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Facts and Figures

eCommute

Environmental Benefits of E-Commuting

  • If 10% of the nation's workforce telecommuted one day a week, we would avoid the frustration of driving 24.4 million miles, we'd breathe air with 12,963 tons less air pollution, and we'd conserve more than 1.2 million gallons of fuel each week. (www.homeworkers.org)
  • According to the statistic above, if 10% of commuters E-commuted one day a week, the emissions reduced would be approximately three times the weight of the capitol dome. (source: Architect of the Capitol; 4,454 ton dome vs. 12,963 tons of emission)

Traffic Congestion Reductions

  • The U.S. Federal Government (Bureau of Transportation Statistics) estimated that in 1996 the annual congestion cost for 70 metropolitan areas in the U.S. was approximately $74 billion.
  • Dr. Roger Stough of George Mason University has indicated that "a ten-percent reduction in vehicle traffic will result in approximately a thirty-person reduction in traffic volume." This means that there is a three-to-one impact on congestion for each car taken off the road.
  • The combined time wasted by workers in LA, Houston, Denver, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. totals 1.261 BILLION hours of sitting in traffic. This is the equivalent to the lifespan of nearly 180, 80-year old adults. (Texas Institute of Transportation)
  • A commuter who drives 40 minutes to work each day spends as much time in her car as she would working an eight-hour day for eight-weeks.

E-Commuting Improves Bottom Line Performance

  • The City of Los Angeles has documented two days of sick time saved per commuter as a result of E-commuting. The County of Los Angeles reports four days saved. These savings are due to the fact that in the event of personal emergencies or illnesses, employees can work around the issues and still complete a day of work.
  • An International Telework Association and Council (ITAC) survey found that employers can save 63 percent of the cost of absenteeism, or $2068 per employee per year due to reduced absenteeism.
  • A recent independent cost-benefit analysis indicated that an employer's potential annual benefits for a part-time E-commuter can be as high was $14,388. This figure is based upon a worker E-commuting 1.5 days per week.
  • ITAC also reported that productivity rose 15-percent among home-based teleworkers, while telework-center based employees reported a 30 percent improvement.

E-Commuting and Employee Morale

  • Employees love E-commuting. In focus groups held with telecommuters it is not uncommon to hear of employees that save 3-4 hours per day as a result of telecommuting. When asked what they do with hours that they gain back per day, employees report that they "spend time with their families, cook meals, exercise, take classes, and live a better life."