Tales from the Commute: A Survey and Toolkit of Alternative Commute Solutions JUNE 30, 2013 Santa Clara County Spare the Air Resource Team Santa Clara County Spare the Air Resource Team Tales from the Commute: A Survey and Toolkit of Alternative Commute Solutions Welcome! Welcome to the Tales from the Commute. This resource is designed to help you encourage your employees to try alternatives to driving alone to work. Why encourage employees to try an alternative? Both employers and employees experience benefits when employees use alternative commute solutions. Employees describe a range of benefits from health to financial savings. Employers benefit when employees are less stressed, more productive, healthier, and have positive moral. Pollution from cars makes up approximately 40 percent of the air pollution in the Bay Area; encouraging alternatives to driving alone can go a long way toward helping the environment and improving Bay Area air quality. Who developed the toolkit? The survey and toolkit were developed as a project of the Santa Clara County Spare the Air Resource Team. The Team is made up of individuals from local business, non-profit and government communities, and is charged with developing projects that improve local air quality. What does it include? The toolkit includes results of the survey, links to first-person stories, links to resources, and some ideas on how to encourage alternatives to driving to work alone. We invite you to explore the kit and give an idea or two a try. Sincerely, The Santa Clara County Spare the Air Resource Team Santa Clara County Spare the Air Resource Team Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 How to Use this Survey and Toolkit 4 Next Steps 7 Appendices Appendix 1 Data 8 Appendix 2 Respondent Quotes & Responses 18 Appendix 3 Commuter Stories 20 Appendix 4 Links to Resources 23 Santa Clara County Spare the Air Resource Team Tales from the Commute: A Survey and Toolkit of Alternative Commute Solutions Executive Summary Purpose of the Survey The purpose of the “Tales from the Commute: A Survey and Toolkit of Alternative Commute Solutions” project is to assess the value of commute alternatives in the daily lives of employees. It offers useful information to encourage alternative commuting incentives among Bay Area employers (e.g., carpooling, guaranteed ride home, tax-free commuter benefits, and employer-sponsored shuttles from transit hubs). Description of the Survey Approximately 1275 Bay Area commuters took the Tales from the Commute Survey between April 2012 and June 2012. The survey was distributed by the Santa Clara County Resource Team members, employer networks and transportation demand management (TDM) representatives. The survey is meant to provide insight and information to employers, about the benefis of alternative commute options—both to the individual and the employer. Of survey respondents, 78.4% reported using an alternative mode of transportation to get to work (i.e. public transit, carpool, vanpool, bicycling) at least one day per week. Those respondents were asked questions regarding how they feel about their commute, what initiated a shift from driving alone to trying alternative commuting and what kinds of work and leisure activities they engage in when they use alternatives to driving alone. Nearly three quarters (74%) of survey respondents expressed that using alternative modes of transportation in their weekly commute increased the amount of leisure/relaxation time they have at their discretion. More than a third (34.2%) of the alternative transportation commuters reported engaging in work activities while commuting. About the Santa Clara County Spare the Air Resource Team The Santa Clara County Spare the Air Resource Team is a project of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The Air District supports Spare the Air Resource Teams throughout the Bay Area that work to improve air quality in the region. The Team has worked to help employers reduce air pollution and commute-based traffic congestion for many years. Visitwww.sparetheair.org for more information on Spare the Air Resource Teams in the Bay Area or contact Stephanie Anderson at 510-763-2500, ext. 1 or at [email protected] with any questions. Santa Clara County Spare the Air Resource Team 1 How to use this data The purpose of the “Tales from the Commute: A Survey and Toolkit of Alternative Commute Solutions” project is to provide a general overview of the benefits of, and reasons for, using alternative modes of transportation for commuting to work. This survey is not meant to be representative of the entire Bay Area or indicative of all Bay Area commuters, but to provide an overview of the many ways alternative transportation can benefit the employees as well as their employers. The following toolkit provides information for Bay Area employers and employees on the “why” and “how” alternative modes of transportation can be useful in the workplace. The toolkit also features personal testimonials from commuters and links to additional resources. Employer Benefits Employers who encourage alternative commuting choices send a positive message to their workforce which can lead to: F Improved employee morale F Increased employee productivity F Recruitment and retention of the best employees F Reduced parking and office space needs Employee Benefits Employees choosing alternatives to drive-alone commuting can: F Gain flexibility for a better work / life balance F Reduce the stress of driving to and from work F Reduce the wear and tear on their vehicles F Save money on fuel and tolls Regional Benefits Alternative commute options positively impact the entire region with: F A better quality of life F A cleaner, healthier environment F Reduced traffic, especially during rush hours 2 Santa Clara County Spare the Air Resource Team Key findings from Tales from the Commute 78.4% of respondents use an alternative to driving alone to work (e.g., public transit, carpool, vanpool, bicycling) at least one day per week. (Please note that the following observations exclude respondents who only drive alone.) 73.7% say that using alternatives to driving alone in their weekly commute increases the amount of leisure de-stress time they have at their discretion in daily life. 42.3% feel that using alternative modes of transportation in their weekly commute increases the amount of time they have to get work done. Subsidies (27.6%) were the most frequently cited reasons for shifting from driving alone to alternative commute modes. This is followed by free transit pass (14.6%), saving money (9.1%), pre-tax transit benefit (8.8%), bike lockers and showers (7.9%), guaranteed ride home program (7.8%), bicycle benefit (6.0%), reduce stress (5.3%), shuttle from transit (4.5%), the environment (3.1%), health (2.8%), preferential parking for carpools/vanpools (2.2%), faster commute (1.9%) and electric vehicle charging stations (1.2%). 34.2% engage in work activities during their commutes. 56.8% engage in leisure activities while they use alternatives to driving alone. Santa Clara County Spare the Air Resource Team 3 How to Use this Survey and Toolkit Learn About Local Resources Increase your knowledge of local resources (see page 23). Commit to familiarizing yourself with five resources from this list. You can try focusing on one daily or delving into all 5 now. If you decide to focus on one daily, do the following: Go the resource link page, copy the list and paste it into your calendar at a time that works for you. Repeat the calendar item every day for one week. Each day when the calendar items pops up, pick a URL and quickly review the offerings on the organization’s website. Once you have looked at the URL, share the information with your co-workers. Ask co-workers if they have heard of the organization and share what you have learned. Use the Tales from the Commute YouTube Channel in Employee Emails Use the Tales from the Commute YouTube links 1 to the first-person stories on key environmental days to invite your employees to try an alternative to driving alone. Benefits: Listening to real people describe how and why they enjoy an alternative to driving alone can be inspiring. The stories are all under 2 minutes. Here is the link. Example 1: Earth Day Email How green is your commute? Carpool? Vanpool? Bike? Public transit? Celebrate Earth Day by giving a present to the Earth! Choose a way to get to work other than driving alone. Each time you don’t drive alone you’re giving a gift to the Earth. Here are some inspiring stories from people who have made the switch from driving alone. Example 2: Bike to Work Day Tired of traffic? Gas prices too high? Want more time for exercise? Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC) invites commuters to leave their cars at home and join the tens of thousands of their fellow Bay Area residents in biking to work on the second Thursday of May. To help you along the way, SVBC oversees a huge network of Energizer Stations throughout Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties – stops along popular routes where cyclists can get a snack, an official Bike to Work Day bag, other goodies, and a heaping dose of encouragement. 4 Santa Clara County Spare the Air Resource Team Save the date for a morning of fun: the second Thursday of May. Leave the car at home, dust off the bike, and enjoy your commute. Listen to how one car commuter tried biking to work on Bike to Work Day and is still doing it after 8 years! Example 3: Kickoff to Summer Spare the Air Spare the Air! During the summer cut back on any activities that contribute to air pollution.