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How Commuting Impacts the Environment

Transportation is a major source of CO2 emissions contributing to climate change and, in case it doesn’t go without saying, personal vehicles emit more harmful CO2 mile-for-mile than shared transportation. Emissions standards for cars and trucks help. In fact, in the United States, CO2 emissions from vehicles were down 6% in 2021 compared to 2005 levels, in spite of an increase in overall numbers of vehicles on the road. Unfortunately, the United Nations Environmental Program has called for at least a 45% decrease in emissions to prevent global temperature increases above 1.5 degrees Celcius. 

As more and more remote workers return to the office, the percentage of people who drive to work in a single-occupancy vehicle remains high. A Statista survey found that, even with high rates of telecommuting, a majority (63% of workers) commute to a job by car.

Climate awareness and interest in climate-action are on the rise, and corporate sustainability practices factor into employment decisions for many workers. Employers, government agencies, and individuals all have an interest in reducing the impact our commutes have on the planet. Fortunately, while commuter behavior is one of the hardest habits to change, some employers and communities are having success using strategies grounded in behavioral science.

The impact of driving to work

Commuting to work accounts for nearly all of an individual employee’s job-related carbon footprint. A look at the CO2 emissions resulting from commuting by car shows that individual choices can have a big impact.

The average American commute is around 15 miles each way. Here’s how that translates into CO2 emissions in each year in different types of personal vehicles: 

  • Small car (35 MPG fuel economy): 2.1 tons
  • Midsize car (20 MPG fuel economy): 3.9 tons
  • Full-size car/SUV (14 MPG fuel economy): 5.7 tons

While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is introducing policies to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles, the transition will not happen overnight. A New York Times report found that in 2021, fewer than 1% of the 250 million cars on U.S. roads were electricSo, getting even a small percentage of commuters out of cars and into cleaner, smarter modes of transportation can have a measurable positive impact on air quality. 

Small changes can have big positive impacts

If just 5% of the 106.4 million American workers who currently commute by single-occupancy vehicle shifted to another mode they could save nearly 21 million tons of CO2 per year. 

At RideAmigos, we are on a mission to change the way the world commutes by empowering everyone to make smarter transportation choices. 

Commute management can make a difference

Implementing commuter programs at a community or organizational level can be a big help. Businesses, schools, government agencies, and universities all have a role to play in reducing carbon emissions from commuting. Fortunately, trip reduction programs also have other benefits to people and organizations!

Here are some examples of organizational transportation demand management strategies that work to encourage transportation sustainability:

  • Flexible daily choice parking: When parking is free as a benefit, or paid by commuters on monthly or annual basis, the effect is a feeling of being “locked-in.” Not using a parking pass that is already paid for might feel like a waste, especially if they’d have to pay for a transit ticket on top of that. By transitioning to a daily option, communities and organizations can provide commuters more flexibility to make the best choice each day — so perhaps they can drive on days they need a car for school drop-off or other errands, but bike or ride transit on other days. Automate payment each time an employee reserves a parking space. Or when parking is already provided, allowing people the option to “cash-out” the benefit on days they don’t need it is a highly effective way to do this.
  • Subsidies and incentives: When parking is free and driving is the default, many people don’t see the downside of commuting by car. To help shift the calculus, organizations that can’t or aren’t ready to charge for parking can similarly subsidize other modes by offering free transit passes, providing a guaranteed ride program for carpoolers, offering micro-mobility options and, of course, offering great facilities for cyclists like bike lockers and showers.
  • A personalized approach to carpooling: Carpooling can be an excellent option for commuters who are not well-served by public transit. So why is it so hard to convince people to try it? New group-based pooling programs that automatically connect commuters based on schedule and preferences are revolutionizing ridesharing. Apps like Pave Commute automate this tried-and-true transportation demand management tactic and dynamically personalize for everyone in a community or organization, with real-time chat and other nudges.
  • Gamification: Some people might find a perfect commute and just stick to it. But the reality is that schedules are not always the same, weather changes, transit delays happen, and construction projects snarl traffic. An app-based program that keeps commuters engaged with ongoing gamification can ensure that whenever things change, commuters have help to make a sustainable choice — instead of just hopping in the car.

These strategies work at all levels — from individual employers to entire regions. In addition to reducing reliance on single-occupancy vehicles, these programs can improve the commute experience and give every participant the opportunity to contribute to critical sustainable development goals (SDGs). Regardless of the type and size of an organization, or the complexity of its transportation needs, technology can help scale and automate these proven commute management strategies.

Empower employees to make more sustainable commute choices

Organizations that implement the right commute management programs see real modeshift results and improved commuter experience. RideAmigos apps and programs are designed by experts, based on behavioral science to scale effective strategies. Commuters using our apps avoided over 61 million vehicle miles traveled and reduced over 40 million pounds of CO2 in 2022. Join us to start making your impact today. Contact us to get started. 

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

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.

What is a TMA / TMO?

What is a Transportation Management Association (TMA) /
Transportation Management Organization (TMO)?

A transportation management association (TMA), sometimes known as a transportation management organization (TMO), is an administrative body designed to manage the transportation needs of a particular venue, district, or community. In most cases, TMAs are non-profit organizations, and they are usually controlled by members.

Most TMAs also use partnership models that combine private investment with public resources, thus casting a wider net of stakeholders.

TMAs operate on various scales, with larger-scale organizations holding jurisdiction over entire cities or regions, and smaller-scale associations governing the transportation needs of medical facilities, shopping centers, business districts, or industrial zones, among others. They play an important part in shaping and implementing transportation demand management (TDM) programs with specific objectives that typically include:

  • Single occupancy vehicle (SOV) commuter trip reductions
  • More efficient allocation of parking resources
  • Reducing peak-period traffic levels
  • Shifting traffic to off-peak periods
  • Promoting alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles
  • Improving transportation accessibility and system performance

Member-controlled transportation management organizations are more responsive than most government-run TDM initiatives, since they are not encumbered by administrative red tape and can implement new policies with greater speed and flexibility. They also play a key role in supporting smart growth initiatives and land-use patterns that conform to the mixed-use models being favored by a large number of forward-looking municipalities.

The RideAmigos commuter management platform is an ideal tool for TMA’s

The RideAmigos platform is a valuable ally to TMAs of all sizes, thanks to its proven ability to make smarter modes of transportation more accessible to a broader base of users. Transportation management organizations around the world are now using the groundbreaking RideAmigos TDM software package to:

  • Access network and reporting tools that provide an excellent basis for policy creation and implementation
  • Bring a broader range of sustainable transportation options to a larger number of community members
  • Generate meaningful statistical insights into network-specific transportation patterns
  • Manage parking demand
  • Reduce vehicular traffic during peak periods
  • Create and distribute commuter surveys that help program managers better understand the needs and desires of commuters and travelers

RideAmigos is specifically designed to address the TDM needs of organizations operating in both the public and private sectors, and it has become an indispensable tool for businesses, government agencies, and TMAs across the US.

Do you help run a TMA or TMO that could use a more efficient system for managing your programs and shifting commuter behavior? Get started with RideAmigos today to learn how we can help maximize your impact.

Don’t Miss the Bus – CommuteCon 2017 is Coming

CommuteCon 2017 – Wednesday, February 8th

Check your schedule get moving!

Let your friends and colleagues know it’s not too late to register. It’s going to be the most fun and informative four hours in the commuter transportation industry.

Register Now

We’re also excited to announce that the Association for Commuter Transportation is sponsoring CommuteCon. Please join us in saying “thanks!”

 

 

Press Release Follows:

RideAmigos to Host CommuteCon 2017 Online Conference

SANTA MONICA, CA, 02/01/2017: RideAmigos is pleased to host CommuteCon 2017, an online conference focused on current trends and topics in the field of transportation demand management (TDM). The event is scheduled for Wednesday, February 8, 2017 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern (10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific). Participation is free, and open to all.

The conference provides an accessible online forum where prominent leaders in the TDM field can connect with citizens, stakeholders, and other TDM professionals. It is structured around notable speakers drawn from a variety of sectors including government, education, and private enterprise. Featured speakers will present ideas and discuss trending topics in the TDM space.

Registration information and a detailed schedule of speakers and topics is available at https://rideamigos.com/commutecon-2017/ .

Program highlights will include:

  • Creating strategies for changing commuter behaviors
  • Encouraging the adoption of alternate modes of transportation
  • Designing, implementing, and managing employee commuter programs
  • Leveraging peer-to-peer relationships through employee outreach programs
  • Reviewing the latest mobility legislation

CommuteCon 2017 is the second such conference hosted by RideAmigos and the first to be presented under the new CommuteCon label. Keynote speaker Susan Shaheen, co-director of the Transportation Sustainability Research at the University of California-Berkeley, said, “The last RideAmigos virtual conference was jam-packed with great insights from shared mobility operators from across all sectors.”

The Association for Commuter Transportation is also a sponsor of CommuteCon 2017.

Early registration for the upcoming conference has already made CommuteCon 2017 one of the largest commuter TDM-related events in the world. It will be an annual event going forward.

 

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About RideAmigos

RideAmigos is a Santa Monica, California-based producer of transportation demand management software. In addition to developing an online commuter management platform, RideAmigos hosts and organizes industry events and supports organizations in both the public and private sectors as they move towards more sustainable transportation and commuting policies. The company’s areas of focus include intelligent rideshare matching, advanced TDM automation and integration, and the promotion of robust gamification and commuter incentive tools.

5 New Year’s Resolutions for Smart Commuter Management

Happy New Year! There’s no better time to create goals that will have a beneficial impact on your organization and the community at large than at the start of another trip around the sun. Here are five great ways you can make smart commuter management a priority in 2017.

#1: Collect More Information

The essential first step in generating behavior change is understanding the commuting habits of your organization’s members. Specifically, there are four key things you need to know:

  • What are the primary mode(s) of transportation currently in use among members?
  • How aware are members of the transportation benefits you currently offer?
  • What is the single most important consideration for members when choosing a way to get to work? Time? Cost? Something else?
  • What benefits or incentives would get members to try out an alternative mode of commuting?

Finding answers to these questions through commuter surveys will help you create a transportation program that’s got a much better chance of success.

#2: Experiment with Incentives

Providing incentives for leaving single-occupancy vehicles behind is a proven way to vastly increase program participation rates. Incentive programs come in many forms, with popular options including:

  • Pre-tax reimbursements for employees who use qualified modes of transportation
  • Preferred or lower-cost parking for carpool drivers
  • Parking cash-out programs that offer monthly payments to employees who give up their parking spots
  • Friendly individual- or team-oriented in-house competitions, with prizes for the winners who log the most miles or make the most trips using qualified modes of travel

Plan some experiments to try during 2017 and see which strategies best engage your commuters!

#3: Promote Transit as an Alternative to Solo Driving

Public transit is a great way for employees to save money, reduce congestion and pollution, and reduce wear and tear on their vehicles. Try offering partially or fully subsidized local transit passes and watch ridership soar.

#4: Participate in Bike to Work Week

Every spring, Bike to Work Week becomes a national initiative that helps get people moving and encourages greater numbers of commuters to make a permanent switch. Join in a Bike to Work Week being planned for your city or region, or if there’s not one in the works – help make it happen!

#5: Adopt a Comprehensive Commuter Management Tool

Commuters and administrators alike can benefit from a comprehensive platform like RideAmigos. Easily implement advanced carpool matching, distribute surveys, create networks and challenges, launch incentive programs, track results, and much more!

Learn More About Commuter Management Platforms

RideAmigos to Host Online Conference Feb 8th

CommuteCon 2017

Wednesday, February 8, 2017
10 AM – 2 PM Pacific / 1 PM – 5 PM Eastern

Designed to be a fun, informative, and accessible opportunity for learning and collaboration, CommuteCon will feature impact-focused sessions with industry leaders, relevant topics, and opportunities to interact.

Have we mentioned – it’s FREE!

The half-day online format makes it easy to join from anywhere, without having to give up an entire day or make elaborate travel plans. If your work (or play) relates to commuter management, transportation demand management, mobility, parking management, sustainability, or employee benefits, CommuteCon should be on your must-attend list for 2017.

Mark your calendars now!

Registration and schedule coming soon.

CommuteCon Biker Bar

Featured Speakers

Susan Shaheen, Co-Director, Transportation Sustainability Research Center
UC Berkeley

Steve Raney, Executive Director, Smart Mobility
Joint Venture Silicon Valley

Kent Epperson, Director of Traffic Solutions
Santa Barbara County Association of Governments

Phillip Kobernick, Sustainability Project Manager
County of Alameda

Justin Mog​, ​Assistant to the Provost for Sustainability Initiatives
University of Louisville

Jamie Jarvis, Transportation Demand Manager
Stanford Research Park

Peter Williamson, Employee Outreach Coordinator
Rideshare.org

Aaron Gaul, UrbanTrans North America
Century City Transportation Management Organization

David Weisman, Director of Business Development
Scoop

More To Come!

Program Highlights

  • Shifting behaviour with prizes & competition
  • Working with Scoop, Zipcar & Lyft in your community
  • Creating impact with Bike to Work  Day
  • Managing employer commuter programs
  • Employee outreach: Leveraging peer to peer relationships
  • Latest in Mobility Legislation
  • Moving the needle with Parking Cash-out Programs
  • And More …

To make sure you receive future CommuteCon announcements, sign up for our newsletter.

Why Corporate Carpool Programs Matter

Corporate carpool programs help businesses build a positive culture and more productive workforce

The benefits of corporate carpool programs extend well beyond helping to reduce traffic congestion and pollution. Research has shown that they can have very positive effects on employee productivity and job satisfaction. Commuters who carpool to work tend to report lower levels of stress, and arrive at work more energized and ready to take on the challenges of the day. That can have a big impact on a business’s bottom line.

There’s another important angle to consider: company culture. More and more, prospective employees are choosing to work for companies that reflect their personal values. This is especially true of the millennial generation, who will soon make up the majority of the workforce.

These young, talented, tech-savvy individuals are poised to play a major role in the evolution of 21st century enterprise, and offering fringe benefits like corporate carpool programs help attract them. Such programs send a key signal about company values, which are increasingly important in talent attraction and retention.

Employees benefit in a big way from corporate carpool programs

Companies that offer commuter benefits like corporate carpool programs discover that benefits run both ways. Employees win too. Here’s how:

  • Carpooling is a proven stress reducer, as it allows passengers to take their attention off the road and focus on productive activities or enjoyable diversions
  • Corporate carpools are a great forum for networking and socializing
  • Employees that participate in corporate carpool programs enjoy financial savings by reducing fuel expenses and vehicle wear and tear

Winning strategies include rideshare matching and offering preferred parking to vehicles used in carpools. Rideshare matching involves connecting people who live within relatively close proximity to one another, and have expressed interest in participating in a rideshare programs. Carpoolers can create custom schedules, and share costs and driving duties.

Preferred parking programs offer choice spots to vehicles used in carpools. For businesses that have paid employee parking, a related strategy can include rebates or price reductions for carpoolers.

Starting an employee carpool program is easy with the right tools. Fortune 500 companies are using RideAmigos cloud-based commuter management platform to manage corporate programs and incentivize employees to use third party mobility providers like Waze Carpool or Scoop.

Learn more by subscribing to free Commuter Tips, or contact us to discuss your plans.

The #1 Commuter Parking Management Strategy

Use this proven method to boost the effectiveness of your commuter parking management

Parking demand can cause major problems in the workplace, especially if your commuter base is heavily reliant on single-occupancy vehicles. However, by implementing a single strategy, you can massively improve your approach to commuter parking management. This winning strategy is known as parking cash-out.

Here’s how these highly successful programs work:

Parking cash-out is an ideal option for businesses that provide employees with subsidized or no-cost parking. The business begins by calculating its daily per-vehicle parking rate. Then, offer employees who drive to work a choice: take a cash payout, or use your parking spot. The payouts can be calculated and distributed on a weekly or monthly basis, or processed along with payroll.

For businesses that rent their parking facilities, figuring out the daily per-vehicle rate is easy: just divide your total parking costs by the number of spots you rent, then compute down to a daily figure. Companies that own their own parking facilities can estimate daily costs by adding up construction, operation, and maintenance costs associated with their parking lots, then dividing by the number of parking spots it holds. That figure can then be annualized, or broken down into quarters, months, weeks, or days.

Studies have shown that if you’re going to use only one commuter parking management strategy, this is the one to try. Parking cash-out programs can reduce parking demand by as much as 45 percent.

This strategy works because it gives commuters an immediate, tangible incentive not to drive to work. Most commuters that have access to free or low-cost parking don’t think much about what it costs the company. Offering them a cash payout in exchange for their parking spot will make the commuter feel as though he or she stands to lose something by continuing to solo-drive to work.

Companies can achieve long-term savings by sharply reducing the amount of parking they need to rent, or earn additional revenues by renting unused spots to other individuals or businesses. It’s a classic win-win situation that is well worth a try if you’re a facilities manager for a business struggling to figure out how to manage steep employee demand for costly parking.

RideAmigos is the perfect commuter management platform for implementing a parking cash-out program. Empower your employees to make smarter transportation choices like ridesharing, biking, and transit. Track commuting patterns. Incentivize preferred behaviors. All within one powerful system.

Get started with the commuter management pros at RideAmigos to learn how you can implement a parking cash out program.

Why Are We Here?

Why ARE we here? Why does the field of commuter management matter? Why is RideAmigos so excited about transforming commuter behavior?

In just one minute, CEO Jeffrey Chernick tackles this all-important question at the recent Association for Commuter Transportation conference in Portland:

The reason why we’re doing this, the reason why I’m doing this, is because we’re shifting commuter behavior to create a better planet.

We’re all in this for the same reason, and by shifting commuter behavior we’re actually clearing the roads!

We’re getting people to take healthier routes to work, whether it be a bike, or a walk, or a Zipcar, or a Lyft line, or an uberPOOL. There are so many new ways to get around.

If people are motivated to do and try something new, we’re actually going to make a major difference in the world. And that’s a big deal! That means cleaner air for our children, that means lower energy consumption for our culture and our land use, and it just goes into so many facets of our lives.

If we decide to commute smarter the world is an actual better place and we’ll live here longer.

It’s almost necessary. We don’t have a choice in it anymore. We have to do it!

The transportation industry today – including ACT and RideAmiogs – we’re here to do this, and it’s pretty profound to be here for it.

Interested in finding out how your organization can make a difference? Take our 2-question survey and receive a free commuter program analysis:

Free Program Analysis

Rideshare and Transit Integration

Rideshare and transit integration solves problems associated with single-occupancy vehicle commuting

The negative impacts of commuting in a single-occupancy vehicle extend beyond the environment. Sitting in traffic creates what’s known as an “opportunity cost.” People can’t engage in productive activities when they’re inching their vehicle along a street or freeway.

As such, stakeholders in enterprise-oriented commuter management programs have strong incentives to promote alternatives like rideshare and transit integration. Research shows that such programs support improved productivity as well as increased commuter happiness and overall life satisfaction.
To help give your commuter program a kick-start, here are a few ways you can integrate ridesharing, public transit, and other alternatives into your company’s commuter management plan:

  • Create a multimodal commuting challenge. Build excitement and increase commuter participation by incentivizing your commuting program with a challenge that includes ridesharing, transit, and other smart commute options. Log trips, track miles, and offer prizes to the individuals or teams who lead the pack.
  • Provide smart transportation from origin and destination transit stations. In addition to running vanpool shuttle services between your company and local mass transit stations, you can also provide geo-fenced, prepaid access to services like Lyft and Uber. Offer last-mile connections between destination transit stations and the office, and encourage commuters to carpool for travel from their homes to origin stations.
  • Offer free transit credits to carpoolers. This approach does double duty: it incentivizes ridesharing while encouraging employees to make better use of available public transit options. Create a points program where commuters who carpool a certain number of days per month are eligible for free or subsidized public transit access. 
  • Build a “buddy system.” Facilitate carpooling by matching employees who live close to one another as “commute buddies.” Sometimes, especially in larger companies, people simply aren’t aware that they have co-workers in close proximity who are willing to share rides (and costs). Matching can also be schedule-based, making it easier for people who arrive and depart from work at the same time to buddy up.
  • Set up reduced-rate and preferred parking systems for carpoolers. Offer reduced-rate or free parking to vehicles used in carpools, or give carpoolers privileged access to preferred parking spots or lots.

Remember: ridesharing/carpooling and public transit programs work well together. Integrating them, rather than approaching each program as standalone entities, will help drum up higher participation rates in your smart commuting initiatives.

A cutting-edge commuter management platform like the RideAmigos software suite is ideal for creating and administering effective programs that have a positive impact on your business, and in your community. To learn more about our industry-leading software, please contact us or view our free video demonstration.

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What is Transportation Resilience?

Defining and understanding transportation resilience

In the context of risk management, “resilience” is defined as a system’s ability to continue to function at an acceptable level of efficiency in the face of disruptive or unexpected conditions. This concept has been imported into the world of transportation demand management, giving rise to the idea of “transportation resilience.”

Transportation resilience is defined as the ability of a transportation system to move people around in the face of one or more major obstacles to normal function. These obstacles can include extreme weather events, major accidents, and equipment or infrastructure failures. More specifically, the concept of transportation resilience has even more precise implications, depending on how the term is applied:

  • For individuals, transportation resilience means being able to get around if the person’s vehicle breaks down, or if the person is injured, becomes disabled, or suffers a loss of income
  • For communities, it means that public transit is accessible, and that traffic can continue to move despite accidents, emergencies, seasonal construction projects, or special events
  • On a design level, it means that transportation systems have specific built-in features to deal with extreme levels of demand and critical, unexpected problems
  • On an economics level, it enables personal transportation to continue functioning even if an important resource, such as oil or gasoline, becomes unavailable or prohibitively expensive
  • On a strategy level, it means a transportation system is created to accommodate future growth and possible changes to future usage or access patterns

At the day-to-day level, transportation resilience is of greatest concern to individuals and communities. It is something businesses and commuters need to think about, since the availability of transportation is critical to the function of both these entities.

What types of organizations have the most pronounced need for resilient transportation strategies?

Transportation resilience is critical to organizations with high concentrations of commuters. The more dependent those commuters are on single-occupancy vehicles, the more important it becomes.

All kinds of unexpected events can disrupt a person’s commute — car trouble, bad weather, traffic congestion, transit outages, accidents. The key to transportation resilience is to offer commuters alternatives that enable them to get around despite these issues.

Proven strategies for improving organizational transportation resilience

Some aspects of transportation resilience are beyond an organization’s control. Extreme weather events, like severe summer storms and blizzards that dump massive amounts of snow, will disrupt even the most carefully planned resilience strategies. Yet, despite this, careful planning and foresight can dramatically boost your organization’s ability to continue functioning at a high level in the face of everyday problems.

Let’s start with an essential “ridesharing for enterprises 101” type of concept: the importance of information. Encourage commuters to get in the habit of checking traffic information before they leave home in the morning. You’d be surprised how many people don’t bother to seek updates on things like road and traffic conditions until they’re already on the move. This can lead to major problems. After all, how likely is it that a commuter is going to turn around, go back home, and seek an alternative mode of transportation after driving into the thick of a traffic jam?

This easy, simple habitual shift helps commuters make smarter choices from the get-go. If traffic congestion is causing major delays along their normal driving route, commuters can simply opt for public transportation or other alternatives that allow them to bypass problem areas, get to work on time, and maintain their normal levels of productivity.

To that end, employers can make this transition even easier by building supports for alternative commuting into their transportation demand management models:

  • Offer free or subsidized monthly transit passes to commuters
  • Install secure bicycle parking along with showers and lockers to make active commuting a viable option
  • Introduce an emergency ride home program to help overcome commuter hesitation

Another excellent way to improve organizational transportation resilience is to offer flexible telework options. After all, the most efficient commute is one that’s never made.

Working from home is a great strategy for maintaining productivity no matter what local weather and traffic conditions may throw at you. Help employees stay productive by offering telework commuter services that help employees new to the world of remote working make key adjustments. Chances are you’ll find teleworking a highly beneficial solution, as it boosts employees’ work-life balance and improves job satisfaction. Ancillary benefits include superior employee retention rates and a happier, more positive workplace culture.

Power your solutions with the RideAmigos smart commuting app

The RideAmigos commuter hub is replete with features that support transportation resilience for commuters and the businesses that employ them. With easy-to-use planning features and connections to a complete range of transportation alternatives, users can take part in rideshare and carpooling programs, make better use of public transit, use carshares, and much more.

Get started with RideAmigos

Ridesharing Management Software

Why is ridesharing management software so essential to the resurgence of the carpooling movement?

After a brief period in vogue during the energy crises of the 1970s, carpooling receded to the background in the 1980s and 1990s. But more recently, ridesharing is dramatically resurging. Heightened awareness of the negative environmental impacts of single-occupancy vehicle commuting is one of the major reasons for its comeback, but there’s another: smart technology like ridesharing management software.

Today commuters experience unprecedented levels of Internet connectivity, making it easier than ever before for carpoolers to connect with one another, form groups, share costs, and enjoy the many benefits of ridesharing. Beyond reducing pollution, ridesharing also helps commuters save money on parking, fuel, and vehicle maintenance costs while reducing stress and improving workplace productivity.

On an organizational level, modern transportation demand management software is essential to the sustained success of carpooling and ridesharing initiatives. Such software provides ridematching tools to help commuters with similar schedules travelling from similar areas find one another, and can also manage carpool rewards programs to make sharing rides an even more desirable option.

Convenience is a crucial driver of behavior change, as commuters are far more likely to embrace ridesharing if it is as accessible as hopping in the car in the morning and driving away. Modern technology makes this possible.

Features to look for in ridesharing management software

Organizations that are looking to create a long-term culture change in their commuter bases should look for ridesharing management software tools that offers these user-friendly features:

  • Intelligent rideshare matching. Give users the ability to find rideshare matches along their commuting routes in seconds.
  • Network creation. Enable different organizational departments or locations to form their own individually administered rideshare networks.
  • Support for incentive programs. Encourage higher levels of participation through rewards programs, mode-based challenges, and other gamification initiatives that get people excited about taking part.
  • Built-in messaging and trip planner software. Help users make quick, efficient connections with other rideshare participants in their network(s), and plan their complete journeys with ease and simplicity.
  • Reporting tools. Track program progress, generate charts and maps, and draw on categorized data to generate key strategic insights that support long-term success.

How ridesharing management software supports the success of commuter programs

Daily commute apps like the RideAmigos platform deliver important benefits on both the administration and end-user sides of the coin. That’s what drives their effectiveness: they make it easy to create, promote, and manage effective commuter programs while simultaneously delivering convenience to commuters themselves.

Here are some of the major benefits administrators enjoy:

  • Survey and data analysis functions: No matter what type of commuter management strategy you’re considering, you will always be able to make it more effective if you base it around actionable, statistics-driven insights. The RideAmigos platform makes it easy to distribute surveys so you can glean key insights into commuter behavior. Its advanced data analysis tools also reveal many effective ways to put that information to work.
  • Gamification management: As mentioned, gamification is a highly effective and proven way to get people on board with your commuter programs. But what about all the data they generate? Team-based challenge programs and points-based rewards programs both require careful tracking. It’s a lot of work to do manually, but software-based solutions automate data collection and distribution, making managing gamification initiatives a turnkey proposition.
  • Tracking features: Without software, you’ll largely be left in the dark from day to day with regard to how well your programs and initiatives are performing. If monthly or quarterly check-ins reveal inefficiencies, you’ll quickly find yourself scrambling to play catch-up as you tweak your programs to better address user needs. Software platforms offer daily reporting tools that immediately let you see how well you’re faring. They’ll save you time, money, and energy.

A powerful app for ride sharing also benefits commuters in many tangible ways. Platforms with the aforementioned features achieve something that’s critical to the success of any carpooling initiative: making ridesharing just as easy and convenient as solo driving. By creating user-friendly rideshare networks and supporting secure, instantaneous messaging, commuters are far more likely to use the platform to share rides than they would be if they didn’t have specialized software to guide them.

Ridesharing has also been proven to reduce stress, improve productivity, support health, and help commuters expand their social networks. These benefits have trickle-down effects that can also make a positive impact on your company’s bottom line.

Turbocharge your initiatives with the industry’s leading ridesharing management software

The RideAmigos transportation demand management platform offers these and many other tools for creating and administering ridesharing programs. RideAmigos has already helped hundreds of private and public sector organizations build efficient and successful ridesharing communities, and we’d like to help you too. To learn more, click here to get started with further information, a consultation, or a free analysis of your existing rideshare initiatives.

Employer Transportation Benefits

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

What Are Commuter Benefits?

Discover how commuter benefits programs help businesses attract and retain higher-quality employees, build company culture, and even save money.

Commuter Management Apps

Invest in commuter management apps and help build a happier, healthier workforce

Commuter management apps help enterprises and organizations maximize the proven benefits of their transportation programs. Getting as many people on board as possible is the key to realizing the full potential of your commuter initiatives, and apps are a crucial tool for achieving that objective.

Beyond simplifying and streamlining administrative tasks, commuter management apps are excellent communication platforms. They make it quick and easy for administrators to create, promote, and manage programs, and for participants and end users to find and contact one another. This connectivity is key to building carpool, bikepool, rideshare, and multimodal transit programs that get results.

Industry-leading commuter management apps deliver powerful core capabilities and near-endless customization options.

The groundbreaking RideAmigos platform delivers a groundbreaking suite of commuter management apps. Highlights include:

  • Multimodal trip planners. End users can access a complete range of local transportation options and route planners. Trip logging features make it easy to save details for future reference, encouraging commuters to make better use of alternatives.
  • Rideshare matching features. Building a rideshare or carpool program? Use commuter management apps to match users who live in the same area and/or share similar work schedules, then put them in touch with each other.
  • Gamification and incentives. One of the best ways to raise participation rates is to get people excited through friendly competitions and incentive programs. Commuter management apps make it a breeze to track results, and manage and distribute incentives to winning participants.
  • Network creation, management, and reporting tools. Administrators can use apps to create and manage an unlimited number of networks for regions, departments, branch offices, districts, social groups, classes, challenge leagues, and more.
  • Data analysis and survey distribution features. Policy decisions should be informed by facts, not anecdotal evidence. Commuter management apps help administrators distribute surveys and generate custom reports to help gain deep, useful insights into user behaviors.

These core capabilities are made even more effective by a complete range of localization and customization tools. Create custom user dashboards, enhance the power of trip planning features, tap deep into local transit network resources, and put your commuter management program in overdrive.

To learn more about our next-generation commuter management app, please contact us at RideAmigos or sign up to view our free, comprehensive video demo.

University & School Transportation

University and school transportation management poses a complex set of challenges that demand flexible solutions

Universities, colleges, and schools present a distinct and complicated set of transportation demand management (TDM) challenges. Safety and accessibility are among the major focuses of university and school TDM initiatives, but finding dynamic solutions without the right tools is not an easy undertaking. The larger a school is, the more difficult transportation management becomes.

School communities can be broadly divided into two groups: students, and faculty/staff. Students often have differing schedules, especially at the postsecondary level. This makes inflexible, one-size-fits-all approaches to TDM impractical and ineffective. Faculty and staff members tend to work more standardized hours, but limitations on available parking spaces can lead to logistical headaches.

With students coming and going at differing hours, peak traffic levels can be difficult to predict, and they often change from one semester to another. At the same time, creating an equitable distribution system for parking passes can be very problematic. Both students and faculty/staff need access to a broad range of flexible transportation options that cut down on the amount of vehicular traffic on campus while reducing demand for limited parking. This is where TDM software like RideAmigos can be a big help.

RideAmigos offers comprehensive university and school transportation demand management tools

From the perspective of the end user, the RideAmigos platform is an extremely valuable tool for planning commutes to and from campus. The platform’s multi-mode trip planner gives users instant access to a wealth of options and information, enabling them to plan and save journeys using a combination of public transit, walking, cycling, ridesharing and carpooling, vanpooling, and more. Faculty, staff, and students all benefit. On-campus traffic is reduced, demand for parking diminishes, and school facilities remain completely accessible.

Network managers and administrators can also create highly effective TDM campaigns that meet the distinct needs of each sub-group. The RideAmigos platform has advanced network creation and management tools. These tools allow administrators to create specific subnetworks that can be arranged by user group, department, campus, or any other criteria that makes sense for your school community. Unique programs, challenges, and publicity campaigns can be distributed on a network-by-network basis, allowing administrators to reach targeted groups of users while having immediate access to a comprehensive suite of data collection, reporting, and analysis tools.

RideAmigos has already helped a long and growing list of school communities address their commuter transportation needs. To learn more about how RideAmigos can benefit your campus, please contact us today.

Commuter Management Platform

Implement a commuter management platform to help build a happier, more productive workforce

Businesses are becoming acutely aware of the negative effects of single-occupancy vehicle commuting. Congested roads damage more than just the environment; they contribute to increased stress and decreased employee productivity.

Employees who routinely make long, arduous daily commutes in their personal vehicles are also more likely to experience job dissatisfaction. This can, in turn, fuel increased employee turnover rates, which can really eat into a company’s bottom line.

Commuter management platforms offer a dynamic, technology-driven solution to enterprises that are looking to help employees find better ways of getting to and from work. Simply put, these platforms provide businesses with the technological tools they need to create, promote, and manage programs designed to get commuters out of single-occupancy vehicles and into smarter alternatives. The end result is a happier, less stressed, and more productive group of employees.

Commuter management platforms generate both immediate and long-term benefits

Commuter management platforms like RideAmigos guide commuters to the many different available transportation alternatives. They can be used to connect employees who live in close proximity to one another, enabling coworkers to share driving duties as part of a corporate carpool. Beyond reducing wear and tear on individually owned vehicles and helping carpoolers reduce their driving expenses, rideshare programs are a great way to support team-building and community development initiatives.

A growing number of companies are also embracing vanpools, which are essentially privately operated shuttle services that link places of employment with local transit hubs. With the right tools, it’s easy to create and manage vanpools, all while promoting the service to employees and increasing participation rates.

Public transit is also supported. End users can instantly access multimodal route planners and log their trips so they can easily be retrieved and repeated. Reporting and data analysis tools make it a breeze for administrators to keep track of perks like transit pass reimbursements and transit token distribution. You can even use commuter management platforms to build a bikepool group, allowing employees to ride to work together.

These features combine to create an outstanding value proposition for businesses. Key advantages include:

  • Happier, more satisfied employees
  • Reduced stress and increased productivity
  • Reduced demand for parking
  • Enhanced sense of community and collegiality
  • Lower employee turnover rates and increased job satisfaction levels
  • Decreased environmental impact and increased sustainability
  • Support for branding and business identity initiatives

To learn more about how the RideAmigos commuter management platform can benefit your business, get started with RideAmigos today!

Reducing Parking Costs

Reducing parking costs doesn’t just boost your bottom line, it also helps the environment and creates a safer community

Providing employees with safe, accessible parking places can cost businesses thousands of dollars per month. This is especially true for companies with offices in high-demand areas, where multiple enterprises have to compete for limited resources.

The most direct path to reducing parking costs is to get employees to leave their cars at home and find alternative ways of getting to work. After all, the cheapest parking spot is one that isn’t needed in the first place.

It isn’t just businesses that can benefit by reducing demand for parking. Community colleges and universities are constantly struggling to make the best possible use of their limited parking resources. Assigning and managing parking passes can be a complicated process that drains finances and makes inefficient use of employee time.

Campus safety is another big concern for college and university administrators. One of the best ways to build a pedestrian-friendly school community is to scale back the number of vehicles using campus roads. Commuter management software tools like the RideAmigos platform helps achieve this while simultaneously reducing demand for parking.

Helping commuters find efficient transportation alternatives is the key to reducing parking costs

Connecting commuters to transportation options that don’t require parking is the simplest and most effective way to cut costs and enhance community safety. The RideAmigos platform puts powerful tools in the hands of businesses and organizations, making it easy to:

  • Create and manage carpool, bikepool, and rideshare networks
  • Put commuters who live in the same area in contact with each other
  • Find a complete range of local transportation alternatives, including public transit, rideshares, vanpools, and walking/biking routes
  • Save journey details for easy future reference
  • Create and manage commuter challenge and incentive programs that give people added impetus to participate
  • Build custom commuter networks for easier program management
  • Generate custom reports to track program progress and make strategic improvements

Together, these capabilities have the potential to dramatically reduce parking costs and relieve traffic congestion.

With an industry-leading suite of powerful commuter management features, the RideAmigos platform is the ideal partner for enterprises and organizations looking to cut parking costs by getting community members out of single-occupancy vehicles.

To learn more about how our revolutionary platform can help your business or organization reduce parking needs and increase commuter satisfaction, contact us today or sign up to view our free video demonstration.

Government Rideshare Solutions

Government Rideshare Solutions

Set a shining example with the RideAmigos suite of government rideshare solutions.

Government organizations play a key leadership role in bringing about changes in the way people move around cities and regions. Because of this, implementing government rideshare solutions is a great way to send the right message. Reducing reliance on single-occupancy vehicles stands to save government untold millions of dollars on infrastructure upkeep and pollution-related costs. Creating easy-to-use rideshare programs for commuters is an excellent way create change.

The RideAmigos suite of user-friendly and powerful government transportation demand management solutions makes it easy for COGs, TMAs and TMOs to create, publicize, and manage rideshare networks. Government agencies can launch interactive rideshare networks and subnetworks for specific geographic regions or individual companies within minutes. Network adminstrators will enjoy outstanding convenience and pinpoint control over the creation, contextualization, and administration of employee-oriented rideshare networks. As you can see, RideAmigos is packed full of features that support to more widespread adoption of smart commuting and alternative transportation strategies.

Powerful features make it easy to illuminate and analyze the positive impact of government rideshare solutions.

The advanced commuter data analysis tools offered by the RideAmigos software platform are invaluable to government agencies. These analytic capabilities allow government organizations to gather revealing metrics and important information about commuter transportation habits with ease through a robust variety of analysis options.

Specific to government rideshare solutions, these analytic capabilities gather data related to program usage. Supplemented with dynamic geographic information system (GIS) mapping features, it’s a breeze to use RideAmigos to generate visualizations, maps, graphs, and charts. Together, these features can paint a detailed picture of how effective current programs are. The data analysis supported by our software platform helps key decision-makers and policy designers make wiser, evidence-based decisions about how to expand and improve transportation initiatives.

A growing number of government-sector organizations have adopted our comprehensive rideshare platform in recent years, to great success. Ridesharing has proven to be one of the most effective ways to reduce reliance on single-occupancy vehicles while still allowing commuters to enjoy the key benefits of private transportation.

If you’d like to learn more about our government rideshare solutions, or if you’re interested in exploring our software platform’s full set of capabilities, please contact us or sign up to view our free, comprehensive video demo.

Government Transportation Demand Management

Government Transportation Demand Management

Transportation demand management has emerged as a crucial area of focus for local and regional governments across the country and around the world.

From the earliest beginnings of the transportation demand management (TDM) movement, government agencies have been front and center. Government decisions impact thousands of people belonging to both current and future generations. Therefore, the importance of making the right choices cannot be overstated. Government TDM solutions like the RideAmigos software platform provide decision-makers with an enhanced range of powerful tools. This can make a world of difference when it comes to the smart management of urban growth and changing transportation needs.

The era of the single-occupancy vehicle finally appears to be waning, and municipalities across the United States and around the world are looking to the future. They’re finding out that what’s set to change isn’t so much the ways people get around. Rather, what will change are the ways people access those transportation options. Modes like rapid light rail transit, subways, buses, walking, cycling, ridesharing, and carpooling are all here to stay. Giving people new ways to locate and manage such choices is what’s going to build a better future.

Government agencies are also tasked with finding ways to manage the differing and sometimes-conflicting needs of the private sector and the public. The keys to success are communication and policy decisions that are guided by hard data and analytics, rather than special interests and anecdotal evidence. This is where the RideAmigos commuter management platform can make a major difference.

Discover a new generation of powerful TDM solutions for government agencies.

The RideAmigos platform provides parent organizations with effective and easy-to-use technology-driven solutions that support the creation and management of TDM networks and subnetworks. This provides government transportation demand management authorities with superior levels of control and autonomy when creating, contextualizing, and managing municipal transportation programs. It also puts powerful management solutions in their hands, enabling them to identify, anticipate, and solve challenges and problems through advanced analytics and data collection initiatives.

RideAmigos has already helped dozens of government agencies make more efficient and cost-effective forays into the dynamic 21st-century transportation demand management landscape. To learn more about how the RideAmigos platform supports government organizations and policy makers, please contact us or register to view our comprehensive video demonstration.

Government TDM Articles