The State of Virginia’s Telework!VA program helps companies offset the cost of starting up or expanding a telework program. Qualified employers can receive between $35,000 and $50,000, as well as technical assistance to set up and administer the telework program. The program currently has had more than 170 employers have participate since 2001. When funding for the start-up assistance was exhausted, the legislature passed a Telework Tax Credit (up to $50,000) that businesses can use to cover telework program equipment and operations.
*Trip chaining refers to the process of combining multiple errands into one trip in an effort to reduce the number of vehicle miles traveled.
Economy
GOAL 5: To enhance economic vitality by supporting job creation and retention, decreasing household spending on transportation, supporting vibrant local businesses, and helping goods move reliably.
Travel options provide employees cost effective access to jobs, support
employer decisions about where to locate and expand, help employers attract and retain employees, enhance the bottom line for businesses by providing access to goods and services, and support the freight and delivery industry by keeping goods moving reliably throughout the transportation system.
Why is it important?
Transportation options support the local, regional, and state economy.
Whether walking in downtown La Grande or in southeast Portland, improved access to transportation options has been attributed to improving a region’s competitiveness and is one sign of a healthy, balanced economy.
Transportation options strengthen the economy by reducing congestion and allowing for greater travel time reliability for businesses, their employees and their customers. The ability to move freight quickly and reliably is an essential business function. Transportation options programs and investments that reduce congestion and improve system efficiency can reduce travel time, increase productivity, and reduce operations costs such as fuel and maintenance.
Employers also benefit from transportation options. High quality transit access, vanpool subsidies, or on-site bike parking can be an effective recruitment strategy to retain quality employees. High tech companies are spending millions of dollars annually on employee shuttle services and other amenities to attract and retain employees. When employees travel by options other than driving alone, they have been shown to demonstrate higher rates of on-time arrival and greater productivity.17 Studies have shown that employees that are active in employer-sponsored health and wellness programs are 8 percent more productive than inactive peers.18
In 2014, Oregon was still recovering from the recession and several counties continued to face unemployment rates well above the national average.19 In these same counties, transportation costs are typically more than a third of household income.20 Transportation options can help ease the financial burden by providing households with affordable transportation options.
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Economy
Chapter 4. Vision, Goals, Policies and Strategies \\ Goal 5. economy
WHO ARE THE IMPLEMENTATION PARTNERS?
Æ Oregon Department of Transportation
Æ Local and regional policy makers
Æ Private sector, including employers
Æ Freight stakeholders
Note: Refer to the “Moving the Plan Forward” section in Chapter 5 for an overview of partner roles in implementation.
What are the policies?
5.1 Encourage the use of transportation options that can reduce household and visitor spending on transportation.
5.2 Invest in transportation options as a system efficiency and management tool to reduce the need for costly capital infrastructure investments. Focus and scale investments to meet local needs and circumstances. When investing in transportation options programs, consider accompanying supportive policies, such as bicycle, pedestrian and transit infrastructure investment, and coordinated land use and local funding commitment.
5.3 Use transportation options to promote system efficiency, mobility, and reliability for passengers and freight.
5.4 Consider transportation options opportunities to support tourism and recreation through improving access to popular destinations via alternative modes of travel.
5.5 Document and publicize the business case for transportation options programs, including health care savings, contribution to livable communities, development, community and infrastructure lifecycle costs savings, impact on workforce development goals, and personal transportation cost savings.
5.6 Partner with employers to develop commute trip reduction programs, or offer incentives that encourage employees to utilize transportation options.
According to the Travel Oregon website, visitors don’t need a car to have a good time in Oregon. The increasingly popular Scenic Bikeways program is a good example of active transportation options to support tourism in the state.
Source: Travel Oregon
What are the strategies?
5.a Integrate transportation options into alternatives analysis for large infrastructure projects to consider the most cost effective solutions. Similarly, measure the impact of transportation options strategies when engaging in least cost and long term planning.
5.b Establish performance metrics and gather data on outcomes associated with the use of transportation options that are scalable and context-sensitive to community size and scope. Publicize the return on investment in terms of transportation cost savings for individuals, tax-payer savings on infrastructure costs, healthcare savings in air quality and exercise associated with transit, walking and bicycling, and cost savings associated with reduced congestion, among other benefits.
5.c Develop a standard set of performance measures that local transportation options providers can use to measure transportation options program success, including the effectiveness of transportation options programs and investments in long-term travel choice changes.
5.d Create communication material that demonstrates the role that
transportation options can play in strengthening the local economy, particularly as it relates to recreation and tourism, environmental benefits, downtown vitality, and health costs.
5.e Encourage collaboration between transportation options providers and groups that create economic development opportunities for Oregon communities using cycling, passenger rail, and other non-single occupant vehicle (SOV) transportation to attract visitors, tourism, and commerce.
5.f Communicate the benefits of transportation options to employers to develop commute reduction programs as a strategy to retain and attract employees.
5.g Support research and studies on the economic, health, and environmental impact of transportation options programs, strategies, and policies.
5.h Include transportation options as a mitigation strategy in developer agreements for a range of projects.
EMPLOYERS CAN IMPACT EMPLOYEE TRAVEL BEHAVIOR
Google encourages their employees to “move sustainably”
Google’s shuttle program began in 2006. Today, more than 70 private buses shuttle employees, with 275 scheduled departures a day. The motor coaches are equipped with wifi and fold down tables so employees can work while they ride. They also feature bike racks for employees who choose to do one-way commutes by bicycle.
Employees who commute via a non-motorized mode also earn charity credits. On-campus staff have access to more than 1,000 bikes and the ability to check out fleet vehicles if they need to run errands. Google estimates that their shuttle program alone saves 5,400 tons of CO2 and 14 million vehicle miles traveled each year.21
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