Help Employees Beat the Commute
Offering a commute program can improve employee recruitment, retention, and productivity, and is an easy low-cost addition to an employee benefit package. Commute programs also help reduce emissions and greenhouse gases, which can help boost a company’s profile as a green business. What are you waiting for? Create an employee commute program today!
Commute Program Elements
Not all ideas or strategies will work for every organization, but typical commute programs include a range of parking programs, electric vehicle charging stations, carpooling and ride share promotions, biking amenities, telework and flex schedule options, and transit promotions and incentives. The Transportation Authority of Marin provides an emergency ride home program for all employees that choose to commute by walking, bike, transit, or ridesharing.
Depending on the size of your company, scheduling needs, and where employees live, approaches will vary to meet specific needs. A good first step in developing a commute program is to survey your employees to understand their current commute patterns and needs. If you’re not sure where to start, check out these sample commute surveys that 511.org provides to help your company get started. Click here to learn more about measures and strategies to consider as you design your program. Once you’ve put your program together, check out these tips on promotion to make sure that you get the most out of it, and share the handouts below with your employees!
511 How To’s
There are many different measures to consider when implementing an employee commute program. Once you’ve figured out what you want to offer, how do you do it? Below is a list of How To’s from 511.org on a wide range of commute program elements that should help get you going.
- How To Change Travel Behavior Through Individualized Marketing
- How To Start an Alternative Commuter Rewards Program
- How To Start a Building-Based Transportation Program
- How To Start a Carpool Program
- How To Start Providing Commuter Choice Pre-Tax Benefits*
- How To Start a Telework Program
- How To Start a Vanpool Program
- How To Start a Variable Work Hours Program
- How To Win Management Support for Commute Alternatives
- How To: Implement Successful Transportation Solutions During a Crisis
Additional Resources:
See the City of San Rafael Program or the County of Marin Program for examples of employer-provided commute programs.
More information and resources can be found at 511.org Employer Services.
Employer Mailing List
Testimonials
We’re Riding Smart!
Russell A. Colombo
President & CEO, Bank of Marin
As a major North Bay employer with offices across Marin and Sonoma counties, we are focused on commute alternatives for our employees, many of whom make the laborious commute on Hwy 101 every day. With the high cost of living in Marin, we rely heavily on hiring from Sonoma County.
We are committed to making SMART an integral part of improving that commute by offering a morning shuttle from the Hamilton Station to our Novato headquarters using a vehicle that Bank of Marin purchased with this purpose in mind We also offer an Uber Rideshare program for the afternoon commute to Hamilton and $50/month reimbursement to those employees that purchase a SMART monthly pass.
Additionally, Bank of Marin has representatives that chair the Oversight committees for both SMART and TAM Measure A funds. We hope our commitment inspires other major employers in Marin to help ease congestion by encouraging their employees to use SMART.