Commute.org’s Employer Programs team helps employers and property managers in San Mateo County who are interested in encouraging their employees and tenants to make smart transportation choices: carpooling; vanpooling; taking a bus, train, shuttle or ferry; biking; and walking. Our team works with employers to create custom, easy-to-administer commuter benefits programs. We also organize events for employers to come together to discuss commuter transportation in the Bay Area region, like Commute.org’s Annual Symposium every spring.
STAR Platform for Employers
Employers can have their own free, customized network on the Commute.org STAR platform to connect their employees to commute options, offer incentives, and track the organization’s drive-alone rate and carbon emissions reductions.
Employers are invited to use STAR to create or enhance their commuter benefit programs. STAR offers different levels of opportunities for employers. For more information on these opportunities, check out our STAR Guide for Employers.
Transit
To encourage commuter on public transit, some employers offer employees free or subsidized transit passes.
Vanpool Rewards
Another way employers support their employees using sustainable transportation modes is by subsidizing vanpool seats, paying drivers, and/or providing a vehicle.
Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits
The Internal Revenue Code allows employees to use pre-tax dollars toward their transit and vanpool commuting costs. The 2022 limit is $280 per month and the 2023 limit will be $300 per month.
Parking Policies
Employers and property managers can reduce parking demand with a range of parking policies: preferred carpool parking, charging a daily rate for parking (rather than distributing monthly/quarterly passes), unbundling parking from office leases (for property managers), and parking cash out programs.
Employee Trip Planning + Ride Matching Assistance
One-on-one and small group sessions with employees can help them explore their commute options.
Commuter Shuttle Program
By providing first/last mile shuttles (or joining Commute.org’s shuttle program), employers make it easier for their employees to commute by public transit. Shuttles transport employees between public transit stations and offices.
Bay Area employers with 50 or more full-time employees are required to register and offer at least one of 4 commuter benefit options to comply with Air District Regulation 14, Rule 1, also known as the Bay Area Commuter Benefits Program. While Commute.org does not administer this program, we’re happy to help with analyzing current benefit offerings and recommending options for compliance. To comply with the program requirements, an employer must:
Clipper BayPass gives your employees unlimited travel on all Bay Area transit services — bus, rail and ferry.
Employers can purchase Clipper BayPass cards at a custom discounted price to provide all employees with unlimited access to transit services throughout the Bay Area.
Join the Clipper BayPass Pilot Program and be one of the first to enjoy the benefits of unlimited transit! Colleges, universities and other institutions can also sign up for Clipper BayPass!
Webinars
Annual Symposium April 2021
“Planning for the Future of Hybrid Work: Exploring Flexible Work Models and Adopting an Iterative Mindset”
Liz Fosslien, Head of Content, Humu
Mollie West Duffy, Head of Organizational Development, RALLY
“Top 10 Predictions: The Future Workplace”
Kasey Garcia, Senior Manager, Workplace, CBRE
Tina Lamkey, Senior Director, Design, CBRE
“Hybrid Workspaces”
Brianne Hunter, Project Manager, Omgivning
Roadmap to Telework
Learn from the successes and hiccups from one organization rolling out its telework policy, as well as learn the differences between routine scheduled telework and situational telework. Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, offers data on productivity, cost savings, and retention for workplaces taking advantage of telework.
View the presentation slides and watch the recording here (access passcode: YM1t3i.T). 
Panel: Virtual Connection and Culture
Don’t let remote work erode your organizational culture, social bonds, and connection to purpose. As the months of working from home wear on, many organizations are beginning to worry their people are feeling disconnected from the company’s culture and sense of purpose. In this panel discussion, Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, moderates a conversation with remote work pioneers Mohammed Chahdi, Director of HR Operations at Dell and Amy Freshman, Senior Director of HR at ADP, to learn how they’ve tackled these challenges in their organizations.
Watch the recording here (access passcode: 2@Fxr1SA).
Best Practices
Cut the Commute Pledge
Commute.org, in collaboration with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), is encouraging employers in San Mateo County to pledge that they’ll make telework an option for their employees. The pledge encourages those employers to support telework 25% or 1 to 2 days per week for staff who can work remotely.
For more information about the pledge, please click here or contact our Employer Team.
Best Workplaces for Commuters Telework Certificate Program
Best Workplaces for Commuters offer a five-part Teleworker Certification Series to help managers and their employees succeed in working remotely. Read more about the program and register here.
Telework and Flex-Schedules Toolkit
The County of San Mateo’s Office of Sustainability recently published a comprehensive resource of lessons learned and strategies for implementing successful telework and flex-schedule programs. The toolkit is a resource for other local governments and businesses interested in exploring telework and alternate work schedules. View the full document or download a one-page summary.
Bicycle-Friendly Workplaces
Commute.org offers FREE virtual and on-site bicycle safety and bike-to-work workshops at workplaces and other locations throughout San Mateo County. They can be tailored to 60, 75, or 90 minutes and include time for Q&A. Most employers schedule them during lunchtime, but they can also be arranged for late in the workday or even after work. We can also provide marketing assistance to get the word out to employees, as well as arrange workshops at multi-employer worksites.
The slide and video presentation covers practical and safety information including:
Contact us to request a workshop and/or more information on how you can make your on-site facilities and workplace culture more bicycle-friendly and conducive to bicycling to work.
Ways We Can Support Your Workplace
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