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3 Hospital Commuter Solutions that Reduce Solo Car Commutes and Save Money

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Looking to reduce vehicle trips to and around your hospital? Transportation demand management (TDM) is a great way to improve access, reduce pollution, and ease the costs associated with increased parking. Implementing some simple but effective hospital commuter solutions can measurable reduce the number of solo drivers traveling to and from your facility each day.

Here are three winning strategies that healthcare administrators around the country are already using to great success:

Pay employees to leave their cars at home

Regardless of the type of workplace, employers have great success with a simple but effective program: incentivize employees not to drive to work. The most successful employers offer cash in exchange for taking an alternative mode and passing up on parking. From payroll incentives to gift cards, and even paid time off, the right incentives lead to significant numbers of employees choosing  smart alternatives to solo driving.

Raise the cost of parking

Another straightforward, high-impact strategy for the hospital mobility ecosystem: make it more expensive for employees to park. For example, if you currently offer employees a discounted monthly parking pass, instead charge solo drivers regular daily parking rates.

This is a very effective strategy, but to avoid a mutiny, you need to pair this kind of initiative with hospital commuter solutions that make it less expensive for employees to use other modes. Rideshare matching paired with a guaranteed ride home programs is a great option, as is public transportation. To that end:

Your hospital commuter solutions should encourage public transit use

Hospitals are usually situated so they’re easily accessible via public transportation. Take advantage of this by offering to subsidize or fully fund monthly transit passes so your commuters can save money by taking the bus or subway to work instead of driving.

If local transit routes don’t serve your hospital particularly well, consider shuttle service as an option. Running private shuttles between the hospital and major public transportation hubs in the nearby area is a cost-effective and easy way to bridge service gaps.

For more tips on reducing solo car commuting, and for expert insights into your current lineup of hospital commuter solutions, talk to our experts to get started with RideAmigos today.

Schoolpool Tech for Safe Routes to School

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Technological tools open up new ways to think about safe routes to school

Providing safe, reliable ways for kids to get to and from school is a top priority for parents and school administrators. Initiatives like the Safe Routes to School program can be paired with next-generation technological tools to help school communities build smart carpool programs that help participants save money, reduce traffic and strengthen social bonds.

Safe Routes to School provides parents with detailed information (pdf) on how to launch and manage a student carpool. Here’s what they suggest:

  • Access a school directory to find nearby families interested in starting a schoolpool.
  • Register your schoolpool and decide whether to pick up students at a designated spot in the neighborhood or use a door-to-door approach.
  • Arrange to meet the participating families in person before starting the schoolpool.
  • Exchange contact information and decide on a day to launch your new schoolpool.
  • Make sure all participants have access to important safety equipment, such as child car seats and restraint systems for young students.
  • Do a test run to make sure everything works smoothly.

Following these steps can seem daunting when you’re starting from scratch. Is it really worth the effort?

Reap the benefits of smart management tools and help build a safer, stronger school community

As evidenced by their support from Safe Routes to School, schoolpools are a great student transportation solution. Their key benefits include:

  • Improved safety. Students enjoy reliable transportation to and from school, and carpooling reduces the amount of traffic in pick-up and drop-off zones, reducing hazards to pedestrians.
  • A stronger school community. Students and parents alike can make new friends and help build stronger community bonds. Shared transportation is a great way to socialize!
  • Cost savings. Carpools reduce financial burdens on school budgets, and help parents save gas money by sharing driving duties.
  • A cleaner environment. Schoolpools help cut traffic emissions while educating children on the importance of the environment and instilling them with a sense of ecological responsibility at a young age.

Modern technology provides a wealth of online tools that could be used to manage schoolpools. For example, by creating shared online driving schedules. Or, by alerting other participating families if a student is sick or the designated parent is unable to drive on a certain day. However, there are few ready-made solutions that parents and administrators can rely on to implement school- or district- or city-wide programs. That’s where we come in.

The RideAmigos transportation demand management platform delivers advanced schoolpool creation and management tools. Our software has already helped thousands of parents create student carpool programs. Learn more about our work with K-12 schools and explore the many useful features of our schoolpool module.

Photo Credit: Lucélia Ribeiro, “Children at School”

 

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?

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Employee Ridematching

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Employee ridematching makes it easy for colleagues to connect for smarter commuting options

The benefits of carpooling are well-documented. From an environmental perspective, it helps relieve traffic congestion, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cut back on fuel consumption. Commuters also benefit in big ways: ridesharing reduces wear and tear on vehicles, helping car owners save on maintenance costs. It’s also a great way to connect with colleagues and other community members.

Ridesharing is also a smart way to cut down on your commute time. Vehicles used in carpools are eligible to travel in reserved high-occupancy vehicle lanes, which are often able to bypass the congestion that occurs at peak commute times.

Employee ridematching tools offer a powerful solution to commuters who want to forge convenient connections with other carpoolers. In larger companies, it’s common for people who have worked for years to have no idea that they are also neighbors who could share rides to and from work. Ridematching software puts enhanced connectivity in the hands of commuters, giving them easy access to smarter commuting options.

Employee ridematching tools help build a happier and more productive workforce

With the RideAmigos software platform, commuters gain instant access to powerful search and rideshare matching tools. The interface allows users to specify the time they’re looking to travel to and from work, specify whether they want to be a driver or passenger during a particular trip, and use advanced search criteria to find the perfect rideshare match.

Once users choose a match, they can instantly share contact information and connect. No more waiting to be matched manually. No more uncertainty. Automated employee ridematching makes carpooling convenient, efficient, and fun.

Employers also benefit by offering carpooling and ridesharing programs to their staff members. This helps send a positive message about the company’s values – an increasingly important factor for job-seekers. Research also shows that ridesharing reduces stress, improves workplace productivity, and boosts employee morale in a big way.

Dozens of businesses and organizations in both the public and private sector have already discovered the benefits of using the RideAmigos commuter management platform. Administrators of employee commuter programs also enjoy access to advanced analytics and reporting tools, making it easier than ever to track the results of your initiatives and improve participation rates.

Get started today with commuter tips from the experts at RideAmigos, a free analysis of your existing commuter programs, or a comprehensive demo of our industry-leading software platform.

University Rideshare Programs

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University rideshare programs deliver advantages that benefit all members of the campus community

In an age of rising parking costs and increased awareness of the environmental toll of single-occupancy vehicles, campus community members are becoming increasingly interested in university rideshare programs. In addition to connecting students, staff, and faculty with more affordable and convenient ways to travel to and from campus, these programs generate a long list of benefits that have a positive cross-campus impact:

  • They help keep the prevalence of single-occupancy vehicles in check, fostering a safer environment for pedestrians and cyclists.
  • They reduce demand for limited parking facilities, helping alleviate cost burdens and making it easier for educational institutions to operate within their budgetary constraints.
  • They give students a safe and convenient transportation solution no matter what time of day or night they need to travel to or from campus.
  • They help community members foster deeper and more diverse social connections with others.

Creating and managing a university rideshare program with an extensive reach and a long-lasting impact is easy, with the right tools. The RideAmigos software platform is a powerful ally for university administrators who want to implement a campus-wide rideshare program.

RideAmigos supports university rideshare programs by promoting easy connections among users.

The RideAmigos platform provides a transportation hub that helps connect students, staff, and faculty members in a number of innovative ways. Its community-based features make it fast and easy for users to connect with available rideshares for both occasional and regular use. Users can take advantage of these powerful features to manage their daily campus commuting needs, arrange trips home during holiday breaks, locate transportation to off-campus community events, and more.

In addition to these advanced rideshare and carpooling features, users can also make quick and convenient connections to other alternative modes of transportation, including Zipcar, public transit, vanpools, walking and cycling routes, and more. These features are all delivered through an intuitive, easy-to-use interface with a quick learning curve, helping new users get connected in a matter of minutes.

RideAmigos has already helped numerous universities and educational institutions around the world implement effective rideshare programs that help reduce pollution, improve safety, and lower costs. If you’re ready to discover the power of the RideAmigos software platform, get started today to access further information, arrange a consultation, or get a free analysis of your existing ridesharing and commuter programs.

Employer Transportation Benefits

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Offering employer transportation benefits is a proven way to increase participation in smart commuting programs

Getting commuters to change their habits is one of the most difficult initial challenges to overcome when building and promoting a smart commuting program. Commuters tend to keep doing what they’ve always done, simply because it’s the easiest thing to do. You’ll need a proven strategy to get past this hurdle, and one of the best options is to offer employer transportation benefits.

The reasoning behind this approach is simple: give people a reason to change the way they commute, and they’ll be more likely to get on board. Financial incentives, parking privileges, and smarter commute-friendly facilities are all great places to start.

Looking for ideas to help build your employer transportation benefits program?

Here’s a closer look at some employer transportation benefits that get commuters excited about program participation:

  • Rideshares. A lot of commuters would happily leave their cars behind if it were easy for them to carpool or use vanpool programs. The RideAmigos platform makes it a breeze for interested commuters to connect with carpools, vanpools, and rideshare programs that are every bit as convenient as driving a single-occupancy vehicle.
  • Parking benefits. Offer priority parking spots to vehicles used in carpools, and/or reduced parking rates to employees that make regular use of the smart commuting options you support.
  • Subsidized transit. Give employees access to reduced-cost or free local transit passes. Chances are good you’ll notice a major spike in the number of commuters using transit to get to and from work.
  • Active commuting facilities. Provide showers, lockers, and secure bicycle storage to encourage people to engage in active forms of commuting like walking, running, or biking to work.
  • Guaranteed ride home programs. Support active commuting programs by offering “guaranteed rides home” to pedestrians and cyclists left stranded by poor weather or unexpected complications.
  • Pre-tax commuter benefits. Implement a smart commuting program and your business, as well as your employees, will qualify for generous pre-tax commuter benefits that puts money back in everyone’s pockets.

RideAmigos’ innovative transportation demand management platform makes it easy for employers to build benefits programs that work. Use RideAmigos software modules to create and administer programs, track participation, log trips, manage gamification standings, distribute benefits, and much more.

Learn more about RideAmigos for employers

Ridesharing in the 21st Century

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A new generation of ridesharing technology is leading the way to reduce reliance on single-occupancy vehicles and help more people skip the solo drive.

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