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Week of October 13, 2008
Metro makes good business sense for local employers
Employees at Palace Kitchen, a Tom Douglas restaurant and participant in a Metro Employer Program.
| Helping employees get to work is a challenge being faced by a growing number of King County businesses.
Driving to work alone is seldom the best option considering the cost of gas, parking costs, not to mention the contribution single drivers make to congestion and harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
For hundreds of employers - that’s where King County Metro Transit comes in.
More than 2,000 businesses participate in employer programs with Metro. Through these programs, companies have discovered they can provide commute savings to their employees at no or very low cost to themselves.
“We provide a variety of tools, such as classes on commuting options and mapping so business owners can see where their employees live and whether they are candidates for vanpools,” said Gayle Delanty, Metro’s Employer Transportation Representative. “We also help employers survey their workers to get a better sense of their commuting habits so we can develop new and better travel alternatives. These are all tools that benefit both employers and their workers.”
One company that has teamed up with Metro is the McKinstry Company, a mechanical contracting business in south Seattle that is helping its employees commute to work from all across the county.
McKinstry employees | “We have a number of different individuals commuting to different locations,” said Mari Anderson, Vice President of Human Resources at McKinstry. “How could we serve up an opportunity, and have all of our employees engaged in this? Metro had a lot of good ideas and brought them to the table, which has turned out to be a great resource for us.”
Another local employer, Tom Douglas, is a well known local restaurant owner. He says he participates not only for the benefit of his employees, but also as part of his commitment to running a green business.
“It makes sense for us as a restaurant company to participate in this bus pass program because we have 550 employees downtown,” says Douglas. “This is a way to get people who may not be able to afford to live downtown an affordable way to get downtown. It’s just an awesome way for us to get employees to and from work.”
And bus and vanpools are not the only Metro tools being used by area employers. REI is partnering with King County and other businesses and agencies in a ‘Green Bike Project’. Through this effort, participating employees have been provided with free bicycles in exchange for a promise to reduce their own drive-alone commuting by 60 percent.
Metro consults with about 400 businesses annually regarding these commute programs, and starts about 100 new programs as a result of those consultations.
For information on participating in one Metro's employer programs, visit the Employer Commute Services website.
Metro will be offering game-day bus service to Husky Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 18 as the University of Washington takes on Oregon State. Eliminate driving and parking hassles on trips to and from Husky Stadium. Your ride is free on any Metro bus when you show your Husky game ticket or ticket stub to the bus driver. There is special shuttle service from eight outlying park-and-ride lots, and three special service routes from downtown Seattle. See Metro Online for all the Husky service details. |
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Join the Metro Employees Historic Vehicle Association (MEHVA) on Sunday, Oct. 19 for a trip to the hills to view the fall foliage. The four-hour trip travels through the Cascade foothills along the quiet back roads of east King County when the autumn leaves are turning color. There will be stops for photos and lunch. The historic buses depart at 11 a.m. from the corner of Second Avenue South and South Main Street in Pioneer Square. The fares are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors (65 and over) and $4 for children (2-11). Metro transfers, tickets, or passes are not accepted. See the MEHVA website for more details, or call the MEHVA hotline at (206) 684-1816. |
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