Travel
Information Bulletin
May - June, 2003
The
Hudson Region’s Best Workplaces for Commuters:
…………Does Your Worksite Measure Up?
In October of 2002, the Bay Area’s Best Workplaces for Commuters
Coalition recognized 84 employers for being placed on the first-ever list
of the Bay Area’s Best Workplaces for Commuters.
Those were the area’s employers committed to improving quality of
life for harried commuters while also reducing traffic and air pollution.
The Coalition is made up of Bay Area business, transportation,
human resource, environmental organizations, and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
Best Workplaces for Commuters NY-NJ-CT Area Roll
Out
was held on May 19,2003 at the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) Region 2 Offices in New York City.
About 40 people, representing key area businesses, public and
private transportation agencies, and environmental organizations showed up
to discuss the roll out of the campaign for the New York-New Jersey-
Connecticut metropolitan area. Best Workplaces for Commuters is seen as
the first element of a greater regional effort to enhance existing
transportation demand management in the region and set the region on a
path for meeting its air quality goals.
The campaign seeks to challenge a workplace to demonstrate its
commitment to providing employees with outstanding commuter benefits,
making its workplace a leader in helping to reduce traffic and air
pollution in the metropolitan area.
Generally,
the criteria for being recognized as one of the region’s Best Workplaces
for Commuters essentially ensures that the employers on the list also meet
the National Standard of Excellence as established by EPA’s Commuter
Choice Leadership Initiative (CCLI). The Commuter Choice Leadership
Initiative is a voluntary program that recognizes employers that offer a
comprehensive package of commuter benefits. CCLI program participants
agree to:
-
Centralize
commute information so that it is easy for employees to access and
use;
-
Promote
the availability of commuter benefits to employees;
-
Provide
access to a guaranteed ride home program;
-
Provide
one or more of the following primary commuter benefits:
-
Vanpool or transit benefits of at least $32.50 per month;
-
Parking cash out of at least $32.50 per month;
-
Telecommuting program that averages six percent of daily workforce;
-
Other option proposed by employer and agreed to by EPA
-
Provide
three or more of additional commuter benefits: Carpool/Vanpool
matching; Pre-tax commuter benefits; Shuttles from transit stations;
Real-time transit information; Preferred parking for ridesharers,
compressed work schedules; Telecommuting; employee commuting awards
program, etc.
-
Exceed
a minimum benchmark of either 14 percent of employees who do not drive
alone to work or an average vehicle ridership the number of vehicles
divided by the total number of employees) of 1.12.
For
more information and guidance for employers in promoting commuter
benefits, please visit Association for Commuter Transportation at www.ACTweb.org,
or National Transportation Demand Management at www.nctr.usf.edu/clearinghouse.
For
more Information on Best Workplaces for Commuters, you may contact
Connie Ruth at EPA (Region 2)
290 Broadway – Room 27D
New York, NY. 10007,
Tel. (212) 637-3000.
As
always, for more commute information, please contact us at the:
SMART COMMUTE Program at (914) 995-4444, or
e-mail us at tvo1@westchestergov.com
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