CommutingGreen

Employers can help make a difference - cleaner air starts with responsibility

Why rideshare?

Ridesharing, vanpooling and carpooling are all effective means for commuters who live and work near each other to ride together in an effort of saving time, money and the environment.

Americans love to drive. There are more cars, minivans and SUVs being driven more miles on our roads than ever before. That adds up to traffic and air pollution.

rideshare img Passenger vehicles are a major source of hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, and traffic on the road accounts for about 40 percent of the pollution that contributes to ground level ozone - the main ingredient in smog.

How can employers assist in increasing ridesharing for employees?

Employers can help improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion by informing, assisting and rewarding your employees who carpool - sharing rides to and from work with other commuters at least a couple of times a week, if not every day - or vanpooling for larger groups of people that want to commute together.

Inform.

Set a company goal and inform each employee how they can help achieve that goal. For instance, Company A has 50 employees and 45 of them currently drive alone to work. Company A's goal is to convert 5 drive alone employees into carpoolers. Company A will start by informing all employees of the benefits of carpooling, such as:

Cost Savings.

Commuting is expensive when you drive alone. Gas, tolls and parking, add up to thousands of dollars every year. By carpooling with just one other person, you can cut those costs in half. Add another person or two and your costs will be even lower - a small fraction of what they would have been had you continued driving alone.
Save Time.

Spend less time in traffic. Carpool vehicles get to destinations faster because they can travel in high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on major highways.
Relax.

Carpool members generally rotate driving duties. When you're a passenger, you can sit back and read, sip a cup of coffee, or even take a nap.
Do Your Part for the Environment.

Less cars on the road means less carbon dioxide emissions. This contributes to providing our planet with cleaner air and less health risks associated with smog.

Assist.

You can assist your employees efforts by sponsoring a rideshare program or by subsidizing the costs for your employees to join existing rideshares. As the employer, you can even deduct their remaining portion of their rideshare costs from their paycheck saving the employee up to 40% and saving the company up to 10%.

Reward.

For those employees who do convert from drive alone commuters to carpoolers, employee incentives and rewards are very effective tools for communicating to all employees that cleaner air is a priority for the company and the company appreciates those employees who share that priority. see an example