Commute Program Implementation

After surveying your employees, review the findings and follow the steps below to implement an employee commute program that works best for your organization. 

Review Your Survey Results

Use employee zip code information to identify groups of employees who live near each other but drive alone to work. Consider requests for specific commuter benefits and note trends in how your employees currently get to work.

Define your Commute Program

Based on your location and employees’ homes, choose commuter benefits that will best serve your workforce. After reviewing local transit, park-and-ride, bicycle, and pedestrian infrastructure consider what would best support your employees from these examples:

• Information
  • Transit and shuttle schedules
  • Resources for finding carpools and vanpools
  • Maps for bicycle and pedestrian use
• Assistance
  • Regular group commute-consultation sessions
  • One-on-one commute planning with employees
• Physical Support
  • Secure bicycle storage
  • Lockers and showers
  • Onsite amenities - gym, food service
  • Electric vehicle chargers
  • Preferred carpool and vanpool parking
  • Employer car-sharing and bike-sharing memberships and availability
• Logistical Support
  • In-house carpool and vanpool matching
  • Guaranteed ride home program
  • Flexible scheduling
  • Telework policy
• Incentives
  • Pre-tax benefit program - allow your employees to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for transit or vanpool expenses.
  • Funding subsidies – transit, vanpool, carpool, or bicycle
  • One-time incentives - cash reward, extra vacation time, or other prizes for commuting sustainably.

Set Goals

After identifying your benefits, set program goals. Success can be measured through a reduction in drive-alone rates, lower staff turnover, reduced absences, or unused parking spaces/lots. Goals can also be qualitative such as better work/life balance.

Launch Your Program

• Develop a plan to communicate your program benefits to employees. Unveil your program all at once or incrementally. Integrate your commute program messaging into new hire orientation. Research has shown employees are most receptive to changing their commute method when switching jobs.
• Periodic commute challenges create fun competition for your employees and the opportunity to try new commuting options. Employees can compete for prizes, badges, and bragging rights.
• While publicizing your commute options, track employee responses to your outreach efforts and determine which methods are most effective.

Analyze and Improve

Compare the results of your yearly follow-up survey to the original responses. Look for changes in your goal metrics. Note whether participation and use of your commute program has increased.