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Best Workplaces for Commuters: Impact and Benefits for Companies

Learn about the positive impact and benefits of the Best Workplaces for Commuters program for companies, including reduced CO2 emissions, fuel savings, and improved employee commuting options.

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Best Workplaces for Commuters: Impact and Benefits for Companies

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  1. The Data are In… Best Workplaces for Commuters gets Results! April 13, 2006 April 26, 2006 Robin Snyder, U.S. EPA

  2. Background aka “Back Story” • Number of miles traveled has tripled to nearly 3 trillion miles/yr • Cars burn about 8.5 million barrels of oil/day, 42% of total consumption • Passenger vehicles are a major source of smog • Cars are responsible for a billion metric tons of CO2 annually • Vast majority of commuters drive alone • The future: drive-alone commuting will add 43 MMT CO2 per year beginning in 2012

  3. BWC Program Indicators Overview • 2001-2005 Progress (Sept ’05 cut-off) • 1,443 employers have received the BWC designation • >300 BWC Network members • 89 Fortune 500 companies • 2.1% of US workforce receive BWC benefits (working at ~.02% of the nation’s employers)

  4. National Program Growth • Employers: • # of BWC employers grew by 25% in ’05 • # of employees covered grew by 40% in ’05 to nearly 3 million • 389 million gallons of fuel saved; 3.4 million metric tons of CO2 reduced (cumulative) • Districts: • Grew from 12 districts to 20 in ‘05 • # of employees in districts grew by more than 100% in ’05 • 31 million gallons of fuel saved per year

  5. Environmental Achievements *Dollars saved based on the average of the monthly gas prices for each fiscal year.

  6. Snapshot: Houston-Galveston • Houston-Galveston Area Council • BWC implementation as part of the State Implementation Plan Voluntary Measures • August ’05 – 3rd annual list release included nearly 80 employers covering 245,000 employees • Houston-Galveston has: • Reduced 112,000 metric tons of CO2 • Reduced 300 tons of NOx • Saved >12 million gallons of fuel • Saved $28 million in fuel costs • Reduced drive-alone commuting by 266 million miles

  7. BWC Commuter Benefits Reduce SOV Commuting EPA 2004 survey conclusions: • BWC is responsible for a 15% shift from drive-alone commuting to transit, vanpools, and carpools among employees working for BWC employers. • Contractors and temporary employees working at BWC worksites had a drive-alone rate 7% less than expected. Note: Employee and contractor/temp commuting behavior at BWC companies was compared to average commuting behavior for all commuters working in the same zip codes.

  8. Snapshot: Hacienda Business Park (CA) • >450 employers, 17,500 employees, and 3,500 residents • Free transit, rideshare resources & amenities, cycling and pedestrian accommodations, ERH, etc. • Residents & commuters receive commuter benefits • Hacienda has: • Reduced 8,000 metric tons of CO2 • Reduced 22 tons of NOx • Saved 900,000 gallons of gasoline • Saved $2 million in fuel costs • Reduced SOV-commuting by 19 million miles

  9. Commuter Benefits & the Bottom Line Depending on location & type of parking space, a single parking space can cost as much as $30,000 to build – and thousands more to maintain annually. • Emory University: • estimates construction costs for parking at $12,100 to $18,900 per space • provides annual transit passes @ $297/employee/year • Walt Disney Co. • saved more than $2 million in construction costs through ridesharing to reduce the size of employee garage • IBM: • 25,000 employees work from home • Company saves $95 million - $190 million/year on 9.5 million square feet in office space not needed

  10. Business Case: Tax and Cost Savings Salary Increase vs. Transit Subsidy Monthly Comparison Employer Cost Comparison Salary Increase Transit Subsidy Initial Cost $50.00 $50.00 FICA Cost (7.65%) $4.00 $0.00 Parking Space Operational Costs $50.00 $0.00 Corporate Inc. Tax Savings (40%) -$41.60 -$20.00 Net Employer Cost/ Month $62.40 $30.00 Employee Benefit Comparison Salary Increase Transit Subsidy Initial Benefit $50.00 $50.00 FICA Cost (7.65%) -$4.00 $0.00 Federal Income Tax (28%) -$14.00 $0.00 State Income Tax(6%) -$3.00 $0.00 Net Employee Benefit/ Month $29.00 $50.00 * Parking Cost data from International Parking Institute 2004

  11. Snapshot: Tucson, Arizona • In 2003, Tucson launched its first BWC list release • Currently, over 45,000 employees covered by BWC benefits (= 10% of the Greater Tucson area’s workforce) • Tucson has: • Reduced 20,000 metric tons of CO2 • Reduced 55 tons of NOx • Saved 2.3 million gallons of gasoline • Saved $5 million in fuel costs • Reduced drive-alone commuting by 49 million miles

  12. ProgramTrends

  13. BWCs from the Fortune 500 Companies • F500 companies employ ~24 million employees in the US -- 20% of the US workforce • Represent some of the most successful and well-known companies in the nation……viewed as market leaders • National List Releases in 2004 and 2005 recognized 89 companies with almost 600,000 employees covered by BWC benefits

  14. Best Workplaces for Commuters from the FORTUNE 500 Companies

  15. 2005 F500 – BWC Top 20

  16. Snapshot: Intel • Ranked #1 on the list of Best Workplaces for Commuters from the Fortune 500 Companies in 2004 and 2005 • Provides BWC-level benefits to 90% of its 48,000 US employees • Intel has: • Reduced 20,000 metric tons of CO2 • Reduced 53 tons of NOx • Saved 2.2 million gallons of gasoline • Saved $5 million in fuel costs • Reduced 47 million drive-alone commuting miles

  17. BWC Targets Sectors • Colleges & Universities: a focus for 2005 (and beyond) • By 2016, campus employment is expected to grow by almost 30% • EPA messaging and outreach emphasizes parking challenges, congestion issues & promotes BWC designation • In the first 9 months of 2005, outreach resulted in 14 new BWCs employing 150,000 employees • Other Sectors are Demonstrating Strong Participation in BWC. • Information Technology • Federal, State, Local and Regional Governments • Healthcare • Financial Services

  18. Snapshot: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor • Commuter benefits offered to 28,000 employees. • Includes free bus passes, subsidized vanpools, park and ride lots, preferred vanpool parking, and electric bicycle recharging stations. • Commuter benefits have helped avoid construction of more than 1,300 parking spaces, saving nearly $17 million. • U of M has: • Reduced 12,800 metric tons of CO2 • Reduced 34 tons of NOx • Saved 1.5 million gallons of gasoline • Saved $3 million in fuel costs • Reduced 30.5 million drive-alone commuting miles

  19. BWC Commuter Districts • Corporate and industrial business parks, shopping malls, business improvement districts, downtown commercial areas, etc. • 3rd party provides benefits to all commuters • Helps property managers attract and retain tenants, charge competitive rents, maintain better tenant relationships • 20 BWC districts currently represent 600,000 commuters, an increase of 65% since January ’05 • Partnership with International Downtown Association – world leader and champion of vital and livable urban centers

  20. Snapshot: Downtown Minneapolis BWC District • 83,000 commuters • Carpools and vanpools receive significantly reduced parking rates • One of the most comprehensive bicycle lane systems of any city, incorporates strategic use of bike racks and enclosed lockers • Downtown Minneapolis has: • Reduced 38,000 metric tons of CO2 • Reduced 102 tons of NOx • Saved 4.3 million gallons of gasoline • Saved $9.5 million in fuel costs • Reduced 90 million drive-alone commuting miles

  21. The BWC Network – Committed to the Value of Commuter Benefits • >300 individuals and organizations in 78 major metropolitan areas with a combined total population of 150 million • 39 states and 124 counties • National, state, regional, local organizations such as: • Federal, State & Local governments • TMAs/TMOs/Metropolitan planning organizations • Rideshare organizations • Transit agencies • Environmental organizations • Private/public sector employers • On-line toolkits, calendar of events, technical resources, etc. • Teleconferences featuring TDM and community experts • Peer-to-peer matching and networking opportunities • Running the 2006 RACE TO EXCELLENCE!

  22. Snapshot: Texas Children’s Hospital (Houston, TX) • Commuter benefits package includes bus passes, vanpool vouchers, carpool allowance, shuttles, bike racks, and two different ERH programs • Program helps retain and recruit employees • Over 20% employee participation • Texas Children’s Hospital has: • Reduced 2,800 metric tons of CO2 • Reduced 8 tons of NOx • Saved 318,000 gallons of gasoline • Saved $700,000 in fuel costs • Reduced 6.6 million drive-alone commuting miles

  23. BWC Approach Validated by TRB Study* • A recent Transportation Research Board study found that when employers provide commuter benefits, transit agencies see a 10-60 percent increase in ridership • In most cases, over 80 percent of new riders previously drove alone to work. • Increased transit use also comes from existing transit riders. Up to 35 percent reported increasing their use of transit for commuting. • In areas with high transit ridership, commuters report increasing use of transit for non-commute trips as well. *Analyzing the Effectiveness of Commuter Benefits Programs, Final Report, Transit Cooperative Research Program, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, April 2005

  24. MORE: BWC Approach Validated by TRB Study • Employer-Paid Transit Benefits Increase Transit Ridership More Than Employee-Paid Pre-Tax Benefits • Employer-paid programs are easier for employees to understand and may be easier to access • Employee-paid requires more of a commitment from the commuter (part of paycheck is set aside for transit), so it might support increased use of transit by existing transit riders, while employer-paid programs may encourage new riders. • Efficacy of employer-paid benefits was confirmed thru research in Philadelphia and Portland; increase in transit ridership produced by employer-paid benefits significantly greater (than that produced by employee-paid benefits).

  25. BWC is Making A Significant Difference • Best Workplaces for Commuters has reduced more than3 million metric tons of CO2 and saved over370 million gallons of fuel – the most significant fuel conservation of any voluntary program in EPA’s transportation portfolio. • Over the next decade, BWC will achieve annual reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that exceed 30 million tons while reducing annual fuel consumption by U.S. commuters by more than 3.4 billion gallons

  26. To Receive a Copy of the BWC Progress Report:

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