From transit and park-and-ride services, to alternative work schedules and telecommuting, there are many ways to make commuting easier for you and your employees. If you’re an employer who isn’t sure where to get started, find your TripSmart PA contact.
Park and Ride
Park and Ride (P&R) lots are areas specifically dedicated to commuters who need to park their vehicles while using public transit or participating in carpools or vanpools. As common meeting spots, they provide adequate space and a safe, convenient place for drivers to leave their cars while sharing a ride to work.
Official P&R lots include:
- Clearly marked paved lots or gravel areas specifically designed or designated by state or local transportation officials; maintained by state or local government
- Lots or areas with alternate uses at non-peak commute times, upon official agreement with owner (e.g., church lot or extra, "fringe" parking at shopping areas)
- Lots associated with transit stops, often maintained by the transit company and usually for use by transit riders only
Park and Ride Lots in the Delaware Valley
Using Transit
Buses, trains, subways, and trolleys move over 300,000 people a day in the Delaware Valley. Even if your worksite is convenient to SEPTA or other transit services, your employees may not know when or where the bus or train operates, or how to use the service. Your TripSmart PA contact and the transportation provider can work with you and your employees in overcoming these obstacles. Information fairs and trial rides can be arranged to orient your employees to transit. You can encourage greater use of this option with a tax-free fare program, too. Visit Employee Incentives.
Alternative Work Schedules
Flextime
Research has shown employees are more likely to consider shared commutes when they have a bit of flexibility with arrival and departure times, to better accommodate transit and carpool or vanpool schedules. For example, although official office hours may be 8:30 am to 5 pm, employees may be allowed to arrive between 7:30 and 9 am and leave between 4 and 5:30 pm. However employees usually cannot flex their schedule daily and must commit to a regular schedule long term.
Alternative scheduling helps employees feel supported in their attempts to share rides to work, without worrying they'll be reprimanded for arriving late or leaving early.
Compressed Workweek
Offering a compressed workweek helps reduce the number of single-occupancy vehicles (SOVs) arriving at the worksite during the week. This option allows employees not affected by collective bargaining to condense their hours into fewer days, increasing the workday length but decreasing the number of days spent traveling to the worksite.
The most common condensed work week combinations are:
- 4/40: 4 days/10 hours per day
- 3/36: 3 days/12 hours per day
- 9/80: 9 nine-hour days in a two-week, 40-hour period (work 5, off 2, work 4, off 3)
Employers can choose to either close their offices on the day(s) off, or keep offices open every day but have fewer people arriving each day. This option can be implemented year-round, or seasonally; it’s especially great for summer. Employees usually select their workdays ahead of time, and they don't change.
Parking Management
Most employees who receive free parking consider it a guarantee, not a perk or a privilege. Parking management encourages employees to use shared commute methods by making single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) travel less convenient and/or more expensive. This tactic is most effective in the suburbs, where parking is viewed as plentiful and inexpensive.
There are several proven methods of parking management:
- Charge a fee for parking if it is currently free. This is best done as a daily charge, since some employees may still be working from home.
- Establish a "cash out" program in which all employees receive a transportation "subsidy" from their employer. Commuters who choose to drive alone and park must pay a fee equal to the subsidy; those who use transit or vanpools can use the subsidy, plus pre-tax dollars, toward their transit or vanpool fares through a compliant commuter benefit provider.
With a cash-out system, employees who currently drive do not suffer detrimental consequences, and those who don't drive now receive a reward for their efforts. (Tax laws should be reviewed before instituting any subsidies.)
- Since carpools are not covered by the commuter benefit, consider hosting a regular raffle for carpoolers to win gas cards, coffee or food gift cards, or other rewards.
- Offer prime, specially-marked spaces to those who carpool and vanpool regularly. This works best if these spaces are covered and/or close to an entrance.
These programs can also benefit employers by eliminating the need for additional lot construction and reducing insurance and maintenance costs. Consultation on these options may be arranged through your TMA contact. Find your TMA contact here.
Telework
As an alternative to physical commuting, telework allows employees to work from home or another remote location using technology. Also called "telecommuting," this option became more common during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many employers have continued to implement it, often through a hybrid in-office/telework policy. Many employers now recognize that offering some type of telework option is useful for attracting and retaining employees.
A formal telework policy can help companies reduce single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) travel to the work site and save on office space and overhead. Telework can also improve productivity: studies have shown that employees who have the option to telecommute periodically are more likely to meet their workday commitments and take fewer sick days.
Bicycle and Walking Facilities
To encourage pedestrian or bicycle alternatives—whether at an employment site, on a campus, or within a municipality—installing essential features such as bicycle parking/storage and shower/locker facilities is critical. Standard bike racks can be installed with little effort and at low cost; higher quality storage may require greater investment. Shower or changing facilities for bicyclists or runners at an employment site, or through an agreement with a nearby athletic facility, may also benefit employees who want to work out over lunch, and this added function may help justify installing or paying for these accommodations.
Shuttle Services
Sometimes transit services, bike lanes, or trails are nearby but not very convenient, or the walk from the transit stop to the worksite is not safe. Employers, office park management, and municipalities can still make use of existing transit options by operating or subsidizing shuttle services to and from the nearest transit stop(s) or lots. If offered a safe and reliable alternative to walking from the stop, more employees may consider using transit.
This service can be established by using rented shuttles, a ride-hailing service like Lyft or Uber, or through informal carpools or vanpools. This option becomes most cost-effective when several companies in the same vicinity pool their efforts and funds to serve more employees.
Accommodating Childcare Schedules
Daycare is an important issue for working parents, and it is often the main reason they do not share the commute to work. Accommodating working parents with children helps attract and retain high-caliber employees. While most employers cannot justify an on-site care facility, offering Emergency Ride Home services and instituting flextime or telecommuting policies allows parents to consider alternative commute options that allow them to better care for their children. This peace of mind also results in more focused, dedicated employees.