Telecommuting as Alternative Transportation

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The smartest possible commute is no commute at all

When thinking about smart commuting, it’s natural to gravitate towards transportation alternatives that get people out of single-occupancy vehicles. Biking, ridesharing, public transit, vanpools … they all have big roles in play in the ongoing move towards congestion-busting, environmentally friendly modes of transportation. Yet, there’s one powerful concept that’s often overlooked: telecommuting.

Thanks to the rise and spread of connectivity technologies, more jobs than ever before can be done remotely. Employers that are hesitant to fully embrace telecommuting can still allow employees to work remotely on occasion. Even once-a-week telecommuting would result in an immediate 20 percent reduction in demand for parking, assuming all telecommuters would otherwise have used single-occupancy vehicles. As commuter management professionals know, that has the potential to translate into big savings for businesses.

Telecommuting: quantifying the potential benefits

Recent U.S. census figures show that only 2 percent of employees telecommute most of the time, even though 40 percent of all American workers have a job that could be done offsite at least some of the time. Kate Lister, author of the work-from-home guidebook Undress for Success, performed some detailed calculations that measure the unrealized financial and environmental benefits of telecommuting.

Lister’s inquiry considers what would happen if everyone with a telecommutable job worked from home for just half the time. Here’s what she found

  • Businesses could save $8,300 per employee per year in utility, absenteeism, turnover, and facility costs
  • The environment would be spared the detrimental effects of nearly 220 million barrels of oil
  • Employees could save as much as $10,500 per year, not including daycare costs or tax benefits available to those who work from home

These conclusions are echoed by a study conducted by TIAX, a Massachusetts-based technology development company, which found that the energy savings generated by telecommuting are equivalent to the total annual electricity consumption of 1 million American households. Moreover, current telecommuting rates have the same environmental impact as removing 2 million cars from the road. Imagine what would be possible if the number of telecommuters rose from 2 percent of the workforce to 10 percent, or even 20 percent…

At RideAmigos, we focus on empowering commuters to choose smarter, more environmentally responsible modes of transportation. Even so, we recognize that the most efficient trip is the one that’s never taken. Our industry-leading software platform features modules that can be configured to track telecommutes, too, enabling administrators to include working remotely as part of their incentive and challenge programs. To learn more, please contact us or sign up to view our free, comprehensive video demonstration.

Commuter Tax Benefits

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Tax benefits for smarter commuting benefit both employees and employers.

Most people would agree that smarter, more environmentally friendly modes of urban transportation are a good thing. However, a lot of commuters need a little extra incentive to adopt new habits. To that end, the federal government recognizes that one of the most effective ways to actively encourage change is to offer financial benefits to those who use smart commuting options. Updates to the U.S. tax codes, which were signed into law in 2015, create a win-win situation for commuters and companies alike.

Under the updated laws, employers can give their employees the option to use up to $255 per month in pre-tax income to cover qualified commuting expenses, including:

  • Municipal and regional transit passes
  • Vanpool fares
  • Parking expenses

This program allows commuters to pay for qualified costs using pre-tax income. In total, each commuter is eligible for a taxable income reduction of up to $3,060 per year. Employers also benefit from the program, since monies dedicated to these costs are exempted from payroll taxation.

Pre-tax Benefit Example

The Santa Rosa Widget Company* has 50 employees using their pre-tax commute program. Each person claims $200 per month in eligible transportation costs. Over the course of a year, their company pays $9,000 less in payroll taxes. That, in turn, easily finances a transportation demand management program. Their TDM program then stimulates even more savings by encouraging more employees to participate. Everyone wins!

These programs also have important trickle-down benefits, which aren’t to be overlooked. Commuters who use transportation other than single-occupancy vehicles report lower levels of stress, an improved sense of well-being, and boosted workplace productivity. Enterprises that are looking for a way to kick-start beneficial changes to company culture would do well to consider the many advantages of these commuter tax benefit programs, many of which are also available on the state level.

Learn more about commuter tax benefits, and add RideAmigos to your smart commuting toolbox.

There are a lot of particular details involved with the commuter tax benefit program. If you’re looking to learn more, this comprehensive document from the Internal Revenue Service is an excellent resource, as is the National Center for Transit Research page on the tax benefits program. Remember, too, that tools like the RideAmigos software platform are excellent for helping commuters connect with a wealth of local transportation options and commute planning resources.

Our software can quickly provide you with positive return on investment in employee commuter programs. Make your smart commuting programs as beneficial as possible – contact the RideAmigos team today.

*Fictional example company. As far as we know, there’s not actually a widget company in Santa Rosa. If you’ve heard of one before, just know we’re not talking about that Santa Rosa Widget Company. 🙂

What are Vanpools?

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Vanpools are quickly emerging as a popular form of smarter commuting.

The vanpooling phenomenon is continuing to gain momentum, especially in major cities with a dense concentration of commuters. As a solution to helping people skip the solo drive, vanpools are a relatively new entry in the smart commuting lexicon. Therefore, people often have questions about what they are and how they work. We’re here to help!

Vanpool essentials:

  • Vanpools are made up of a group of commuters traveling from one or more origination points to a shared destination.
  • Most vanpools include between about 7 and 15 people.
  • Vanpools typically have one or two pickup locations, which frequently include designated transit stations or park-and-ride commuter lots.
  • At the end of the work day, vanpools provide return transportation to the original pickup location(s). From there, commuters can then make their way home.

Vanpools can be used just about anywhere, but they tend to be most effective in areas where long-distance commutes are common and public transit options are limited. They’re also an excellent option for companies located in remote or outlying areas that are only accessible by privately operated vehicles. Providing vanpool service to and from such locations helps these businesses attract and retain employees while making the daily commute easier and more manageable for employees.

Commuters and employers enjoy many benefits by using vanpools:

  • Cost savings and reduced wear and tear on privately owned vehicles.
  • Reduced commuting time.
  • The ability to talk, eat, read, work, or rest during the journey.
  • Reduced on-site parking requirements and associated cost savings.
  • Improved employee job satisfaction and productivity.

Use dynamic new technologies to make the best use of local smart commuting resources.

Employers typically administer vanpools themselves or contract with a service provider. Some have a high level of involvement, actively promoting vanpooling as a preferred commuting option. Meanwhile, others simply offer them as an alternative to interested employees. Regardless of how involved a given employer is in a particular vanpooling program, commuter management software like RideAmigos can provide convenient, effective, and easy-to-use management capabilities.

The RideAmigos transportation demand management platform offers extensive support for employers that offer vanpooling. Vanpool support works seamlessly alongside many other features that are helping transform the way we access and use urban transportation. In addition to integrating data from Commute with Enterprise and other providers, the RideAmigos CommuteHub includes tools to create and manage a new vanpool group, connect riders, track usage and stats, plan routes, and much more.

Contact us today to get started, or sign up to view our free video demo.

Photo Credit: UCLA Transportation

5 Best Benefits To Provide Commuters

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Encourage employees to commute smarter by providing first-class benefits

Benefits and support programs are a great way to get employees and staff to ditch their single-occupancy vehicles and skip the solo drive. The best such programs all have one key thing in common: they remove the obstacles that prevent people from choosing alternative modes of transportation.

The RideAmigos team put our heads together and assembled this list of  five top-notch suggestions to help you create happier, healthier, more efficient commuters:

Guaranteed Rides Home

Some people balk at the idea of walking or biking to work because they’re worried about being stranded in the event of inclement weather. Guaranteed ride home programs provide a way around that problem. They ensure participants can get home safely and comfortably no matter what Mother Nature might throw their way.

Check out our blog post on guaranteed ride home programs for ideas and specifics.

Showers and storage

A lot of people don’t choose more active forms of transportation, like biking, because they don’t want to arrive at work hot and sweaty. Or they worry about where to keep their bicycle and personal items. Adding shower facilities, secure bike storage, and lockers for employee use is the perfect antidote.

Financial Incentives

Businesses and organizations can offer financial incentives to team members who make regular use of alternative transportation. Every time someone opts not to use a single-occupancy vehicle, they can rack up credits towards prizes like cash, gift cards, meals at local restaurants, event tickets, new bicycles … the possibilities are limited only by your imagination and budget!

Investments like this can also generate positive financial returns. A workforce that commutes by bike might qualify for lower health insurance premiums. Or, you could reduce your parking requirements. Which would, in turn, save money on leased lots. Or you could even generate additional revenue by renting out unused owned spaces to other tenants.

Free or Subsidized Transportation

Along the same lines, one of the leading reasons people stick with single-occupancy vehicles is that they’re worried about the costs of alternatives. Providing free or subsidized options can tip the scales and easily motivate change.

Try these ideas:

  • Provide free or subsidized public transit passes, tokens, or journey credits
  • Offer financial assistance for bike-share and car-share membership programs
  • Partner with ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft to offer door-to-door service from home to work

Benefits like these can be easily integrated alongside advanced trip tracking. Contact us to learn how.

Commute management software

Software like the RideAmigos platform puts powerful tools in the hands of commuters. Tools like comprehensive multi-modal trip planners, ridesharing, bikepooling, and automatic trip logging. We provide technological solutions that make it easy for employers to implement new benefits and easy for employees to make smarter transportation choices and skip the solo drive.

Sign up for our Commuter Tips email list for more smart commuting ideas and TDM strategies.

LEED Parking: Can Green Parking Garages Be Certified?

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LEED Certification and Parking Facilities: Reducing Environmental Footprints

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification is part of a nationwide green construction program that grants accreditation to buildings and facilities that meet demanding energy efficiency and ecological standards. Earlier in LEED’s history, there was ongoing debate as to whether or not green parking garages, as standalone structures, could qualify for LEED certification. The long and short of it boils down to this: parking facilities by themselves cannot be certified under the LEED program, but they can incorporate features that help the building, as a whole, earn certification.

In addition, after the LEED decision, a new organization and new certification arose: the Green Parking Council and Green Garage Certification, recently renamed Parksmart. To make things even more confusing, Green Building Certification, Inc., which manages LEED certification for the USGBC, now manages Parksmart certification, too. So yes, green parking garages can be certified, just not LEED certified.

Technicalities and certifications aside, there are plenty of ways to “go green” by improving energy efficiency and reducing the environmental footprint of parking facilities. Lighting systems, parking priorities, construction materials and ventilation systems can all be configured to support green initiatives.

The Impact of Efficient Lighting

While parking structures themselves may not be eligible for LEED certification, they can take part in the U.S. Energy Department’s Lighting Energy Efficiency in Parking (LEEP) initiative. When the campaign went widespread in 2014, participating partners were able to cut lighting-related energy use by a whopping 90 percent.

The program encourages parking garages to switch to energy-efficient options like fluorescent, halide and LED-powered systems. It also promotes technologies that offer better control over light activation and deactivation, ensuring energy isn’t being wasted when the facility isn’t in use.

Special Access for Drivers of Efficient Vehicles

Another strategy that’s been used in traffic-heavy areas like Southern California is to give priority access to drivers of fuel-efficient hybrid or electric vehicles. Giving these vehicles access to the most conveniently located spots raises awareness of ecological issues and rewards drivers who are doing their part to reduce carbon emissions.

Getting Creative with Construction Materials

Paul de Ruiter Architects, a Dutch building design firm, recently made waves with a bold approach to parking structure construction. The firm created a garage made completely of recyclable materials, and engineered it so it could be dismantled in the future, when sustainable modes of transportation have become the standard and dedicated parking space for cars is no longer needed.
De Ruiter’s building, known as the Mors Gate garage, also uses natural ventilation, heat recovery systems and other advanced green technologies, leading some to hail it as a new standard in parking structure design. Even though a “future without cars” is still a long way off, innovation remains a powerful weapon in the fight against pollution.

Reducing Demand

While parking facilities themselves may not be eligible for LEED, one step toward certification for your building can include reducing the number of parking spaces you offer. How can this be justified? By reducing demand. TDM programs and software like RideAmigos can have an incredible effect on shifting the way people think about and use transportation, particularly for commuting. Contact us to learn more about how your organization can reduce its parking and environmental footprints and help transform transportation.

3 Impressive Executives Leading the Way to Smarter Commuting

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Join these high-profile organizational leaders in inspiring people to change how they commute

Leading by example is one of the most effective ways to encourage organizational change. An increasing number of executives are doing exactly that when it comes to smarter commuting. Here’s a look at three people in leadership positions who are choosing enjoyable, environmentally friendly ways of getting to work:

Alan Elser
CFO, GM Nameplate

Despite a notoriously rainy climate, a growing number of Seattle commuters are choosing to bike to work throughout the year. Among them is Alan Elser, the chief financial officer of GM Nameplate, a leading supplier of custom-manufactured industrial goods
In 2013, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported that Elser bikes to work three times a week. The 24-mile journey between GM Nameplate’s Seattle headquarters and his May Valley-area home is undaunting for Elser. “Riding in in the morning is a great way to wake up and plan your day,” Elser said in an interview. “Riding home is a chance to decompress.”

Jennifer Welch
Managing Deputy Commissioner,
Chicago Department of Family and Support Services

She may have a much shorter commute than Elser, but Jennifer Welch bikes to work and back all year round, despite during Chicago’s notoriously cold and snowy winters. Her four-mile commute takes her from Logan Square toward the center of the city. Even when Chicago was hammered by the “Snowmaggedon” blizzard in the winter of 2011, Welch bundled up and biked to her job at the Department of Family and Support Services. Even more, her blizzard bike commute included a trip to the city’s 911 center to attend to a staffing emergency.

Christopher Eisgruber
President, Princeton University

The Princeton University president has emerged as a strong voice in the local call for better biking infrastructure. Traffic congestion makes cycling to Princeton’s campus challenging. But, thanks to a vocal advocacy campaign, the city of Princeton seems to be moving towards becoming more bike-friendly. Eisgruber says he cycles to work as often as possible, and hopes that the city will do its part to encourage others to join him.

RideAmigos salutes these and the many other business, education and government leaders who are leaving their cars behind more often. If you’re part of an organization that’s committed to helping commuters make smarter choices, be sure to check out our comprehensive TDM software toolkit. We deliver powerful solutions for ridesharing, trip planning, incentives, and data analysis.  Transforming how your organization commutes can have a major positive impact on your bottom line. Contact us to schedule your personal demonstration.

The Benefits of a Guaranteed Ride Home

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What is a Guaranteed Ride Home program?

Imagine these scenarios: an employee who commutes by bike is about to head home when an unexpected thunderstorm hits. Or, a public transit commuter has to suddenly rush home to pick up a sick child from school. A Guaranteed Ride Home program comes through by providing quick, reliable transportation when it’s needed most.

A Guaranteed Ride Home program (sometimes called an Emergency Ride Home program) is a common feature of workplaces that encourage commuters to use means other than than single occupant vehicles. While the specifics of each program vary from company to company, they generally follow this type of structure:

  • The program is open to employees that regularly use alternative means of transportation during their commutes
  • “Alternative means of transportation” can include cycling, walking, public transit or any other approved mode
  • Employees that use these modes for commuting at least two to three times per week qualify for the program
  • Qualified employees can get a free ride home a specified number of times per year if an emergency situation arises

Guaranteed Ride Home programs encourage alternative transportation use

The key benefit of setting up an Emergency/Guaranteed Ride Home program is that it makes it commuters more likely to use alternative transportation. If people know they have a reliable ride home in an emergency, they’re more likely to skip the solo drive.

The RideAmigos platform offers extensive technical support to workplace managers who want to create Guaranteed Ride Home programs. Creating and managing such a program is quick and easy, thanks to our comprehensive toolkit.

Here’s an example of how simple it is to set up and manage a ride home program using RideAmigos:

  • Create a specific private network that will be limited to employees who are eligible to participate in the program.
  • Attach any necessary descriptions to each user in the system, or send a message to qualified users to let them know they’re in the program.
  • Use the platform’s survey tool to collect information from participants, as needed.
  • Add new members manually, or by sending “join us” links to qualified employees.
  • Create a points program to manage the redemption of rides by employees who qualify.
  • Add the ride home vouchers as inventory items; they will be managed and distributed automatically by the platform.

You can view more details and specifics by visiting the RideAmigos Academy help page on Guaranteed Ride Home programs.

Reduce Your Parking Footprint for LEED Credit

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Earn credit toward LEED certification by reducing your building’s parking footprint

Parking spaces are expensive and are a major source of soil and water pollution. Forward-thinking companies seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for their buildings can earn credit by minimizing the environmental impact of their parking facilities. If you’re planning or building a new location for your company and you want to enjoy the ecological and marketing benefits that come with LEED certification, it’s easy to take action to start reducing your parking footprint now.

LEED is the world’s most recognized green building certification. Available to buildings that meet elevated standards for energy efficiency and green design, LEED certification is more than just a way to help reduce pollution and minimize ecological impact. It also supports marketing and branding efforts by reinforcing your company’s ecologically friendly values, and it can also add to the resale price of the finished property.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently announced a new program that allows builders to earn credit towards LEED certification by reducing their parking footprint. Here are the specifics:

  • To qualify, buildings must not have more than the minimum parking capacity, as defined by local code requirements.
  • Buildings can also qualify by having less parking capacity than the recommended base ratios suggested by the Parking Consultants Council (PCC), which are available in the Institute of Transportation Engineers’ Transportation Planning Handbook, 3rd Edition, Tables 18-2, 18-3 and 18-4.
  • Projects are also able to earn points by meeting LT Credit Surrounding Density and Diverse Areas, or LT Credit Access to Quality Transit requirements.
  • Projects without these LT credits must have at least 20 percent less parking capacity than the PCC base ratios.
  • Projects with LT credits must have at least 40 percent less parking capacity than the PCC base ratios.

Full program details can be viewed on the USGBC website.

Empower commuters to use alternative means of transportation to reduce your parking needs

If you’re looking to reduce your parking capacity, it’s essential that you offer alternatives to commuters and employees. Encouraging people to use environmentally responsible transportation such as ridesharing, carpooling, public transit, or biking is the best way to keep your parking requirements as low as possible. Transportation demand management software, like RideAmigos, provides powerful tools for reducing your parking needs by empowering and incentivizing people to change the way they commute. 

Our revolutionary transportation management platform offers an easy-to-use commuter trip planner, extensive ridesharing features, motivational incentive options, powerful data analysis tools, and more. We make it easy for users to skip the solo drive and affordable for organizations to reduce their environmental footprint. To learn more, check out our demo video or contact us today.

Photo Credit: Tilt Shift Parking Lot by Nic Redhead

Workplace Experience & Commuter Benefits

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Changing the way businesses think about employee engagement

Companies that attract and retain the top available talent give themselves a major competitive advantage. Ensuring that employees are satisfied and happy not only in their work, but also in the general workplace environment is one of the keys to building the kind of reputation in-demand job candidates look for in a prospective employer.

Traditionally, such strategies were built around incentive and benefit programs. Health insurance, pension plan contributions, stock options, and other financial perks did the trick in years past, but nowadays, employees are looking for more. To meet the changing needs and preferences of workers in the contemporary environment, many companies are bringing in workplace experience managers.

The concept of workplace experience is a relatively new one. It goes beyond simple cash and benefits compensation, and instead focuses on projecting positive attitudes throughout the work environment by providing perks like health and wellness programs, company-sponsored social outings, free coffee bars, on-site massage therapy, and creativity-oriented lounge areas.

Building a positive workplace experience is about more than facilities; it’s about attitudes and values. For example, new research has proven that daytime naps help energize employees, increase mental engagement, and stimulate creative thinking. Progressive companies have responded by encouraging workers to take midday snoozes, and giving them comfortable places to grab a few winks. It’s a win-win situation, building trust and goodwill on the employee end and boosting productivity on the business end.

How transportation management strategies fit into the workplace experience movement

Providing employees with commuting alternatives is fast becoming a central tenet of today’s workplace experience programs. Studies have shown that solo commutes can be a major drain on morale, while researchers have also found links between shared transportation and higher levels of general life satisfaction. As such, a growing number of workplace experience managers are turning to options like ridesharing and carpooling programs and alternative transportation incentives to relieve some of the daily grind and help employees arrive at work refreshed, relaxed, and in a positive mindset.

To meet the growing demand for solutions to enhance workplace experience, software developers are building advanced commuter management platforms that help people make the most of group and shared transportation options. Going forward, technological solutions like the RideAmigos platform will increasingly become an integral part of a comprehensive workplace experience strategy built to attract and retain top employees.

Is your company helping your employees to have the most positive commutes possible?

Hacking the Corporate Commuting Dilemma

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Corporate commuting trends are changing. Will your organization change with them?

Once upon a time, not all that long ago, commuters didn’t think too hard about their daily journeys. Every morning, they’d get in their cars and drive the same route to work. If there happened to be a lot more traffic than usual on the road that day…well, then the drive would take a little longer. If road improvements or construction shut down a lane or two along the most direct route to work…well, they’d manage. That’s just the way things go.

Not anymore.

Times are changing, and corporate commuters are changing with them. Reliance on single-occupancy vehicles is diminishing, and the general public’s awareness of the ecological impact of their transportation decisions is at an all-time high. Given these trends, it’s no surprise that experts are detecting significant changes in the way people get to and from work.

How RideAmigos Supports New and Progressive Corporate Commuting Solutions

The 2013 American Commuter Survey found that Generation X-ers and millennials are commuting by car less and less with each passing year. People in younger demographics are also taking public transit and walking to work with greater frequency than any other age group.

In cities like San Francisco, Boston and New York, the microtransit trend is making major headway. Privately operated mini-buses and ride shares are giving corporate commuters meaningful and convenient alternatives to mass transit and single-occupancy vehicles.

Businesses have a lot to gain by encouraging employees to seek out quicker, greener ways to get to work. Improved productivity is a big and obvious bonus, but there are also hidden benefits. One biggie is the fact that companies with a strong sense of social responsibility also tend to have higher rates of employee satisfaction – and that’s something that pays off in a big way, on and on down the line.

If you’d like to be a part of the corporate commuting revolution, the RideAmigos team can provide all the tools you need. Trip planners, journey loggers, incentive and benefit trackers, analysis tools, ride-sharing platforms – they’re all here. And they’ll all help you build a happier, healthier, more creative and more engaged workforce. Contact us to learn more.