| The right incentives and policies can encourage your employees to make a smart commute choice. The way a person commutes to work is a habit that is perfected over time with practice. Motivating someone to change their commute behavior through carpooling, vanpooling, train, bus, bicycling, walking, even telecommuting - is sometimes as simple as making them aware of their commute options - but in many cases, something more might need to be done to entice them to make the switch.
EMPLOYER POLICIES
Take a good look at the policies at your worksite. Do they encourage or discourage driving alone to work? A supportive environment can go a long way in making employees feel comfortable about leaving work on time every day to catch a train or a vanpool. Commuter-friendly policies include the following...
An
Guaranteed Ride Program to provide a ride to ridesharing
employees in the event of an emergency or unscheduled overtime.
More on the Guaranteed Ride Program.
A Preferred Parking Program that reserves prime parking spaces for carpools and vanpools.
Flexible Work Hours that enable employees to modify their work hours to accommodate carpool, vanpool, or transit schedules.
A Late Meetings Policy that discourages late-day meetings whenever possible, so employees can meet their carpool or vanpool.
A Parking Management Program offering reduced parking fees for carpoolers and vanpoolers.
An Employee Transportation Allowance that can be used to cover either parking costs at the worksite or transit fares.
INCENTIVES
Many employees believe that driving alone to work provides freedom and convenience. If you ignore the traffic, they are probably right. To make the alternative appear as attractive as driving alone, an extra incentive might be needed, such as...
Company participation in "Commuter Choice", DeduCT-A-Ride (Connecticut's name for Commuter Choice), or $Commute-n-Save$ (Westchester County's name for Commuter Choice). These programs that allow a federal pre-tax benefit to employees who commute by train, bus, ferry or in a qualified vanpool.
Employee Recognition, from a pat on the back from the CEO at an annual awards luncheon, to a "Commuter of the Month" posting on the bulletin board.
The opportunity to earn Time Off With Pay after using a commute option for a specified period of time.
Contests and Prize Drawings for participating employees.
Recruitment Rewards to encourage existing participants to recruit new ones.
Birthdays Off when you carpool, vanpool, bike, walk, or use transit.
Commuter Club Membership with discounts on cafeteria meals, T-shirts, mugs and other low-cost items.
Your MetroPool Regional Manager can tell you more about these and other strategies that can help turn your company into a commuter-friendly workplace. State-sponsored programs may also be available.
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