Best Workplaces for Commuters Launches in Connecticut

Does your company qualify as one of Connecticut’s Best Workplaces for Commuters?

With its Best Workplaces for Commuters national honor roll, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognizes employers that voluntarily meet the National Standard of Excellence in employer-provided commuter benefits.

Honoring Yale University at the launch of EPA's Best Workplaces for Commuters program (pictured from left to right) are Lucy Edmondson, EPA New England Office; Michael Morand, Yale University Associate Vice President for New Haven and State Affairs; Reginald Solomon, Yale University Program Director for New Haven and State Affairs; Jean Stimolo, Executive Director of Rideworks; and Patricia Klavon, Manager, EPA Best Workplaces for Commuters

Like the FORTUNE 100 “Best Companies to Work For,” Best Workplaces for Commuters employers are acknowledged as among the best because they promote commuter options so employees don’t have to drive alone to work. Companies benefit by increased productivity as well as reduced parking needs and costs; employees enjoy cost savings by leaving their cars at home or sharing the driving, and have more options for balancing their personal and work life; and communities benefit from reduced traffic congestion and air pollution.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Rideworks have teamed up to recognize companies and organizations that offer superior commuter services and benefits, such as tax-free commute benefits, subsidized transit passes, vanpool subsidies, or telework programs to their employees.

New England’s list of Best Workplaces for Commuters will be publicized in the media and at special media events in New England during the summer of 2004. Employers on this list will also obtain the right to use the Best Workplaces for Commuters name and logo on websites, storefronts, brochures, annual reports and other materials.

Companies must meet the EPA’s stringent criteria to be recognized on this national corporate honor roll. Rideworks’ Employer Services Coordinators can provide assistance in reviewing your current commuter mobility programs, evaluating them for eligibility, and submitting your registration as a Best Workplace for Commuters.

To date, 91 New England employers – representing more than 133,000 employees – have earned the distinction of being placed on the Best Workplaces for Commuters list. These employers represent the full spectrum of the American workforce—from large corporations with nearly 13,000 employees to small businesses with 5 employees. They represent some of the best-known universities, bio-pharmaceutical companies and hospitals in the country.

For example, the EPA named Yale University and People’s Bank as two of Connecticut’s Best Workplaces for Commuters.

Yale University offers commuter programs designed to benefit both employees and the larger New Haven community. In addition to providing an extensive shuttle service for employees and students, the University sponsors a HomeBuyer Program that offers $25,000 (over 10 years) to employees who purchase homes in designated areas of New Haven near the campus, enabling them to walk, bike or take the shuttle to work. So far, almost 600 employees have taken advantage of the benefit and it is the largest, most generous employee-assisted home ownership program offered by a university. Yale University also promotes riding trains, buses and vanpools by deducting money on a pretax basis for the cost of the ride. (In addition, employees who are monthly pass holders for the Shore Line East commuter railroad have access to two Guaranteed Rides per year if they need a ride home in an emergency.)

“Yale is delighted to have been named one of EPA’s Best Workplaces for Commuters because it ties together two of our highest priorities – being good environmental stewards and being good partners with our hometown City of New Haven,” said Michael Morand, Yale’s Associate Vice President for New Haven and State Affairs. “By encouraging more people to live in the center city, we are not only helping New Haven’s renaissance, we are helping reduce commuting distances and automobile use.”

(Yale University was also recently honored as an employer making a positive contribution to the community with its innovative New Haven HomeBuyer Program. At the recent 2nd Annual New England Transportation Demand Management Conference in Boston, the Patriot Chapter for the Association for Commuter Transportation recognized Yale with its Outstanding Public Service Award in the Private Sector for being an organization that worked to meet community-based transportation needs or exhibited outstanding contributions to the community.)

People’s Bank received EPA’s Best Workplaces for Commuters designation because it offers a variety of transportation-oriented benefits, including telecommuting and subsidies for employees who use commute alternatives such as carpooling, vanpooling, bus or train. In addition to Rideworks, other New Haven area companies also named to the EPA’s Best Workplaces for Commuters honor roll include Hospital of Saint Raphael (New Haven), Bayer Healthcare – Pharmaceutical (West Haven) and Proton Energy Systems (Wallingford).

To find out about alternatives to driving alone including carpooling, vanpooling, mass transit and telecommuting, call RIDEWORKS at 203-777-RIDE; toll-free 1-800-ALL-RIDE or visit Rideworks’ website at www.rideworks.com. For information on the Best Workplaces for Commuters, visit www.rideworks.com/rwemp.htm.

Rideworks Review, Summer 2004 - Front Page