Five low-cost, high-value commuting strategies. King County Metro and the cities of Kent, Renton and Tukwila have teamed up to offer area employers five economical ways to help employees get out of their cars and into healthier, cheaper and greener commuting options. Employers can choose any of the five option(s) below to help employees get to work on time, cut their commuting costs and earn commuter rewards. Don't miss this opportunity to help your employees save money and commute smarter! 1. Create a transit-friendly workplace.
Kent, Renton and Tukwila are served by Commuter Rail, Light Rail and dozens of local and express bus routes. And, King County Metro has the largest public vanpool program in the nation! Vanpools operate like mini buses with routes customized to the riders.
What you will get: An ORCA Passport (annual transit pass) for each of your employees that they can use for full fare payment on King County Metro Transit and VanPool, Sound Transit Express Buses, Sounder Commuter Rail and Link Light Rail, Pierce Transit, Community Transit and Kitsap Transit. The ORCA Passport is good for unlimited rides, so think of how much money you can save your employees.
Plus, employees will be enrolled in Metro's Home Free Guarantee program to get them home from work in case of emergency. With Home Free Guarantee, they can feel confident stepping away from their car! Each ORCA Passport has a retail value of over $2,000. Plus, you will receive free tools and commuter rewards to inspire your employees.
What it will cost you: Less than $70 per employee.
Employers with 20 or more employees can purchase this ORCA Passport (annual transit pass + guaranteed ride home) for all employees for $139.05 per employee LESS a 50% rebate. Plus, the standard $5 ORCA card fee has been waived. The ORCA Passport with a retail value of over $2,000 will cost less than $50 per employee for the first year. Employers may charge up to 50% of the cost of the pass back to employees.
2. Create a walk-friendly workplace.
Take steps to link employees to public transportation by supporting a walk-friendly workplace and encourage those employees who live close enough to walk all the way to work. Learn what you can do to remove barriers and encourage this healthy, free and sustainable commute option.
What you will get:
- Walkability checklist and recommendation report for you location
- Walking ambassador training for one or more of your employees
- Walking map of your worksite including transit connections, commmunity resources and public amentities
- Free tools and commuter rewards to inspire your employees.
What it will cost you: $0. Staff from Feet First are providing commute consulting to area businesses.
3. Create a bike-friendly workplace.
A good employee bike commuting program makes great business sense. Bike commuting can reduce your healthcare costs and minimize parking congestion and costs. Does your business have the infrastructure and resources to support a vibrant bicycle commuting program? Find out now!
What you will get:
- A site assessment of existing conditions for bike commuters
- An overview of surrounding on-street bike infrastructure and critical gaps
- An analysis of employee commuting using existing data
- Recommendations for strategic improvements
- Free tools and commuter rewards to inspire your employees.
What it will cost you: $0. Staff from Cascade Bicycle Club are being paid by this project to deliver commute consulting.
Washington residents spend an average of $8,220 a year to own and operate a car - but only $308 for a bicycle. Riding for 30 minutes a day meets the Center for Disease Control's recommendation for physical activity and reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke by 50%.
4. Provide commute assistance to your employees with limited English proficiency.
The US Census report shows that more than 400,000 King County residents over age five - 23% of the population - speak a language other than English at home. Nearly half of these residents, 188,000 people, report that they do not speak English well or at all. We'd like to work with you to make sure all of your employees understand their commuting options.
What you will get: Commute training at your site - or a neighboring site - for one or more of your employees whom you appoint as commute ambassadors. Your commute ambassador(s) need to be able to understand English and need to be willing and able to communicate with other employees in a language other than English. This two-hour training can happen over a long lunch-hour or at another time that is convenient for your employees. They will leave the training with information and resources to help fellow employees understand their commuting options. Plus, we will offer commuter rewards to your employees who choose to log their use of step-away-from-your-car commute options.
What is will cost you: $0. Staff from King County Metro Transit will deliver commute training to your employee commute ambassadors.
5. Investigate telework and compressed workweeks as effective ways to reduce costs and increase employee productivity and satisfaction.
How do your employees earn commuter rewards? When your employees pledge to commute by stepping-away-from-their-car at least six (6) times per month and log their commutes, their will earn a commuter reward with a value of over $80. They will be able to choose from a list of rewards including: - transit vouchers
- vanpool vouchers
- bicycle tune-ups
- bike equipment
- walking shoes
- gas cards
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