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COMMUTE OPTIONS
Public Transit
Rideshare Programs
Telework
Flexible Work Hours
Parking Cash Outs
Biking
Walking
Emergency Ride Home
Other Ways to Support
Commute Options
Basic Commute Options
Overview
Public Transit
Riding the bus is a great alternative to riding alone. Employees
can contact
HARTline
in Hillsborough County (813-254-4278) or
PSTA
in Pinellas County (727-540-1800) for route and schedule
information. Bus rates are affordable and employees can sit back
and relax on their ride to and from work.
Tax Free Transit
Passes.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows employers to pay up to
$110 per month, tax-free, for employee commuting costs.
Employers must provide at least $30 per month in tax-free
transit passes to employees (if an employee's monthly commuting
cost is less than $30, the employer agrees to pay the full
amount of the employee's commuting cost). Transit passes
include unlimited ride passes, tokens, farecards, or
tickets. Employers may also provide transit vouchers for
employees to exchange for passes. To find out how tax savings
make a difference visit
Commute Benefits Provide
More for Less or for more information concerning
local transit fares contact
HARTline in
Hillsborough County (813-254-4278),
PSTA in Pinellas
County (727-540-1800).
Rideshare Programs
Carpool
A carpool is where two or more people share the ride to and from
work, school or other activities. This is a flexible option that
may be used many times or a few times a week, according to the
wishes of the carpool members.
Click here to learn more
about carpooling or to
register for carpool
matching online.
Vanpool
 A vanpool is any highway vehicle carrying at least five adults
(including the driver) primarily between their residences or
common pick-up locations and the workplace. If you have
employees that commute more than 15 miles a day, then the Bay
Area Vanpool may be an attractive alternative to riding alone.
There is a fee to participate, based on the travel distance;
participants share gas, toll and parking expenses where
applicable.
Click here to learn more
about vanpooling or
to register for vanpool
matching online.
Tax-free vanpool benefits.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows employers to pay up to
$110 per month, tax-free, for employee commuting costs.
Employers must provide at least $30 per month in tax-free
vanpool passes to employees (if an employee's monthly commuting
cost is less than $30, the employer agrees to pay the full
amount of the employee's commuting cost).
To find out how tax savings make a difference visit
Commute Benefits Provide
More for Less or for more information contact
Bay Area Commuter Services.
Telework
Working from home saves time and money while reducing traffic
congestion and air pollution. Telecommuters work part-time or
full-time, either from home or from smaller offices with
communications access to the main workplace, but closer to the
employees’ homes. The term does not apply to home-based
businesses, branch offices, or occupations in which there is no
regular work location (e.g., truck drivers or airline pilots).
The benefits of telecommuting include reduced office space
requirements, increased employee productivity, and a decreased
use of sick leave. Many employers find that these benefits
easily offset the cost of supplying telecommuters with the
necessary hardware and supplies.
Click
here to learn more about telework and the Telework Tampa Bay
program or visit
Bay Area
Commuter Services for
more information.
Flexible Work Hours
Compressed
work weeks (working 40 hours in 4 days, for example) or offering
flexible work hours that allow employees to commute during
non-peak travel times can save fuel, time and help minimize
traffic congestion during peak hours.
Click
here for more information about compressed work week schedules.
Parking Cash Outs
Employers that offer free or subsidized parking to employees can
give employees a choice to keep a parking space at work, or to
accept a cash payment to give up the parking space. Cash-out
programs are a very effective means of allocating scarce parking
if employers face a parking shortage. Parking cash-out can offer
a financial incentive to use other means of transportation, such
as vanpool, transit, carpool, walking or biking, or to begin
telecommuting. Furthermore, this option is perceived as fair to
employees, because nobody is forced to stop driving or give up
free parking, but those who do are rewarded financially.
Although any employer that pays for parking can implement
parking cash-out, it works best for employers that lease, rather
than own, their parking areas.
Biking
 Employees can take
advantage of Florida’s good weather by bicycling to work, which
is more cost effective than driving alone to work. The "Bikes on
Buses" program is provided for bike
commuters to load their
bikes on the bus and go home on rainy days. Bike commuters may
also take advantage of the bike lockers and racks located at
many bus stops.
Click here for a list of
Bicycle Pools.
Walking
Employees that live close
to work may want to consider walking to work. It may take less
time to walk to work than to drive to work, and it's great
exercise.
Emergency Ride Home
The Emergency Ride Home (ERH) program provides employees who
commute via transit, carpool, vanpool, biking or walking with
transportation home in the event of a personal emergency or
unscheduled overtime. Commuters that commute at least 2 days a
week may be eligible for a free or reduced taxi ride home. By
participating in an emergency ride home program, employers
remove a major barrier to alternative commute methods—employee
fears of being "stranded" at work due to unforeseen
circumstances.
Visit here to learn more
or
register today.
Other Ways to Support Commuter Options
▪
Membership in a Transportation Management Association (TMA), or
participation in a
voluntary regional air quality program (e.g.,
Spare the Air) or another employer-based
commuter program
▪
Ridesharing
or carpool matching, either in-house or through a local or
regional agency
▪
Pre-tax
transit or vanpool benefits
▪
Parking cash
out less than $30 per month or less than 75 percent of the
actual parking benefit
▪
Shuttles
from transit stations, either employer-provided or through a
local TMA or similar
service
provider
▪
511- Provision of intelligent
(i.e., real-time) commuting information (www.511tampabay.com)
▪
Preferred
parking for carpools and vanpools
▪
Reduced
parking costs for carpools and vanpools
▪
Employer-run
vanpools or subscription bus programs
▪
Employer-assisted vanpools
▪
Employer-provided membership in a carsharing program (www.carsharing.net)
▪
Secure
bicycle parking, showers, and lockers
▪
Electric
bicycle recharging stations
▪
Employee
commuting awards programs
▪
Lunchtime
shuttle
▪
Proximate
commute (where employees work at locations closer to their
homes)
▪
Incentives
to encourage employees to live closer to work
▪
Incentives
to encourage employees to use alternative transportation
(e.g.,
additional vacation time)
▪
On-site
amenities (e.g., convenience mart, dry cleaning, etc.)
▪
Concierge
services
Contact Bay Area Commuter Services
if you have an alternative commute option to propose
What
criteria
do I need to meet in order to participate in the Commute Options
program? |