Steps to Implement 1. Analyze your potential market. Consider your corporate culture, employee work schedules, etc. Plot employee home locations on a zip code map and look for clusters of employees with long distance commutes. Consider forming a vanpool to serve several cities along a single traffic corridor. Contact employees in the target areas to gauge their interest in vanpooling. Look for 9-2 - Vanpool Assistance November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs existing carpools from your target areas. It is generally easier to start a new vanpool by building upon existing carpools than to start from scratch. Consider the possibility of using minivans if you cannot find enough passengers for a full-size van. 2. Learn about legal requirements. RIDES can provide information about the licensing, equipment, and record keeping requirements that apply to vans designed to seat 11- 15 people. 3. Determine program structure. Consider the type of vanpool program that would be most appropriate for your organization based upon the level of financial resources that management is willing to commit. Determine who will own or lease the vans, and what incentives or subsidies you will provide. 4. Consider insurance and liability. Explore insurance options. If your organization will purchase or lease the vans, you may be able to insure them under your corporate umbrella policy. Talk to legal counsel about potential liability issues related to your vanpool program. 5. Seek approvaL Get management approval for the vanpool proposal that you develop. 6. Market tire program. Once you have identified your potential market, you must work to translate that potential into real vanpools. Make sure that employees understand the benefits of vanpooling. Employees sometimes think that vanpool fares are high because they do not realize the full cost of solo driving. One way to address any employee concerns over cost is to provide a start-up subsidy for a limited period. 7. Recruit and screen potential drivers. Identify a lead driver and several backup drivers. Drivers usually need a DMV check and medical exam. 8. Recruit riders. Work with your drivers and your ridematching system to recruit passengers. Consider recruiting riders at neighboring work sites. 9. Organize the vanpooL When you have identified the members of the vanpool and secured necessary approvals, hold a meeting to organize the group. Work with the group to lay out operating policies and ground rules, determine pick-up points, etc. Establish clear responsibilities for maintenance, recruiting riders, setting fares, collecting fares, etc. 10. Monitor and support. Work with drivers to keep seats filled. Help resolve problems or issues that arise. Be sure to tout the success of your vanpools in your employee newsletter. This can help stimulate interest and lead to the formation of more vanpools. 11. Stay informed and communicate. Keep informed about new developments in laws and regulations, tax benefits, insurance, etc. Be sure to pass this information on to your vanpool drivers. Drivers need to be informed, but they don't have time to track all these issues on their own. One good way to stay informed is to join RIDES' employer vanpool managers network. Also, make sure that you receive RIDES Backseat Driver newsletter. *AIR QUALITY BENEFITS Consider air quality in setting up a vanpool. Work with your drivers and riders to establish pick-up points that minimize the number of vehicle trips (cold starts) that riders make to meet the vanpool. Short trips are a significant source of pollution. Another way to maximize the air quality benefit to use vans that are powered by a clean fuel. PG&E has converted a portion of its vanpool fleet to compressed natural gas (CNG). Clean fuel vans are expected to be available through vanpool leasing companies in the near future. November 1993 Vanpool Assistance - 9-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Resources RIDES for Bay Area Commuters provides a full range of services to promote vanpool information. 800-755-POOL or 415-861-POOL. - how to assess your vanpool market - how to structure your program - tax and insurance information - vanpool marketing, recruitment of passengers - vanpool driver approval (DMV check, etc.) - vanpool vendors (lease or purchase) - Backseat Driver newsletter (issued three times per year) - quarterly meetings of employer vanpool managers in the region - How to Start a Vanpool Program (publication) RIDES vanpool staff is available to make presentations to employees on the benefits of vanpooling. Employers in Solano County should contact Solano Commuter Information for assistance with vanpool formation. 800-53-KMUTE - Related Measures 2. Ridematching 3. Preferential Parking 4. Guaranteed Ride Home 6. Incentives 9-4 - Vanpool Assistance November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 10. Compressed Work Week Schedules The surest way to keep employees from driving to work alone is to not have them come to work at all. You can accomplish this by implementing a compressed work week (CWW) schedule at your work site. CWW schedules are a powerful way to improve VER, and they're very popular with employees. That's not surprising, considering that a CWW schedule can give employees an extra 26 to 50 or more days off work per year. Common CWW schedules include the 4/10, where an employee works four 10-hour days during the week, and the 3/36, where an employee works three 12-hour days during the week. Another popular CWW schedule is the 9/80, where employees work 80 hours in nine working days over a two week period. - Effect In the calculation of VER, an employee that has a day off during the survey week because of a CWW schedule is given credit for being at the work site (an "employee day"), but no vehicle trip is counted. This improves the work site's VER. The effectiveness of the CWW in improving VER depends on the number of employees working a CWW schedule. To determine the effectiveness of implementing a CWW schedule at your work site, you need to determine how many of the employees at the work site could work a CWW schedule and which schedule would be most effective. Issues such as work site coverage and staff meetings can be solved with rotating days off and certain core days where all employees must be at the work site. Table I shows the potential drop in raw VER as a result of a certain percentage of employees working a compressed work week (either 9/80, 4/10 or 3/36).1 Employees working a 9/80 schedule only receive CWW credit when the CWW day off occurs during the survey week. Employees must work at least 35 hours in one week or 70 hours in two weeks in order to receive CWW credit. Also, employees must take a full CWW day off in order to receive credit (half days off do not count). Table 1 Percentage Drop in Raw VER from Compressed Work Week Percent on Compressed Work Week 9/80 4/40 3/36 10% 1% 2% 4% 15% 1.5% 3% 6% 20% 2% 4% 8% 25% 2.5% 5% 10% 30% 3% 6% 12% 40% 4% 8% 16% - Costs Essentially the only cost associated with implementing a CWW schedule at a work site is staff time to set up the CWW program. This cost will vary depending upon the nature of the work force. After an initial adjustment period, employees on CWW schedules are usually more productive and show a decrease in absenteeism due to sickness compared to employees on a regular schedule.2 This benefit to the employer may offset costs associated with implementing the CWW schedule. November 1993 Compressed Work Week Schedules - 10-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Examples At Microsource in Santa Rosa, almost all of the 110 employees are on a 4/10 compressed work week schedule. In a recent survey, Microsource's VER was 0.81, good enough to meet the 1996 performance objective for Sonoma County. Implementing a 4/10 compressed work week schedule at a work site can yield up to a 20 percent improvement in VER. Sometimes it's best to test the water before you jump. Two South Bay companies are doing just that. Both IBM in San Jose, and Sun Microsystems of Mountain View have compressed work week pilot programs. IBM, with over 6,000 employees, recently implemented a compressed work week pilot program for a group of approximately 50 employees. After reviewing the results of the pilot program, IBM will make a decision on expanding the compressed work week schedule to more employees. Sun Microsystems already had some employees working an informal compressed work week. As part of a larger pilot program involving telecommuting, compressed work weeks and job sharing, the company developed compressed work week guidelines. Several groups of employees have agreed to participate in the compressed work week pilot program and will work four 10-hour days per week. Upper management approved of the compressed work week pilot program because of the potential trip reduction and quality of life benefits. - Steps to Implement In order to sell the CWW concept to management, consider implementing a CWW pilot program (see Examples). This is a low- risk method to determine the attractiveness of a CWW program at your work site. Whether you implement a pilot or full-scale program, following the steps listed below will help ensure a successful program.3 1 . Solicit management support for the program Sell management on the benefits of a CWW schedule and assure them that a CWW schedule would not affect productivity. If management is reluctant, ask them to consider implementing the CWW program on a limited basis. 2. Appoint a project coordinator. Appoint a knowledgeable staff person to act as the point person for the development of the program. 3. Involve legal counsel and labor unions. Depending on the type of employees at a work site, a compressed work week program can be mandatory or voluntary. The State of California's Industrial Welfare Commission regulates the conditions of employment, including hours worked and overtime, for various types of employees in California. For a mandatory program, it may be necessary to have employees vote on whether they want to work a CWW schedule (see the Legal Requirement box). Prior to implementing a CWW program, you should consult with your legal counsel. Furthermore, it may be necessary and is advisable to negotiate any changes in work schedules with labor unions, employee associations or bargaining units representing the affected employees. These groups should be involved early on in the development of a CWW program. 4. Determine employee interest. If required, employee interest can be best determined through a vote. Other methods include informal or formal surveys. The attitudinal questions on the BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Form could be modified to include a question regarding the attractiveness of a CWW schedule,4 or a separate survey of employees could be taken. 5. Set program policies and procedures. Develop a set of policies and procedures to ensure that the CWW program is successfully implemented. Try to 10-2 - Compressed Work Week Schedules November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs anticipate and answer any questions that may come up, including whether the CWW program is voluntary or mandatory, as well as questions about overtime. A CWW policies and procedures manual could include: - A form for the employee to declare their schedule. - A discussion of which employees are eligible or required to work a CWW schedule. - A discussion of how holiday and vacation time is affected by a CWW schedule. - A discussion of the employer's policies regarding changing the CWW day off or other aspects of the schedule, including a method for addressing individual concerns and hardships when the CWW program is mandatory. 6. Initiate promotion and orientation sessions. To sell the CWW program, emphasize the benefits to employees and management. Benefits to employees include more days off work and less commuting, while benefits to management include more satisfied, productive employees and progress toward achieving the VER performance objective. 7. Address individual concerns and hardships. Not all employees will be willing or able to switch to a compressed work week. A system for addressing hardship situations should be developed prior to implementing a mandatory CWW program. 8. Monitor the program and make adjustments as needed Once your CWW program is up and running, you may develop additional improvements or discover revisions necessary to keep the program successful. Improvements and revisions should be incorporated. - Resources RIDES for Bay Area Commuters has a How to Start an Alternative Work Hours Program instruction sheet. 800-755-POOL or 415-861-POOL Commuter Transportation Services (CTS) of Los Angeles publishes a "how to" handbook titled Variable Work Hour Programs. The cost is $6 plus shipping and handling. (213) 380-7750 New Ways to Work, a non-profit resource and research organization based in San Francisco, has Creating a Flexible Work Place, a book that includes a chapter on compressed work weeks, available for $55.50 plus tax. This book is available through New Ways to Work or at libraries and bookstores. They also have a handbook titled Flexibility: Compelling Strategies for a Competitive Workplace available for $2.50. 415-995-9860 California Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) Wage and Hour Orders are available by writing or calling the IWC at 455 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102 415-703-3820. - Related Measures None November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Compressed Work Week Schedules - 10-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs LEGAL REQUIREMENTS The State of California Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders contain the legal requirements that must be met prior to implementing a compressed work week for nonexempt employees. Non- exempt employees are employees that are compensated based on the number of hours worked. To implement a compressed work week schedule for non-exempt employees, a written agreement signed by the employer and at least two-thirds of the employees i an affected work unit must be executed. Prior to executing this agreement, a secret ballot of employees must be conducted. At least two-thirds of the non-exempt employees in the affected work unit must vote for the compressed work week schedule. An affected work unit includes all employees in a readily identifiable work unit, such as a division, department, job classification or shift. If a compressed work week schedule is approved by two-thirds of the employees in an affected work unit, at least two-thirds of the employees in that work group must work the compressed work week schedule. This is only a brief summary of the Wage Order requirements. You should always consult legal counsel prior to adopting a compressed work week schedule. The Variable Work Hours Programs" handbook, available from Commuter Transportation Services of Los Angeles contains the Wage Orders that apply to compressed work week programs. See Resources for information on ordering the handbook and IWC Wage and Hour Orders. __________________________ - Notes: 1 The example assumes that all employees previously worked five days per week and that compressed work week employees were drawn evenly from all commute modes at the work site. The table assumes that one-half of the employees on the 9/80 schedule have their compressed work week day off during the survey week. 2 Freas, Alyssa M. and Anderson, Stuart M., The Effects of Variable Work Hour Programs on Ridesharing and Organizational Effectiveness A Case Study: The County of Ventura, Commuter Transportation Services, Inc., August 1, 1990. 3 Adapted from: Commuter Transportation Services, Inc. Variable Work Hours Programs, Richard S. Repasy and Stuart M. Anderson, Second edition, January 1990. 4 Note: If any questions on the BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Form are modified, the surveys cannot be submitted to the BAAQMD for processing. An employer would need to process the surveys themselves or contract with a third party for processing. 10-4 - Compressed Work Week Schedules November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 11. Home-based Telecommuting Rather than bringing employees to work, why not bring the work to employees? Instead of commuting by car, employees can "commute" by telephone while working at home. Homebased telecommuting is growing in popularity. In 1992 approximately 2.4 million employees nationwide worked at home during business hours as part of their regular work.1 Home-based telecommuting typically involves employees working at home one or more days per week on a regular basis. Telecommuting can work for many types of jobs and tasks and at all levels of a company. In addition to improving VER, telecommuting often increases employee productivity, retention, and morale. - Effect For the purposes of calculating VER, every full day an employee telecommutes from home (or a telecommuting work center) counts as one employee day, but zero vehicle trips. This can make a significant impact. For example, if 25 percent of the employees telecommuted an average of 2 days per week, raw VER could drop by 10 percent. Table I shows the potential drop in raw VER as a result of a certain percentage of employees telecommuting a few days a week.2 Table 1 Percentage Drop in Raw VER from Telecommuting Percent Telecommuting 1 day 2 days 3 days 10% 2% 4% 6% 15% 3% 6% 9% 20% 4% 8% 12% 25% 5% 10% 15% 30% 6% 12% 18% 40% 8% 16% 24% An estimated 45 percent of the labor force are potential telecommutes.3 Many types of job tasks are suitable for telecommuting, as shown in Table 2, though this list is not exhaustive.4 A survey of 16 employers with existing telecommuting programs found that participants telecommuted an average of 1.8 days per week.5 Another nationwide survey found that 41 percent of telecommuters work at home one day a week and 38 percent work at home 2 days per week.6 Table 2 Job Tasks Suitable for Telecommuting Writing Reading Research Thinking Editing Data entry Data processing Data coding Phone work Telecommuting can have many other benefits: - Increased productivity - Reduced absenteeism - Reduced office space needs - Decreased turnover - Decreased recruiting and retraining costs - Increased morale - Greater ability to recruit employees Part-time telecommuting can be an excellent option for physically-challenged employees. In addition, after an earthquake or other natural disaster, telecommuting can help get a company back to work if its building was damaged or if damage to highways, bridges, and transit lines prevents employees from getting to work. Telecommuting proved its effectiveness in this manner after the Loma Preita earthquake in 1989. November 1993 Home-Based Telecommuting - 11-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Costs The primary costs to the employer to implement a telecommuting program include: - staff time for design, oversight, and evaluation - training telecommuters, supervisors, and managers - equipment purchase or lease (phones, computers, fax machines, etc.) - phone costs Equipment needs will depend upon the employee and their job. In many cases employees have all the necessary equipment at home already. In other cases, employees may be willing to pay for all or part of the equipment costs in exchange for the benefits of telecommuting and personal use of the equipment (e.g. a computer) at other times. Employers could arrange for discounts through dealers or vendors. A pool of portable laptop computers for all telecommuters may be an option as well. Only frequent telecommuters and those who use the phone extensively (particularly with a modem) may need a second phone line. A national survey of telecommuters found that only 26 percent use more than one phone line, 16 percent use modems, and 7 percent use a fax machine. The survey also found that 36 percent of telecommuters own personal computers and over 46 percent use PCs.7 Start up costs per telecommuter can be as low as $0 to $50 for a telecommuter who only needs office supplies and maybe an answering machine and can use their existing phone. Start-up costs for employees that need computer equipment may be $1,500 to $3,000. On the high end, costs could be $3,000 to $8,500 for computer equipment, modem, software, fax machine, a second phone line, and more.8 Monthly costs will largely depend upon the amount of phone charges. Costs could range from next to nothing to $200 per month in overhead and services.9 Telecommuting can reduce costs to employers. Many organizations find that telecommuting increases productivity. Reported productivity increases often average from 10 to 20 percent and can be as high as 40 percent.10 The monetary benefits of these improvements are difficult to quantify, but are significant. Some telecommuting programs can result in reduced office space requirements, perhaps savings from $1,500 to $6,000 per year. Telecommuting can improve employee retention, which can save employers money. The cost of recruiting and training a new employee may range from $20,000 to $25,000 and can be significantly higher for some professions, such as skilled programmer.11 Pacific Bell has reported that telecommuters are absent 25 percent less often than employees working in their downtown offices, and the State of California telecommuting project found that telecommuters used 1.1 fewer days of sick leave over a year. 12 - Examples Pacific Bell has an extensive telecommuting program. The company has had a formal telecommuting policy for over five years and about 10-15 percent of its management work force telecommutes on a regular basis. At its San Ramon site over 400 of the 7,500 employees telecommute. Depending upon the situation, the company may provide the telecommuter with an extra phone line, software, or a computer (often one that has been redeployed from the work site). Calling cards and toll free phone lines are also used by telecommuters and phone costs are reimbursed. Given the nature of their business, employees at Apple Computer are naturals for telecommuting. About one-quarter of the 6,000 employees in the Silicon Valley have been telecommuting. Arrangements are made between the employee and the supervisor. A study of 65 employees and 11-2 - Home-based Telecommuting November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 39 of their managers found that, while nearly half the managers had reservations prior to telecommuting, 81 percent intend to continue telecommuting in their department. Most of the telecommuters felt that their productivity increased as a result. - Steps to Implement Employers may want to start by implementing a pilot telecommuting program. Listed below are suggested steps.13 1 . Prepare a telecommuting proposal and obtain management support. To help prepare the proposal, establish an implementation committee and define pilot program parameters. Be sure to involve unions and employee associations in this process. 2. Develop a telecommuting policy and agreement for the organization. As part of the policy, develop selection criteria for participants and evaluation criteria. Determine equipment and technology needs and develop resource and reference material. 3. Recruit participants. Include telecommuters and their supervisors. If this is a pilot project that will be evaluated, select a control group to use as a basis for comparison. 4. Train telecommuters and supervisors. Training is important to help ensure a successful program. Outside firms are often available to provide training. 5. Evaluate the pilot program Administer a pre- and post- telecommuting evaluation on telecommuters and the control group. The evaluation can include written surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Analyze and prepare the results of the evaluation and present to management. 6. Obtain approval from management to expand and formalize the program Begin implementation throughout the entire organization. 7. Monitor the program and make adjustments where necessary. - Resources Telecommuting: A Handbook to Help You Set Up a Program at Your Company is an excellent resource. The handbook covers all essential topics and includes a sample telecommuting policy and agreement. Available from Commuter Transportation Services 213-380-7750. Pacific Bell offers many free services to employers setting up telecommuting programs, including The Telecommuting Resource Guide, workshops, and one-on-one consultations. Contact the Pacific Bell Telecommuting Hotline 800-919-TIME (8463). New Ways to Work is an organization that helps set up programs and acts as a clearinghouse regarding telecommuting and other alternative work arrangements. 415-995-9860. Telecommuting: How to Make it Work for You and Your Company, Gil Gordon and Marcia Kelly (Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1986). Available from Gil Gordon Associates, 908-329-2266. The Telecommuting Review: The Gordon Report is a monthly periodical. Available from Telespan Publishing Corporation, 50 W. Palm St., Altadena, CA 91101. RIDES for Bay Area Commuters offers two fact sheets: How to Start a Telecommuting Program and Facts about Telecommuting. 800-755-POOL or 415-861-POOL. The Institute for the Study of Distributed Work promotes the expansion of telecommuting through research and has November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Home-based Telecommuting - 11-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs worked with large employers to evaluate telecommuting programs and impacts. 510-834-1484. BayTAC (Bay Area Telecommunications Advocacy Coalition) offers information and assistance to employers. 510-937-0987 - Related Measures None TELECOMMUTING WORK CENTERS For some employers and employees, working at home may not be feasible or effective. A telecommuting work center may be an option. Centers usually include standard office equipment (copy machine, fax, computers, etc.), have space for multiple workers from one or more employers, and may have a receptionist or clerical staff available. The center may be linked to the main office via modem. Centers should be located close to employees residences, to reduce the commute time and distance significantly. Ideally, employees should be able to walk, bike, or use local transit to get to the center. Like home-based telecommuters, employees would use the center on a regular basis one or more days per week. Employers may feel more comfortable with telecommuters working at a center as opposed to home. Special equipment may be available at the center that could not be provided at home. Some employees may like working at a center better than home to avoid isolation or distractions. Centers are sometimes establish by a single employer for their exclusive use. These are usually referred to as satellite offices. However, in some places centers are opened with the help of local governments and private interests and any employer may use the center. Fees are usually charged for use of the space. The impacts on VER from using a telecommuting work center instead of home-based telecommuting would be the same. Each day an employee works at a telecommuting work center counts as one employee day and zero vehicle trips, The Institute for the Study of Distributed Work (ISDVV) is working with the Santa Cruz Redevelopment Agency to establish a center in Santa Cruz, targeting employees who work in the Silicon Valley and live in the Santa Cruz area. (Contact ISDW 510-834-1484) __________________________ Notes: 1 LINK Resources annual "National Work-at-Home Survey" as cited in U.S. Department of Transportation, Transportation Implications of Telecommuting, April 1993. 2 The example and table assume that all employees work five days per week and telecommuters use the same commute modes as other employees. 3 U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Transportation Implications of Telecommuting, April 1993. 4 Developed from Commuter Transportation Services, Inc., Telecommuting A Handbook to Help You Set Up a Program at Your Company, 1993. 5 Rathbone, Daniel B, "Telecommuting in the United States," ITE Journal, December 1992. 6 RIDES, Facts about Telecommuting, January 1992, citing Urban Transportation Monitor. 11-4 - Home-based Telecommuting November 1993 (Revised 8/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs __________________________ Notes (cont.): 7 U.S. DOT, April 1993, op. cit. 8 Commuter Transportation Services, Inc., Telecommuting A Handbook to Help You Set Up a Program at Your Company, 1993. 9 U.S. DOT, April 1993, op. cit. 10 U.S. DOT, April 1993, op. cit. 11 U.S. DOT, April 1993, op. cit. 12 U.S. DOT, April 1993, op. cit. 13 Adapted from Pacific Bell, The Telecommuting Resource Guide, 1990. November 1993 Home-based Telecommuting - 11-5 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 12. Bicycle Parking Employees who ride their bikes to work need a secure place to store the bike during the work day. Without secure parking, employees are less likely to bicycle to work. Secure parking can include the following: - racks - lockers - enclosed and covered parking areas - bicycle access to building interior - Effect Secure bicycle parking is essential to promote bicycle commuting. There are no estimates of how the provision of bicycle parking alone will reduce commute trips. But without it, any significant level of bicycling is unlikely. Employees who live within 5 miles of the work site are the most likely to bicycle to work, though some avid cyclists and fitness enthusiasts will cycle further. In the Bay Area, 35 percent of commuters live within 5 miles of work.1 This number will vary by work site, but it does indicate a high potential for cycling, particularly in cities with bikes lanes and paths and other support facilities. For example, about 20 percent of the employees at Xerox in Palo Alto bike to work (see Examples). Employees could also bicycle to work and carpool home with another employee, using a folding bicycle rack to transport their bike. Some work sites may not have safe bicycle access. If this is the case and you think there is a potential for bicycling, work with the city or county to improve safety and access prior to starting a bicycle program. - Costs High quality bicycle racks may cost from $50 to $500 per space, not including installation. Lockers cost about $1,300 - $1,500 and up for a double unit, not including installations Using an existing interior space such as an unused storage room with limited access (only to cyclists), will involve little cost but may not be as convenient as racks or lockers. Allowing cyclists to store bicycles in their offices, if space permits, will involve no cost. However, this may not be an option for all employees and may pose fire code issues. - Examples Over the past two years, Silicon Graphics (Mountain View) has installed 110 lockers for its 2,700 employees, located throughout their work site. Most of the lockers have waiting lists for users. The lockers are highly visible and painted with attractive graphics and the phone number for company's transportation program. The company also produced a Bike Commute Alternative Guide and has showers and lockers in half of their buildings. As an alternative to lockers, Sun Microsystems built a "bike corral" for employees--a steel enclosure with a roof. The corral accommodates 20-30 bicycles and only cyclists are given the code to the combination lock (push button-type) on the door. The structure cost less than bicycle lockers to install and took up the space of about two and one-half car parking spaces. The ETC can also find out how many employees actually use the parking area by November 1993 Bicycle Parking - 12-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs simply looking in the corral and counting bicycles--whereas exact usage of bicycle lockers is difficult to figure. The structure required city and landlord approval. Sun Microsystems is so pleased that they plan on installing similar corrals in a new facility. - Steps to Implement 1. Determine how much parking is necessary. Use your employee transportation survey to determine how many people live within reasonable bicycling distance (up to 5 miles for most people) and how many expressed an interest in cycling to work. Many cities require bicycle parking at new buildings at an amount proportional to the amount of parking for cars, e.g. 2, 4, or 10 bicycle parking spaces for every 100 auto spaces. 2. Assess what type of parking is necessary and provide a range of options. If adverse weather is an issue (rain or high heat), consider locating parking under cover. The level of security needed will depend upon the location, In some areas, bicycle lockers may be necessary to assure employees of the safety of their bicycle. In other places, high quality racks will suffice. Contact vendors to get specifications and prices. 3. Choose a location. The bicycle parking should be visible and convenient, more convenient than automobile parking. If parking is hidden, avid cyclists will seek it out, but other employees may not consider cycling because they are unaware of the facilities--out of sight, out of mind. Consider security in choosing a location. Lighting should be provided. Allow ample space for access to, from, and between rows of racks or lockers. 4. Involve employees. Current and potential bicyclists are excellent sources of input on the amount, type, and location for your new bike parking. 5. Purchase and install parking. You may need to hire a contractor if in-house resources are not available. Some vendors may provide installation. Check with the city or county to see if any permits are needed, e.g. if new paving is needed for locker installation. 6. Publicize! Hold an event to celebrate the opening of the bicycle parking facilities. Ride a bike to work that day and encourage managers and others to do the same. - Resources The Bicycle Commuting Book by Rob Van der Plas (Bicycle Books, Inc., 1989) explains the advantages of bicycling to work and takes the reader through a step-by-step process--from buying the right bike to proper bicycling attire. Available from RIDES for Bay Area Commuters for $5. 800-755-POOL or 415-861-POOL. Bicycle Parking (6th edition, 1983) by Ellen Fletcher is an excellent source of information on bike parking, and includes an updated list of bicycle parking products. Available from Ellen Fletcher, 777-108 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303, 415-494-8943. The Complete Bicycle Commuter by Hal Zina Bennett (Sierra Club Books, 1982) provides comprehensive advice on bicycle commuting, including choosing a bike, comfort, equipment, safety, maintenance, and a list of manufacturers of equipment. Available from Sierra Club Books (ISBN 0-87156-308-8) 800-935-1056 or 415-923-5500. The Bicyclist's Source book by Michael Leccese and Arlene Plevin (Woodbine House, 199 1) provides information on all aspects of cycling, including commuting, and comprehensive lists of resources. Available in bookstores or from Woodbine House. 800-843-7323. 12-2 - Bicycle Parking November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs Street Smarts, a Guide on How to Ride a Bicycle in Traffic is a useful 40-page booklet published by Rodale Press. 800-441-7761. RIDES for Bay Area Commuters also offers How to Promote Bicycling at your Work Site and Bikes Bikes Bikes a one-page sheet that explains bicycle access on bridges and transit systems throughout the Bay Area and provides resources for additional cycling information. 800-755-POOL or 415-861-POOL. Transportation Alternatives is a New York City-based organization that was instrumental in developing a unique "bike park" for a NYC office building. The unit holds 12 bicycles and consists of a steel framework which supports hooks for hanging bicycles vertically by a wheel. Contact Transportation Alternatives at 92 St. Mark's Place, New York, NY 10009, 212-475-4600. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers a video entitled Bicycling to Work that can be shown to employees. Send a blank cassette to the EPA, c/o Ross Ruske, EN-7F, Washington, DC, 20460. Bicycle organizations: The Regional Bicycle Advisory Committee provides a reference sheet "Bicycle Transportation Resources" that lists organizations and shows where to get guides on bicycle commuting, parking, and safety. 3313 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610, 510-452-1221. The East Bay Bicycle Coalition The Coalition has two East Bay bike maps which are available at bike stores and by direct order. Alex Zuckermann, Map Distributor, 718 Walavista Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610, 510-452-1221. Silicon Valley Bicycle Association, P.O. Box 831, Cupertino, CA 95015-0831, 415-965-8456. Bicycle Federation of America, 1818 R Street N.W., Washington, D.C., 20009, 202-332-6986. The League of American Wheelmen publishes two useful guides: How to Commute by Bicycle--An Employer's Guide, and How to Commute by Bicycle -An Employee's Guide. Each book is $2. 190 W. Ostend St., Suite 120, Baltimore, MD 21230-3755, 410-539-3399. Contact your city or county to find out if they have bicycle maps available. San Mateo County has one available, 800-660-4BUS, as does Santa Clara County, 408-321-2300. - Related Measures 13. Showers & Clothes Lockers 14. Support for Bicyclists & Walkers __________________________ Notes: 1 RIDES for Bay Area Commuters, Inc., Commute Profile '93, August 1993. 2 California Energy Commission, Energy-Aware Planning Guide, 1993 and personal conversation with Julie Kreger, ETC, Silicon Graphics, September 1993. November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Bicycle Parking - 12-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 13. Showers and Clothes Lockers For employees, one of the biggest obstacles to bicycling (and walking) to work is a fear of arriving to work sweaty, with wind- blown hair, or with grease on their cuffs. For women, bicycling in a dress or skirt can be difficult, unsafe, or impossible. However, many employees would like to reap the extra health benefits of bicycling or walking to work if they could clean up and change clothes at work. Providing showers and clothes lockers at the work site can overcome this obstacle. - Effect Showers and lockers could be the key part of a bicycle and walking program at many work sites. However, it is difficult to single out the effects of these support facilities from other bicycle and walking programs. The effect on VER will depend largely upon the work site, commute distances, and employee demographics. Sites most conducive to cycling are located in areas with a network of bike routes and lanes (or a least wide shoulders on roadways) and few steep hills. Younger employees who live within 5 miles of the work site are the most likely to bicycle to work. In the Bay Area, 35 percent of commuters live within 5 miles of work.1 This number will vary by work site, but it does indicate a high potential for cycling. Employees within 1-2 miles are potential walkers. A good program in the right location could shift 5-1 0 percent of the employees to bicycling and walking. If 10 percent of the employees at a work site switched to bicycling and walking an average of 3 days per week as a result of these programs, VER would fall by about 6 percent. A 5 percent shift to bicycling and walking may reduce VER by 3 percent. - Costs Installing new shower and locker facilities at an existing work site can be expensive, averaging $60,000 to $85,000.2 Including such facilities in a new building would cost far less. Many work sites already have a health facility that includes showers and lockers. Employers could allow cyclists and walkers to use these facilities. Arrangements might also be made with nearby private health clubs. - Examples Xerox Research Center (Palo Alto) provides showers, clothes lockers, and towels for cyclists. About 15-20 percent of their 900 employees regularly bicycle to work. Two key factors in this success are that employees have flexible schedules and do not need to adhere to a dress code. Knowing that showers, lockers, and towels are available encourages many cyclists. In addition, bicycle parking is located in secure, well-travelled areas. The ETC often calls upon dedicated cyclists to help convince others to start cycling. An informal club organizes regular rides after work, which has brought in a few new cyclists as well. The program costs very little to maintain. Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (Livermore) provides bicycle racks, showers, and clothes lockers for employees. About 6 percent of the employees bike to work, more than twice the average in Alameda County of 2.5 percent.3 November 1993 Showers and Clothes Lockers - 13-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Steps to Implement 1. Estimate the potential use of showers and lockers. Use the results of the employee transportation survey. In addition to bicyclists and walkers, other employees might use the facilities to exercise during lunch. 2. If facilities already exist, ensure access to cyclists and walkers. If there is a fee to use the fitness center, waive it for employees who commute regularly by bicycle or foot. 3. Cooperate with a nearby health club. If building new showers and lockers is not feasible, check with a nearby health club. They might offer a special deal for use of their shower and locker facilities. The cost to the employer may be far less than installing new facilities. 4. Install showers and lockers. If the demand warrants, contact an architect and contractor to develop plans and a cost estimate for installation. Obtain necessary permits and proceed with installation. 5. Publicize! Whether you install new showers and lockers or allow access to existing or nearby facilities, publicize the program widely. Emphasize the health benefits. Hold a workshop on bicycle accessories and how to fold work clothes to reduce wrinkling. - Resources See Measure #12, Bicycle Parking - Related Measures 6. Incentives 12. Bicycle Parking 14. Support for Bicyclists and Walkers __________________________ Notes: 1 RIDES for Bay Area Commuters, Inc., Commute Profile '93, August 1993. 2 BAAQMD, Socioeconomic Analysis of proposed Regulation 13, Rule I Trip Reduction Requirements for Large Employers, November 6, 1992 and Monarez, Paula, "Getting a Free Ride for Riding Your Bike," San Francisco Chronicle, November 24, 1992. 3 RIDES for Bay Area Commuters, Inc., Commute Profile '93, August 1993. 13-2 - Showers and Clothes Lockers November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 14. Support for Bicyclists and Walkers In addition to providing facilities for employees who bicycle or walk to work--bike parking, showers and clothes lockers-- employers can provide other support services: - Maps with bicycle routes, lanes and paths - Information on safe walking routes (e.g. pedestrian bridges, paths, etc.) - On-site bicycle registration - Tools and air pumps for on-site emergency bicycle repairs - Maintenance and repair instructions or classes - "Buddy" or mentor program to pair experienced bicycle commuters with beginners - Bike to Work day, including competition between departments or employers - Support for bicycling and walking clubs These are just a few ideas. A creative ETC is sure to come up with more. - Effect Support services should be an integral part of any trip reduction program promoting cycling and walking. The effect on VER will depend largely upon the work site and commute distances. Sites most conducive to cycling are located in areas with a network of bike routes and lanes (or at least wide shoulders on roadways) and few steep hills. Employees who live within 5 miles of the work site are the most likely to bicycle to work and those within 1-2 miles are potential walkers. In the Bay Area, 35 percent of commuters live within 5 miles of work.1 This number will vary by work site, but it does indicate a high potential for cycling. Companies can be successful at promoting bicycling and walking. At a company located in Riverside, a city not typically associated with bicycling, 12 percent of the employees bike to work (see Examples). If 10 percent of the employees at a work site switched to bicycling and walking an average of 3 days per week as a result of these programs, VER would be reduced by about 6 percent. - Costs Most of the services listed above are low cost. Bicycle maps are often available from local governments and other organizations. Basic bicycle tools and an air pump should cost under $ 100. Local bike shops or avid employee cyclists may be willing to offer clinics on bicycle maintenance and repair at no cost. Organizing a bike to work event, a buddy program, or clubs also involves few costs, primarily just publicity and prizes, if offered. Prizes might be donated by local merchants. - Examples Competition between employers is an excellent way to get employees motivated-not only to work hard but to bike to work. For Bike to Work Day in 1992 and 1993, Tandem Computers, Apple Computer, and Hewlett Packard--competitors in the computer industry--challenged each other to bike to work. Several employees started cycling regularly as a result. Silicon Graphics and Sun Microsystems also staged a Bike to Work Day challenge with five other Mountain View employers. About 500 employees participated, representing 6.5 percent of all the firms' November 1993 Support for Bicyclists & Walkers a - 14-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs employees--only about I percent of Santa Clara employees usually bike to work. û Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories, located in the hills above Berkeley, installed bike racks on shuffle buses that run between the BART station, campus, and the lab. That way, cyclists could bicycle to the bottom of the hill and hitch a ride up. Hewlett Packard provides a wide variety of services for bicyclists, including an online bicycle news network reaching about 150 employees on their computers. The company also sponsors after work clinics on topics such as how to buy a bicycle for commuting to work, bicycle maintenance, and safety. Equipment is available for emergency bicycle repairs. Tandem Computers is taking advantage of several good bicycle routes near their work site in Cupertino. The company teamed up with nearby Recreational Equipment, Inc., (REI) to offer discounts on bicycle equipment and services. RFl will also provide a technician to do repairs on site. For the serious cyclists, Tandem is designing a company bicycle jersey. Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. (Riverside), a manufacturer of recreational vehicles, implemented an innovative bicycle program called Mud, Sweat and Gears. In addition to providing bicycle lockers, showers, and clothes lockers, the company maintains a bicycle repair shop and sends a vehicle to pick up cyclists with mechanical problems. The company provides mirrors and night lights at no cost, and cyclists who commit to riding three or more days per week receive a free reflective vest and helmet. Participants developed a route map detailing each cyclists' route so they could meet and ride together. The company also purchased bicycles to loan to employees who want to try cycling to work. After a trail period, the employee may purchase the bicycle at a reduced price if he/she commits to cycling 3 days a week. The program is a success- -12 percent of the 600 employees bicycle to work on a regular basis.2 - Steps to Implement 1. Have bike maps and safety information available. Contact your city, county, a local bicycle group or shop to obtain bicycle maps and safety information. Post maps and information along with other ridesharing and transit information. Provide maps upon request and in new employee packets. If -bike routes are limited or unsafe, work with the city to see what improvements might be made. Publish safety and commuting tips in newsletters. 2. Get employees involved. Contact employees who already bike to work to get their input and participation. These cyclists might be willing to start a bike buddies program or a bike club or offer to teach a maintenance and repair class. 3. Contact your local police department to find out how to register bicycles at your work site. 4. Sponsor a Bike and Walk to Work Day. The event could coincide with Beat the Back-Up (September), National Bike to Work Day (May), Clean Air Week (May), or National Employee Health and Fitness Day (May). Create competition and excitement by having departments challenge each other or challenge nearby employers. 5. Integrate bicycling and walking into other programs. If you hold a transportation fair, invite local bike shops and clubs to provide information. Include bicycle and pedestrian commuting information in health and fitness programs. 6. Involve local bike shops and organizations. Bike shops and groups can be a wealth of information and may sponsor events. 14-2 - Support for Bicyclists & Walkers November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Resources See Measure #12, Bicycle Parking The League of American Wheelmen sponsors National Bike Month and Bike to Work Day in May. 190 W. Ostend St., Suite 120, Baltimore, MD 21230-3755, 410-539-3399. - Related Measures 6. Incentives 12. Bicycle Parking 13. Showers and Clothes Lockers __________________________ Notes: 1 RIDES for Bay Area Commuters, Inc., Commute Profile '93, August 1993. 2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Transportation Control Measure Information Documents, prepared by Cambridge Systematics, Inc., March 1992. November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Support for Bicyclists & Walkers - 14-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 15. Shuttles to Transit For work sites located within 2-3 miles of a BART, CalTrain, or light rail station, but not within walking distance, shuttle service may be an option to increase transit use. Shuttles typically operate during the morning and evening commute periods, providing employees a quick and direct connection between the transit station and the work site. Pick-ups and drop-offs are timed to coincide with the transit schedules to reduce waiting periods. Alternatives to shuttle buses or vans include taxi pools and carpools using fleet vehicles. - Effect Shuttles will be most effective in the following cases: - Many employees live along the rail line. - There are no competing bus lines. - The employer offers supportive trip reduction measures, such as on-site transit pass sales,subsidies, and rewards. - Parking is limited in quantity or there is a charge to park at the work site. By getting 5-10 percent of your employees to switch to transit 5 days a week, you could reduce your VER by 5-10 percent as well. Using transit just 3 days a week could reduce VER 3-6 percent. A survey of CalTrain shuttle riders found that 70 percent use the shuttle 5 days a week and 23 percent ride 3 or 4 days per week1 - Costs Implementation costs will depend upon the type and level of service offered and whether the vehicles are purchased or leased. The cost of contracting for shuttle services may average about $40- $80 per hour.2 The yearly costs to operate shuttles serving CalTrain stations range from $32,000 to $167,000, averaging $62,000.3 Costs are usually higher if vehicles are purchased, from $100,000 to over $500,000 per year.4 Vans may be a lower cost option to small buses if the capacity is sufficient. Costs can be shared between employers within a business park. In some cases, matching funds may be available from the city or transit agency. Fares can be charged, but may reduce ridership. Lower cost alternatives to shuttle service may be appropriate for some work sites. For example, the cities of Alameda, Hayward, and Santa Clara allow fleet vehicles to be used as carpools between rail stations and work sites. Employers could also contract with a taxi company to provide service for small groups of employees. A taxi feeder service operated by San Diego Transit costs about $2 per passenger to operate.5 Some employees might use bicycles to travel between the transit station and work, if provided. - Examples Sun Microsystems has four sites in the South Bay area, housing about 7,000 employees, and operates an extensive shuttle system. Five separate shuttle routes connect employees with two CalTrain stations, two BART stations, and Santa Clara light rail stations. About 300 employees use the shuttle system daily, most of whom could not use transit otherwise. To operate the SunWay Shuttle, the company leases 15-passenger vans, contracts for drivers, and administers the program in-house. The shuttles to transit stations are supplemented with a shuttle November 1993 Shuttles to Transit - 15-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs system connecting all of the work sites. Though the transit shuttles are only scheduled to run during the morning and evening peak periods, employees can request rides during the day, if necessary. A larger van is also available for handicapped passengers. The two routes serving CalTrain are shared with other employers as part of the Peninsula Joint Powers Board shuttle program. û Shuttles aren't limited to large companies. Andros Analyzers (Berkeley) employs just over 100 people and chips in with its neighbor Miles Labs (800 employees) to provide a shuttle to BART. New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc (NUMMI) started a shuttle service between the Fremont BART station and their work site using two 14-passenger vans and one back-up van. About 70-75 employees-- who could not use transit to get to work previously--ride the shuttles each day. The service started soon after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 and operates for about three hours in both the morning and evening peak periods. NUMMI owns the vans and contracts for drivers. Prior to starting the service, NUMMI surveyed employees to assess their attitudes and potential use. The company started with vans loaned from General Motors and Toyota to help determine the number and type of vehicles needed prior to making a purchase. The service costs about $60,000 per year to operate, including maintenance and insurance. The ETC at NUMMI advises others to get input from potential users and understand the needs of employees. - Steps to Implement 1. Inventory existing transit service. Locate the nearest rail station. Obtain route maps and schedules to determine where the rail line goes and how often. Check local bus maps and schedules to find existing bus lines that run between the rail station and your work site. If this service is adequate, consider offering free or discounted local bus passes instead of a separate shuttle. 2. Estimate potential ridership. This is the most important step to designing a successful shuttle program. Determine how many people are already using rail transit to get to the work site. How do they get from the station to work? Use the survey or personnel records to estimate the number of employees who live near the rail line. A zip code map is useful for this task. Use the employee transportation survey (Question M on the BAAQMD version) to get a general idea of how many employees want a shuttle. If the demand appears to be high, consider conducting a more detailed survey focusing on shuttle service. Try to estimate how many new transit riders the shuttle will generate. Create an optimistic and a pessimistic estimate of ridership. 3. Work with neighboring employers. For many employers, a shuttle may only be cost effective if several employers pool their resources. If a transportation management association (TMA) exists, the organization can be instrumental in planning and operating a shuttle. 4. Determine what type of service would be provided. How often must the shuttles operate? This will depend upon the transit schedule. Ideally, a bus should be waiting for the train to arrive. How many buses are necessary? In most cases, one or two will be sufficient. What will be the hours of operation? This will depend upon transit and employees work schedules. What route will be used? Will midday shuttles be offered to transit or nearby shopping areas? 5. Evaluate costs. Contact local transit providers, private charter bus operators, and other companies to get cost estimates for a shuttle service. You might also consider purchasing a vehicle and operating the service, however, this may be more expensive and riskier. Another option is to contract for drivers and purchase or lease the vehicles separately. When estimating costs, don't forget promotion, administration, and insurance. Once you get a cost estimate, calculate the average cost per passenger, based upon your high and low ridership figures. Do the calculation with and without existing 15-2 - Shuttles to Transit November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs rail transit riders (if any) to determine the cost per new transit rider. Compare these costs with other trip reduction programs. 6. Explore additional funding sources. Contact your city, county, and transit provider to see if matching funds are available for such a shuttle service. Consider fares as a last resort--they may reduce ridership. 7. Proceed with shuttle service. If the demand is high enough, the program is cost effective, and funds are available, proceed. Several existing and planned shuttle services in the Bay Area expect from 6 to 11 employees per trip, others expect about 300 round-trips per day. In most of these cases, costs are shared between the employers and local governments or transit providers.6 Be sure to implement complementary policies at the same time--on-site transit pass sales, transit subsidies, rewards, etc. And, don't forget to publicize! 8. If shuttles won't work, explore other options. Contact local taxi companies to get estimates for providing taxi-pools. If you have fleet cars available, make them available for carpools to and from the station. This will require some organization, but can be very low cost. Some employees might bicycle between the station and work if a bicycle were available. - Resources RIDES for Bay Area Commuters offers How to Start an Effective Shuttle Service, How to Encourage Your Employees to Use Transit, and The Bay Area Commuter's Survival Guide, which lists all Bay Area transit operators. 800-755-POOL or 415-861-POOL. The Regional Transit Guide (sixth edition) describes services and routes provided by all Bay Area transit operators. The Guide is available through RIDES and selected bookstores and newsstands. You can also order it for $5.30 (including postage and tax) from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, MTC Technical Services, MetroCenter, 101 Eighth Street, Oakland, CA 94607. 510-464-7738. The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (CalTrain operator) provides matching funds for shuttles between CalTrain stations and employment sites. The availability of funds and application process may vary each year. Contact Jim Dehart 415-508-6227. The Santa Clara County Transportation Agency (SCCTA) also has a shuttle program to help connect work sites in the county with light rail and CalTrain stations. Up to 25 percent of the cost may be subsidized by the SCCTA. Further information is available from Jim Unites, SCCTA Contract Services Manager 408-321-7032. The BAAQMD (Transportation Fund for Clean Air) provides funding to public agencies. Employers can work with local agencies to develop proposals for local shuttle services from rail stations or ferry terminals. Contact your local city or congestion management agency. - Related Measures 5. Transit Information and Ticket Sales 6. Incentives 16. Midday shuttles November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Shuttles to Transit - 15-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs __________________________ Notes: 1 CalTrain Shuttle Passenger Survey, July 1991. 2 BAAQMD, Socioeconomic Analysis of Proposed Regulation 13, Rule 1, November 6,1992, AB 434 Regional Fund applications for FY 1993- 94, and Workshop on Draft Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs, 10/1 3/93. 3 AB 434 Regional Fund application for FY 1993-94. 4 Higgins, Thomas, "Shuttle Buses: Experience and Planning Implications," Transportation Quarterly, July 1992 and RIDES, "How to Start an Effective Shuttle Service." 5 Higgins, ibid. 6 AB 434 Regional Fund applications for FY 1993-94 and Hooson, Roger, "Evaluation of the CalTrain Feeder Shuttle Program Serving Suburban Workplaces," Transportation Research Record 1308, 1991. 15-4 - Shuttles to Transit November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 16. Midday Shuttles A shuttle between multiple work sites eliminates the need for an employee to use an automobile for this purpose. Thus, that employee is free to use an alternative mode to commute to work. Additionally, shuttles to nearby shopping and eating establishments eliminate the need for employees to drive their cars during the work day. - Effect Providing a shuttle between multiple work sites or to shopping and dining areas at lunch will indirectly improve your VER by eliminating one of the reasons employees are reluctant to use a commute alternative. The results of attitudinal questions on the employee transportation survey, or an informal poll of employees can be used to estimate the effectiveness that providing a shuttle will have in improving VER. Regardless of improvement in VER, providing a shuttle will contribute to cleaner air, as employees will not need to drive off site during lunchtime or use their personal cars to travel to other work sites. - Costs Starting a shuttle program from scratch has potentially high costs. RIDES for Bay Area Commuters estimates a range of $50,000 to $500,000 per year. The typical cost for a medium-sized shuttle with two leased vehicles is approximately $120,000 $150,000 per year.1 Costs would include purchase/lease of a shuttle or contracting with a service provider, insurance and operation costs. Smaller employers may be able to reduce costs by developing a joint shuttle with neighboring employers. Also, some larger shopping areas may be willing to share the cost of a shuttle as they benefit from having the employees taken to their establishments. For those employers that already have shuttle service to and from transit stations during commute hours, providing this additional shuttle service would be less expensive. Additional factors that affect cost include the route location and length--the more congested and longer the shuttle route, the higher the cost. - Examples What would you do if you had three separate work sites, one of which was a mile long? That's right, you'd operate a shuttle system to transport the employees during the day. That's what FMC Corporation does at its three work sites and 2,200 employees in Santa Clara and San Jose. The three shuttle vans they operate transport employees between and within the work sites, as well to and from a nearby CalTrain Station during the commute hours. The total annual cost for the shuttle operation is $153,000, including operation, maintenance and administrative expenditures. In Redwood Shores, Oracle teamed with its neighbor, Hillsdale Shopping Center to provide shuttle service to the mail between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Users of the shuttle were given various token Gifts and discounts from merchants at the mail to encourage ridership. November 1993 Midday Shuttles - 16-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Steps to Implement I. Inventory existing transit service. Some work sites may already have shuttle service to get employees to and from transit stations; operating these shuttles during lunch hours or between work sites would be a natural extension of the service. Also, check existing bus lines near the work site--they may already provide service to nearby shopping and eating areas, or to your other work sites. 2. Estimate potential ridership. Survey employees to determine how many employees would use a shuttle to nearby shopping areas or to other work sites. 3. Work with neighboring employers. Check with neighboring employers to determine their interest in midday shuttle services. Transportation Management Associations or business park owners should also be consulted. 4. Determine what type of service would be provided. Go over potential routes for shuttles and the length of time the service will need to operate. This will determine the number of shuttles you will need. If you're providing a lunchtime service, remember that timing of the shuttles will be important. 5. Evaluate costs. Local transit providers and private charter bus companies can give you cost estimates for providing shuttle service, or you could investigate purchasing a shuttle bus. Be sure to include costs for promotion of the service, administration, and if you are purchasing a shuttle bus, insurance. 6. Explore additional funding sources. Your city, county or transit provider may have matching funds available. For lunchtime shuttles, only consider fares as a last reason, as they may reduce ridership. 7. Proceed with shuttle service. If demand is high enough and resources are available, proceed with the service. Publicizing the service will be important to gain and maintain ridership levels. 8. If shuttles don't work, explore other options. Taxipools, fleet cars and bicycles are other lower-cost options that can be provided to employees if the shuttle service doesn't work or if the demand does not warrant a shuttle service. See The Bike Shuttle box. THE BIKE SHUTTLE The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore is a big place. The campus is about one square mile, and there are 10,000 employees. The problem: getting employees from one building to another. The solution: bicycles. The Lab purchased 750 bicycles for employees to use to tranverse the campus. Bicycles can be found outside most buildings. Any employee can just pick one up (they're not locked) and ride to another area of the campus when necessary. If a bicycle isn't working or breaks down, an employee simply turns it upside down. The fleet management department picks up all upside down bicycles for servicing. 16-2 - Midday Shuttles November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Resources RIDES for Bay Area Commuters offers How to Start an Effective Shuttle Service and The Bay Area Commuter's Survival Guide, which lists all Bay Area transit operators. 800-755-POOL The Regional Transit Guide describes service and routes provided by all Bay Area transit operators. The Guide is available through RIDES and selected bookstores and newsstands. You can also order it for $5.30 (including postage and tax) from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, MTC Technical Services, MetroCenter, 101 Eighth Street, Oakland, CA 94607. 510-464-7700. - Related Measures 15. Shuttles to Transit __________________________ - Notes: 1 RIDES for Bay Area Commuters, Inc., How to Start an Effective Shuttle Service, July 1993. November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Midday Shuttles - 16-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 17. On-Site Services Many employees drive their car to work because they run errands during lunch or on the way to or from work. To help these employees get out of their cars and into alternative commute modes, try providing on-site services. If services such as a cafeteria, ATMS, apparel cleaning, postal services, a health club and other conveniences are provided on site, using an alternative commute mode becomes more viable for employees. Large employers often have enough employees at the work site to support such services. For smaller employers, services could be provided by teaming up with neighboring employers. An alternative for both large and small employers is to negotiate with local merchants to provide pick-up and delivery, e.g. for dry cleaning or photo developing. If it's not feasible to provide on-site services at your work site, persuade your employees to have just one or two "errand days" during the week. On errand days the employees drive to work, and the other days the employees can use commute alternatives. - Effect Providing on-site services does not directly improve your VER; however, they may eliminate one of the reasons employees are reluctant to use a commute alternative. The results of attitudinal questions on the employee transportation survey, or an informal poll of employees can be used to estimate the effectiveness that providing on-site services will have in improving VER. When employees in Santa Clara County were surveyed about the difficulties in sharing a ride or using transit to get to work, nearly one-third cited the need to have a car for personal business. Regardless of the improvement in VER, providing on-site services will contribute to cleaner air, as employees, even if they drove to work, are less likely to drive off site during lunchtime. - Costs Many on-site services can be provided at little or no cost to the employer by using private vendors or by recovering costs through employee purchases. Other services may require some financial commitment from the employer, perhaps through donating space for merchants or guaranteeing a minimum level of business. The implementation costs depend upon the service provided, the operator of the service and the expected usage. Some companies may be willing to locate a service on the employment site or provide pick-up and delivery service if enough employees will use the service. Other services may need to be subsidized. Survey employees first about the types of services they believe they would use frequently. Smaller employers that do not have the resources to arrange for on-site services or have an abundance of services in nearby areas could produce a directory and map of services within walking distance. The employer should contact local merchants to negotiate special discounts and get coupons for their employees' use. On-site services can benefit the employer. Keeping employees close to the work site at lunchtime may increase productivity. Employees are less likely to be late getting back from lunch, and lunch breaks won't be stressful from driving. Furthermore, onsite services make the work site more attractive to potential employees. November 1993 On-Site Services - 17-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Examples It's just like going downtown. Every service that you need is right there--dry cleaning, food service, a fitness center, photo finishing, a coffee shop, and even a lube and oil change service for cars. But this isn't downtown, it's the SRI International work site in Menlo Park. Employees enjoy the convenience of having all these services at the work site. Therefore, there's no need to use a car to go off the work site during lunch or to run errands after work. If you're thinking that it costs SRI a lot of money to have these services provided to employees at the work site, think again! SRI actually makes a small profit off some of the services provided. In many cases, the vendor providing the service agrees to pass a portion of the receipts to SRI, usually 5 to 10 percent. Be cautious, though. The ETC at SRI recommends that you not take a percentage of any vendor's revenues until you're certain that vendor will provide the quality of service your employees deserve. The ETC recommends that you check the references of any vendor that you consider using to provide services at the work site. At Oracle in Redwood Shores, where employees have on-site access to dry cleaning, an ATM, auto detailing service, photo service, and floral service, the ETC used a request for proposals process to decide on vendors. The ETC recommends that you and the vendor agree on the vendor's policies toward returns, cancelled checks and other problems that may arise. The ETC says it's important to manage the vendors to ensure the service meets high quality standards, and if s also important to promote the service they're providing. - Steps to Implement 1. Identify services desired by employees. Poll your employees, especially those that drive to work alone, to determine the types of on-site services that would make it easier for them to leave their auto at home. 2. Identify service providers. Many times, your employees can suggest merchants in the area that could provide effective on-site services at your site. If that doesn't work, contact local merchants in your area that offer the types of services your employees desire or issue a request for proposals to provide service. You can also solicit requests for services through the newspaper, or contact the local chamber of commerce for a list of businesses that provide the desired service. 3. Estimate expected usage. You should be able to estimate the amount of usage expected from your employees. Informal surveys or focus groups are particularly useful. 4. Make arrangements for service. Negotiate with service providers to obtain the services you desire. The negotiation should include all aspects of the service, including price, handling customer complaints and other issues, such as the handling of bounced checks or non-payment for services. 5. Review service effectiveness. Periodically review the on- site services you provide to determine how well the service is meeting the needs of your employees. You should consider polling those employees that previously drove alone to determine if the provision of on-site services resulted in a change in their commute behavior. 17-2 - On-Site Services November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Resources Your local Chamber of Commerce can be of assistance in finding local merchants to provide on-site, or pick-up and delivery, services. Reducing Lunchtime Automobile Trips: A Guide for Santa Clara County Employers, is available from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's Public Information Office. The guide includes a comprehensive list 'of services that an employer could offer at its work site. 415-749-4900 - Related Measures 16. Midday Shuttles CHILDREN OF THE COMMUTE Nearly 9 percent of all Bay Area commuters drop a child off at day care prior to coming to work.2 In many cases, these employees believe they have no choice but to drive alone to work. Until recently, not many people realized the link between child ca and an employee's choice of commute mode. To counter the trend of solo driving parents, some transit agencies and pioneering developers have started to offer child care at or adjacent to transit stations. Also, employers can offer child care at or near the work site. (if a child is in an employee's car for the majority of the commute distance, that employee is given credit for carpooling in the calculation of VER). Contra Costa Centre, an office and residential development near the Pleasant Hill BART Station, includes a child care center. Both office workers and those living in the residential portions of the development may use the child care center. Employees that work at the center can take BART to work with their child and then drop the child off at child care. Those residents of Contra Costa Centre that work elsewhere can take a short walk to the BART station, drop off the kids and hop on the train. The idea is to reduce the time parents spend on the road as well as to induce them to use public transit. The Santa Clara Transportation Agency estimates that a child care center will be open in summer of 1995 at its Tamien Light Rail Station. Parents will be able to drop off their kids and then hop on transit for the commute to work. Child care at transit stations is not just a local phenomena. Many transit agencies are willing to locate child care centers on transit agency property as a way to boost ridership. In San Diego, a local developer built a child care center on transit district land at a stop of the San Diego Trolley. A non-profit child care group rents the facility for $1 a year.3 Encourage your transit providers to consider child care at their transit stations. __________________________ - Notes: 1 BAAQMD Santa Clara County Resources Team, "Reducing Lunchtime Automobile Trips: A Guide for Santa Clara County Employers, 'July, 1993 2 RIDES for Bay Area Commuters, Inc., Commute Profile '93, August 1993. 3 Jamison, Laura, Childcare: Transportation Issue of the '90s, TransActions, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, June 1990. November 1993 On-Site Services - 17-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 18. Site Modifications Sometimes a physical change is needed to persuade employees to use commute alternatives. Some work sites have physical barriers that prevent or dissuade employees from utilizing commute alternatives. Barriers may include fences, parking lots or other features that require transit users, pedestrians and bicyclists to travel extra distances on convoluted routes, or in an unsafe manner to get to the work site. An employer could modify its work site to eliminate such barriers and thus encourage walking, biking or transit. Such modifications might include: - putting gates in existing fences to allow more access points to the work site - bridges over drainage areas, allowing a new access route to a work site - pedestrian and bicyclist improvements, including direct routes through parking lots, covered walkways and extra lighting - connecting adjacent bicycle paths to the work site - sheltered bus stops at or near the work site - Effect The effectiveness of a site modification depends on the extent that the physical barrier prevents or discourages employees from using a commute alternative. By modifying the site to make an alternative commute mode more attractive and practical, employees may switch from driving alone, thus improving VER. Results from an attitudinal question on the employee transportation survey or tracking of complaints from employees could be used to estimate the expected benefit from a site modification. Because most site modifications would encourage use of alternative commute modes that result in zero vehicle trips (walking, biking and transit), the improvement in VER is maximized. - Costs The cost of a site modification depends on the nature of the modification. Some may be relatively simple, such as installing an employee gate in an existing fence near a transit station or bike path. Others may be more expensive, including redesigning a parking lot layout to make it more pedestrian- and bicycle- friendly. Employers considering site modifications should consult with nearby employers, local transit agencies and public works departments. Some modifications may already be planned, and an employer could arrange to share the cost of an improvement with a public agency or with another employer. - Examples At NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, several employees approached the employee transportation coordinator regarding bicycle access to the work site. The new Stevens Creek Bicycle Trail ran immediately north of the work site. However, in order to access the NASA Ames work site, bikers using the trail would need to ride on busy Moffett Boulevard. To remedy the problem, the ETC convinced management to install a gate that would allow employees access to the work site directly from the bike trail. Management was convinced to install the gate because of the ETC's persistence and the results of a survey where 230 employees said they would use the gate for bicycle commuting, and another 370 November 1993 Site Modifications - 18-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs employees said they would use the gate to access nearby Shoreline Park at lunchtime. At Intel in Santa Clara, sidewalks and crosswalks were installed at various locations around the work site during an expansion, making the work site more pedestrian friendly. - Steps to Implement 1. Determine necessary modifications through survey of employees or employee suggestions. The BAAQMD employee transportation survey includes a set of attitudinal questions to gauge why employees that drive alone to work do not use a commute alternative. The responses to these questions may help you identify necessary site modifications. Also, an informal survey of employees or an employee complaint/suggestion box could assist you in determining if any site modifications are necessary. It is also helpful to review the commute mode data gained from the employee transportation survey. For example, if you have a number of employees within biking distance (0-5 miles), but none of your employees bike, perhaps it's because of the physical characteristics of the work site. A special survey of those employees within biking distance could determine if that's the case. Another effective method for determining modifications is to get out and walk and bike around the site yourself. Imagine yourself as a commuter in the morning and evening and determine what obstacles exist. Then determine what can be done to lessen or remove the obstacles. Also, sit and observe the entrance to your main buildings, watching the flow of all traffic (cars, bikes, walkers)--their patterns can indicate site modification needs. 2. Determine expected effectiveness of modification. Before proceeding with a modification, it's important to know the benefits that would result: How many employees might switch to an alternative mode as a result of the modification? 3. Determine if any permits/approvals are necessary for modification prior to proceeding. Check with building owners, local government, utility companies and others as necessary to determine if any permits or approvals are required to implement the proposed site modification. 4. Identify costs associated with modifications. Determine labor, construction and maintenance costs for the modification. 5. Gain management support (show cost effectiveness). Present management with the proposed modification. Identify the costs and required approvals up front, and be prepared to sell the idea based upon the expected benefits. - Resources Contact your city's public works department. Often they will have suggestions on appropriate modifications at or near the work site. - Related Measures 3. Preferential parking 12. Bicycle Parking 13. Showers and Clothes Lockers 18-2 - Site Modifications November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 19. Clean Fuel Vehicles Do you have employees at your work site that are interested in commuting to work in clean fuel vehicles (e.g. electric, compressed natural gas, propane or flexible-fuel vehicles)? If you do, you can spur those employees into action by: - providing refueling or recharging facilities at the work site. - subsidizing or reimbursing employee purchase of clean fuel vehicles. - providing preferential parking for clean fuel vehicles. If an employee commutes to work in a clean fuel vehicle, you'll get credit toward achieving your VER objective. Refueling facilities could include compressed natural gas, propane or a flexible fuel mixture, such as methanol. For electric vehicles, recharge facilities are needed. Installing refueling or recharging facilities is a particularly viable option for employers that operate company vehicle fleets. Such employers should consider converting the fleet to clean fuel vehicles. Then, if fleet vehicles are used for employee commutes, they also receive VER credit. In the coming years, State legislation requires that a certain percentage of major manufacturer vehicles sold in California be powered by clean fuels. Currently, kits to convert gasoline powered cars to alternative fuels are commercially available. Vendors are available to complete the conversion. - Effect To the extent that you can determine the number of employees that would commute in clean fuel vehicles, it is easy to estimate the effectiveness of the refueling/recharging facilities or purchase subsidies in improving VER. The rule provides credits for employees that commute in clean fuel vehicles as specified in Table 1. Table 1 Vehicle Trip Credit for Alternative Fuels Employee Commutes in: Counted as: Employee vehicle 0.00 vehicle trip Compressed natural gas vehicle 0.25 vehicle trip Propane vehicle 0.50 vehicle trip Dual or flexible fueled vehicle 0.75 vehicle trip - Costs The costs associated with supporting clean fuel vehicle commutes varies depending on the incentive offered. Signs to designate preferential parking spaces for clean fuel vehicles can be made at minimal costs. Information on the purchase of clean fuel vehicles is available at little or no cost and can be distributed to employees (see Resources). A more costly option is to subsidize the cost of converting a gasoline powered vehicle to run on a clean fuel. To limit costs, employers may choose to subsidize only a portion of the cost of a clean fuel vehicle conversion. Employers with clean fuel vehicle fleets could allow employees to use those vehicles for commuting; the costs would be the accelerated depreciation of the vehicle and additional maintenance costs. Currently, there are both federal and California tax credits and other incentives available for the purchase of certain clean fuel vehicles. See Resources for more information. November 1993 Clean Fuel Vehicles - 19-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Examples Imagine never having to pay for gasoline again. At Hewlett Packard in Palo Alto, four employees commute to work in electric vehicles. These employees are allowed to re-charge the batteries in their electric vehicles from Hewlett Packard's power supply. At National Semiconductor in Santa Clara, one employee was so impressed with an electric car he saw at an on-site transportation fair that he went out and converted a gasoline-powered car to electric to use for commuting. National Semiconductor provides him with a parking space close to his building and a plug-in so he can recharge the car's batteries while at work. The employee also was featured in an article in the company newsletter. Electric vehicles are nothing new to National Semiconductor--their maintenance people already use electric golf carts to get around the work site. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) recently purchased four vans to be used by employees for vanpool commuting. These vans were converted to run on natural gas and can be refueled at most of PG&E's work sites. For calculating VER, PG&E ends up with "double credit"--their employees are in a vanpool, and the van is a clean fuel vehicle. - Steps to Implement 1. Identify existing users of clean fuel vehicles. You may already have some employees that use clean fuel vehicles. If so, these employees are likely to be valuable resources for any clean fuel vehicle program you implement at your work site. They may know of other employees at your work site that are interested in clean fuel vehicles. 2. Determine corporate interest in switching to a clean fuel vehicle fleet. Vehicle fleets need to be "turned over" every so often. Discuss with your management the possibility of switching to a clean fuel vehicle fleet. While clean fuel vehicles may cost more than conventional vehicles, often the maintenance cost is less and the vehicles last longer. Explain to management that clean fuel fleet vehicles that are also used for employee commutes will earn credit toward improving the work site's VER. Also, there may be tax credits and other incentives available. 3. Determine employee interest in purchasing or driving clean fuel vehicles. The level of employee interest will assist you in determining the appropriate incentive to offer. If interest is low, merely providing preferential parking for the few employees that are interested in buying a clean fuel vehicle may spur them to action. 4. Determine the type of incentive to offer. The type of incentive should be determined by a combination of employee interest and financial resources. While outright reimbursement for clean fuel vehicle purchases may be infeasible, a partial subsidy program could be implemented. Other incentives are as simple as providing electricity for the recharging of electric car batteries. 19-2 - Clean Fuel Vehicles November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Resources For information on natural gas vehicles, contact any Pacific Gas & Electric office and ask for the Clean Air Vehicle Coordinator. For information regarding current California and federal tax credits and incentives on electric vehicles, contact the California Electric Transportation Coalition in Sacramento. (916) 552-7077 - Related Measures 3. Preferential Parking November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Clean Fuel Vehicles - 19-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs 20. Housing Assistance How people commute depends upon where they live. Employees that live close to the work site may be able to walk, bike or take a short bus ride to the work site, while employees living further away could be encouraged to locate near major transit lines, such as BART, Light Rail or CaLTrain. Employers can facilitate employee use of alternative transportation modes by providing assistance in locating employees homes closer to the work site and/or along transit routes. Housing assistance can be as simple as providing information on housing near the work site. Some employers offer monetary incentives to employees and even participate in housing developments. Employers and local governments can form public- private partnerships to solve jobs/housing balance issues and, in doing so, support broader urban revitalization. Some strategies for financially assisting individual employees include: - Closing Cost Assistance - Down payment Assistance - Group Mortgage Origination - Mortgage Guarantees - Group Mortgage Insurance For those employers located in areas with insufficient or unaffordable housing for their employees, it may be feasible and desirable to assist in the development of housing close to the work site or along nearby transit routes. In return, company employees could receive a reduction in the purchase or rental cost and/or priority in acquiring the new housing. Strategies for increasing housing supply include: - Land (employers sell or offer long term leases) - Direct Cash Assistance - Construction Loan Guarantee - Purchase Guarantee - Master Leases - Housing Trust Funds - Housing Development - Effect Employer-assisted housing is a valuable benefit to employees, and can help an employer recruit and retain employees. Although this approach can have benefits for reducing vehicle trips or commute distance and improving the jobs/housing balance, it is unlikely that an employer would provide housing assistance with the primary motive of improving VER. However, it can be a useful part of a larger employee benefits package. To improve VER, a subsidy can be conditioned on an employee agreement to use alternative commute modes several days per week. November 1993 Housing Assistance - 20-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Costs Merely providing information to employees about housing close to the work site or along transit routes only costs you the time it takes to gather the information. If you offer monetary incentives, costs can be lowered by working with landlords and/or developers to get reduced rents or purchase prices for employees. There is also a return on the investment, as employees are likely to be more productive, and employee retention will improve. There is the potential for employer dollars to help leverage other public and private funding when assistance is directed to lower income households. This is known as public-private partnering. There are many public and private funding sources available that employers, with community assistance, can weave into their housing assistance strategies. Twenty percent of a redevelopment agency's tax increment funds must be spent on affordable housing. Other local agencies manage tax exempt bond programs, Mortgage Credit Certificate programs and HUD- funded Community Development Block Grant and HOME programs. Larger corporations often purchase Low Income Housing Tax Credits. The Federal National Mortgage Association, which provides a secondary market for home loans, has a "Magnet Program" that encourages employer assistance. - Examples As part of a corporate relocation to the East Bay city of Richmond, Berlex BioSciences offered assistance to employees who were affected by the move. For employees whose commutes were lengthened the most, Berlex offered assistance in finding a new home (purchase or rental) in the East Bay. For employees that already owned homes elsewhere, Berlex arranged for low interest loans, and a subsidy to compensate if employees had to make payments on two houses while waiting for the previous house to sell. The University Of California, Berkeley will renovate a high school to create a self-supporting housing development for entry level and newly tenured faculty. The university pursued this development after a study showed declining percentages of faculty living near campus. Faculty will purchase the units, but not the land. Resale prices will be capped to assure affordability to future faculty. - Steps to Implement 1. Determine the type of assistance to offer. In order to realize the desired effect, an employer must determine the incentive(s) employees want and are most-likely to use. This can be done through employee surveys or through an analysis of existing employees, salaries and other factors. Some employers will fare better by offering rent subsidies or negotiating with nearby landlords for lower rents, while others will see more success by offering low-cost loans or group mortgage insurance. 2. Determine target audience and criteria. Assistance could be targeted to lower income employees to help them find housing near the work site. Some employers may want to offer assistance to all employees, regardless of income or home location. Others may want to limit the assistance to newly hired employees. 3. Determine the level of assistance to offer. Based upon a survey of employees or a review of employee information, the employer can determine an appropriate level of 20-2 - Housing Assistance November 1993 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs incentive considering income levels, housing costs and commute patterns. 4. Implement and monitor program Once the assistance program is implemented, survey employees about the importance of residence location in determining commute mode. - Resources Several publications are available that will assist employers with offering housing benefits: Employer-Assisted Housing: A Benefit for the 1990's is available from the American Affordable Housing Institute. (908) 932-6812 "Coming of Age: Employer-Assisted Housing", an article from the Shelter force magazine, is available from the National Housing Institute. (201) 678-31 10. Corporate Housing Action Guide, is available from the Bay Area Council. 415-981-6600. The Federal National Mortgage Association has a "Magnet Program" and other community and neighborhood lending products. (202) 752-7124. For general questions on housing assistance programs and how employers can be involved, contact Gary Hanes at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, San Francisco Regional Office. 415-556-3317. - Related Measures None November 1993 Housing Assistance - 20-3 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs A. Resources for Employers Many resources are available to assist Bay Area employers in developing effective trip reduction programs. The following list focuses on resources and assistance that are available through public agencies and non-profit groups. - RIDES for Bay Area Commuters 800-755-POOL or 415-861-7665 Offers a wide range of services to promote ridesharing in the Bay Area. - Carpool and vanpool matching for commuters - "Commute Info to Go" - promotional events and commuter fairs - Vanpool formation and support - Informational material on Park & Ride lots, HOV lanes, tax credits for ridesharing programs, etc. - Processing and analysis of employee transportation surveys - Information on the Commuter CheckTM transit subsidy program RIDES' Sales Representatives work with employers to market RIDES' services. Call 800-755-POOL to contact the Sales Representative for your county. - Solano Commuter Information 707-447-7665 or 800-53-KMUTE Provides services for Solano employers an commuters to, from, and within Solano County - Ridematching and transit routing - Promotional events and transportation fairs - Vanpool formation and support - Design, processing, and analysis of employee transportation surveys - Employer newsletter - Support for Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Santa Cruz Share-A-Ride 408-429-POOL (General Information) 408-454-3065 (Karena Puchnik, Program Manager) Santa Cruz Share-A-Ride provides personalized carpool matching for commuters. Staff is available to work with employers on forming vanpools and has other information on public transportation, bicycling, park-and-ride lots, and more. November 1993 (Revised 8194) Resources for Employers - A-1 BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Bay Area Air Quality Management District The BAAQMD offers the Clear Choices for Clean Air videotape, as well as brochures entitled True Costs of Driving, and What Can You Do To Help Clean the Air? Each summer the District sponsors a "Spare the Air" program, encouraging residents to avoid unnecessary driving and other polluting activities on days when pollution levels are expected to be high. Employers can participate in the program. Call the BAAQMD Public Information Division at 415-749- 4900. Public Information staff is available for commuter fairs and events and to make other presentations upon request. - Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT) ACT is a nation-wide non-profit organization which promotes the use of transportation demand management (TDM) to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. Act sponsors events, provides information, and publishes a newsletter and TDM Review, a bimonthly journal. The Northern California chapter of ACT publishes a newsletter, holds regular membership meetings with guest speakers, and provides information regarding legislation, marketing and development of trip reduction programs, and career development for TDM professionals. For information about the Northern California chapter, call Eric Wairabenstein at 415-281-4379 or Kathy Gerwig at 510-987-2168. - Berkeley TRIP 510-644-7665 2033 Center Street, Berkeley Provides services for employers and commuters in Berkeley (with focus on downtown Berkeley), including sale of transit tickets and passes, transit schedule and route information, a mobile "Trip mobile," and ridesharing matchlist. - Concord Commute Store 510-825-5688 2222 Saivio Street, Concord Transit ticket sales and transit information Also participates in transportation fairs at work sites in Concord. - Transportation Management Associations (TMAS) Transportation Management Associations are organizations that assist member employers, developers and property managers to develop and implement trip reduction programs. Examples of TMAs in the Bay Area include. Bishop Ranch Transportation Bishop Ranch, San Ramon 510-830-0101 Alameda Chamber TMA City of Alameda 510-522-0414 Contra Costa Centre Association Pleasant Hill BART area Berkeley Gateway TMA West Berkeley 510-525-3122 Hacienda Owners Association Pleasanton 510-463-9040 TMA-SF Downtown San Francisco 415-392-0210 A-2 - Resources for Employers November 1993 (Revised 2/94) BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs - Transit Agencies Alameda/Oakland Ferry Service 510-272-1492 AMTRAK 415-508-2421 800-660-4287 AC Transit 800-559-INFO BART 510-464-7116 BART Express 510-460-0906 Benicia Transit 707-745-0815 CalTrain 415-508-6356 County Connection (Contra Costa Co.) 510-676-7500 Fairfield/Suisun Transit 707-428-7590 Golden Gate Transit 415-257-4549 415-257-4413 Harbor Bay Ferry 510-748-6060 Muni 415-923-6162 Napa City Bus VINE Napa Valley Transit 707-255-7631 Petaluma Transit 707-778-4460 Red & White Ferries 415-546-2800 SamTrans 415-508-6243 Santa Clara Co. Transit 408-321-7505 Santa Rosa Transit 707-543-3333 Sebastopol Transit 707-823-7863 Sonoma County Transit 707-585-7516 Tri-Delta (Antioch, Pittsburg, W. Pittsburg) 510-754-6622 Union City Transit 510-471-1411 Vallejo Ferry 415-546-2800 Vallejo Transit and BART Link 707-648-4666 WestCat (West Contra Costa Co.) 510-724-7993 WHEELSELS and Dial-a-Ride (Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton) 510-455-7500 November 1993 (Revised 8/94) Resources for Employers - A-3 Part III: Workbook - PART III - WORKBOOK - This section is your "workbook." It consists of six worksheets designed to help you analyze your work site, select appropriate measures, and budget, plan, and monitor your trip reduction program. All of these worksheets are optional--use them as you see fit. Feel free to customize the forms to make them most useful and appropriate for your work site and trip reduction program. Worksheet A - Work Site Analysis Form This form will help you to inventory and describe key factors that influence employee commute mode, including parking, transit access, bicycle and pedestrian access, and on-site services. Worksheet B - Vehicle Trip Reduction Worksheet Part I of this form calculates the number of vehicle trips that must be reduced per week in order to reach your VER objective. Part 2 provides a means to allocate the required reduction in vehicle trips among the various potential commute alternatives. Worksheet C - Program Measure Development Form This form provides a means to lay out the implementation steps and schedule for a specific trip reduction measure, and to estimate the staff time, costs and resources associated with each implementation step. Worksheet D - Program Summary and Budget Form This form provides a means to summarize your overall trip reduction program, including the implementation date, staff time, and costs associated with each measure in your program. Worksheet E - Trip Reduction Program Monthly Activity Log This form provides a means to track monthly activity and levels of usage associated with various incentives and services provided by your program. Worksheet F - Employee Log Sheet This form is a prototype form that can be used to track individual employee use of commute alternatives and to determine employee eligibility for any subsidies or rewards that your company offers for the use of commute alternatives. Worksheet A - Work Site Analysis A. Basic Characteristics Describe the basic nature of the work site. Is it located in an urban, suburban, or rural area? Does the work site stand-alone or is it in a multi-tenant building or complex? Describe any factors relating to the location or lay-out of the worksite that inhibit employee use of commute alternatives. Click HERE for graphic. Describe any bottlenecks or persistent choke points on main access routes: Work Site Analysis - A-1 B. Parking Click HERE for graphic. Describe nearest available off-site parking, e.g. on-street parking in adjacent neighborhoods, parking lots of neighboring building, vacant land: Are there any restrictions or controls on the on-street parking? Describe parking charges (if any) for on-site or off-site parking: Describe any subsidy for leased parking spaces: C. Transit Access Describe any transit stops or bus shelters on-site: Describe all transit service within 1/2 mile of work site: Click HERE for graphic. A-2 - Work Site Analysis Shuttles: List any rail stations (BART, Caltrain, or light rail) or ferry terminals within 3 miles of work site. Do local transit buses connect the station(s) to the work site? Describe any shuttles that currently link your work site with the rail station(s) or ferry terminal. Do nearby employers provide shuttles? D. Bicycle and Pedestrian Access Percent of Employees who live within 2 miles of work site: _______% Percent of Employees who live within 5 miles of work site: _______% Describe the conditions for bicycling or walking to the work site, including terrain, road and traffic conditions, and access to the work site. Describe any particular hazards or obstacles that impede pedestrian or bicycle access. Describe any special bicycle lanes or pedestrian walkways. Click HERE for graphic. Work Site Analysis - A-3 E. On-Site Services Which of the following services are provided at your work site? Check the appropriate box--On-site, Within walking distance, or Not available. Click HERE for graphic. F. Additional Characteristics Describe any other relevant characteristics of the work site or the surrounding area that may influence employee commute mode decisions: A-4 - Work Site Analysis Worksheet B- Vehicle Trip Reduction See instructions on back Part 1 - Trip Reduction Target Click HERE for graphic. Part 2 - Projected Reduction in Vehicle Trips Click HERE for graphic. - Instructions The purpose of this worksheet is to help you determine a realistic combination of mode shifts that will achieve the reduction in vehicle trips necessary to reach your VER objective. This information can help you select an appropriate combination of measures to include in your trip reduction program. Part 1 calculates the required reduction in vehicle trips on a weekly basis. Part 2 provides a means for you to work backward to allocate the reduction in vehicle trips among the various commute alternatives. You may wish to adapt this worksheet to a computerized spreadsheet format in order to be able to easily test various combinations of alternative commute modes in Part 2. Part 1: A. Subtract your target VER from your current net VER (as calculated from your most recent employee transportation survey). Your target VER can be either the current VER objective for your zone or the VER objective that will apply in a future year. B. Multiply the VER Gap times the number of peak period employees at the work site to calculate the daily vehicle trip reduction target C. Multiply the daily trip reduction target by 5 to calculate the weekly vehicle trip reduction target. Part 2: Once you have calculated your weekly vehicle trip reduction target in Part 1, use Part 2 to work backward to determine a combination of mode shifts that will produce the required reduction in vehicle trips. Step 1. Column A: For each alternative commute mode, estimate the number of new participants that you expect will switch from driving alone to the alternative mode. In estimating the number of new participants for each mode, you should make realistic estimates based upon the a) the current mode split at your work site, and b) the types of trip reduction measures that you plan to implement. At most work sites, carpooling will be the most popular commute alternative You should take seasonal fluctuations into account. For example, employees are more likely to walk or bicycle in the May through September period than during cooler, darker months. Base your estimates on the conditions that will apply during your survey week. Step 2. Column B. Estimate the average frequency per week that employees will use each commute alternative. This may vary by mode. For example, vanpoolers may ride the vanpool on a full-time basis (5 days per week), whereas bicyclists may ride only 2 or 3 times per week, and telecommuters may telecommute perhaps 1 or 2 days per week Step 3. Multiply the figures in the three columns to calculate the vehicle trips reduced per week for each alternative commute mode: A x B x C = D (vehicle trips reduced per week) [Note: Average number of trips reduced per day for carpool is 0.6; this assumes an average of 2.4 occupants per carpool. Average number of trips reduced per day for vanpool is 0.9; this assumes an average of 10 occupants per vanpool.] Step 4. Tally the figures in Column D (vehicle trips reduced per week). Compare this total to the weekly vehicle trip reduction target from Part 1, Line C. Adjust the vehicle trips reduced for each alternative commute mode until your total estimated reduction in weekly vehicle trips equals or exceeds the weekly vehicle trip reduction target in Part 1. Step 5. Once you have determined a realistic mode shift combination that can achieve the necessary reduction in vehicle trips, you need to put together a package of services and incentives that will facilitate the increase that is needed for each alternative mode Worksheet C- Program Measure Development Form Program Measure: Brief description of program measure: Click HERE for graphic. (See Instructions on back) - Program Measure Development Form Instructions and Suggestions for Use You may use this form to outline the steps you will take in developing a specific program measure for your trip reduction program. The form may also be used to help track progress in the development of the program measure. The program measure name may be the same as the names of the program measures in the Program Guidance document, or another name as appropriate. Space is provided for a brief description of the program measure. In the first column of the table, you should list each of the steps you will take in the development of the program measure. You may use the "Date", "Time", and "Cost" columns to estimate for each step the completion date, staff time and cost, respectively. You may also want to use these columns to track the development of the program measure by filling in the actual completion date, staff time and costs. For many of your program measures, there will a one-time cost and staff-time investment in the development of the program measure, followed by on-going costs and staff times during implementation. For budgeting purposes, you should keep costs and staff time separate for program measure development versus on-going implementation. The Program Summary and Budget Form (Worksheet D) includes separate columns for one-time versus on-going costs and staff time investments. The Program Measure Development Form would provide input for the Program Summary and Budget Form. Worksheet D - Program Summary and Budget Form YEAR:__________________________ Click HERE for graphic. (See Instructions on back) - Program Summary and Budget Form Instructions and Suggestions for Use You may use this form to summarize all of the program measures that are, or will be, implemented during a fiscal or calendar year. In the first column, "Program Measures/Other Items", list each program measure that you will implement during the year. Following the program measures, list other budget items, such as general administration, miscellaneous supplies, training and reproduction/printing. In the "Date Implemented" column, you may keep track of when a program measure will be implemented during the year, or if it is a one-time event, such as a transportation fair, you could note the date of the event. For program measures already implemented, "on- going" would be an appropriate entry. In the third column, "Staff Hours (Development)", you should enter an estimate of the staff time needed to develop each new program measure. You can transfer this information from the Program Measure Development Form. For example, it you are implementing a guaranteed ride home program at your work site in the coming year, it may take 40 hours of staff time to get the program started. The entry under "Staff Time: Development" should be '40'. You may use the "Staff Hours (On-Going)" column to estimate the time that will be spent implementing program measures that have already been developed, or that you will implement, during the coming year. Using the guaranteed ride home program example, it may take you 5 hours per month to run the program once it's implemented. Therefore, you would enter 5 hours/month, or 60 hours for the year in the "Staff Time: On-Going" column. In the fifth column, "Capital Costs", you can list capital costs for the year, such as bicycle locker purchases or preferential parking signs. The sixth column, "Development Costs" should be used for any one-time costs associated with the development of a program measure, such as document printing or consulting services. You should not list recurring costs in these columns. You may use the "On-Going Costs (Annualized)" column to estimate costs associated with the implementation of program measures during the year. For example, your guaranteed ride home program may cost $1200 a year to run; the $1200 expense results from employees using the service. This figure should be entered in the "On-Going Costs (Annualized)" column. This column should also be used to estimate any other costs not associated with a particular program measure, but with a trip reduction program as a whole. These costs might include overhead, general supplies and other general items. Worksheet E- Trip Reduction Program Monthly Activity Log Month:___________ Financial Subsidies Click HERE for graphic. Parking/Transportation Allowance (Parking Cash-out) Click HERE for graphic. Transit Passes Sold Click HERE for graphic. Guaranteed Ride Home Click HERE for graphic. Trip Reduction Program Monthly Activity Log - E-1 Carpool & Vanpool Activities # Registered Carpools _________ # Ridematching Requests __________ # New Carpools Formed _________ # New Vanpools Formed ____________ Total Carpool Members _________ # Vanpool (Total) ________________ Total Vanpool Occupants __________ Special carpool/vanpool activities (describe): New Employee Orientations # of Presentations --------- # Employees Attended __________ Marketing and Promotional Activities (Events, Fairs, Outreach, etc.) Click HERE for graphic. E-2 - Trip Reduction Program Monthly Activity Log Worksheet F - Employee Log Sheet Name:________________ Employee I.D.:_____________ Month:___________ In the table below, indicate how you traveled to work each day during the month by entering the appropriate travel code. If you did not travel to work on any day, indicate by using a non-travel code. Please enter a code for each day. Travel Codes DA = Drive alone (car, motorcycle, scooter, moped, etc) CP = Carpool VP = Vanpool PT = Public Transit (bus, rail, ferry) BP = Buspool/Club bus BK = Bike (non-motorized) WK = Walk Non-Travel Codes CO = Compressed work week day off TE = Telecommute LV = Vacation/holiday/sick/jury NS = Not scheduled to work OS = Work/Travel Off-site Click HERE for graphic. Incentive Eligibility (Check your level of participation) EXAMPLE: ___________ I used an alternative mode* fewer than ___ days this month. Therefore, I am not eligible to receive any transportation bonus. ___________ I used an alternative mode* ____ or more days this month. Therefore, I am eligible to receive a $_____transportation bonus. *Alternative modes include: CP, VP, PT, BP, BK, WK, and TE I certify that the above information is true and accurate. I understand that deliberate falsification of this information will be cause for ... (complete as applicable). Signature:_____________________________ Date: ________________
