Incentives and subsidies

For the past 15 years, the hundreds of thousands of employees who have completed a CTR survey have consistently answered that financial incentives were the single most important thing their employer could offer to motivate them to consider a change in commute behavior.

Financial incentives generally fall into two categories:

1. Subsidies
2. Incentives

Subsidies are a financial benefit the employer provides on a regular basis, to individual employees – or employees who commute together - that directly lowers their costs of commuting. Examples include:

• Provide (free to employee) a transit or vanpool pass or ticketbook
• Share the cost of (with employees) a transit or vanpool pass or ticketbook
• Allow employees to use pre-tax income to purchase transit or vanpool passes or to purchase HOV parking
• Give discounted or free parking to carpools and vanpools
• Give vouchers or cash to carpoolers, bicyclists and walkers

Incentives are an expectation of employer-provided reward that motivates employees to a specific action or effort. Examples include:

• Prize Drawings
• Opportunity to earn a paid day off or free lunch for using commute alternative
• Carpool/vanpool formation bonus
• "Try it you’ll like it" prize
• Bicycle commute mileage prize