Benefits of Ridesharing

For Employers

• Reduced employee stress
• Improved productivity
• Reduced need for parking spaces
• Reduced congestion lowers costs for delivering goods and services
• Rideshare incentive programs help employers qualify for the national Best Workplaces for Commuters designation
• Vanpool fees can be paid for through employee pre-tax payroll deductions, which reduces employer payroll tax obligations

For Employees

• Reduced gas & parking costs
• Reduced wear and tear on vehicles
• Time savings in regions with high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes
• Increased time with family & friends
• Reduced commute time means a shorter work day
• The ability to talk, eat, sleep, or read while commuting
• VanGo! vanpool subsidies are available for commuters not serviced by the transit grid
• The ability to pay for vanpool expenses with pre-tax dollars

Programs & Incentives

Information Distribution

Having a centralized source of commuter information for employees is an easy and effective way to promote commuter choices. This can be done in a number of ways:

• Commuter page on an employer intranet site
• Commuter info sheet in a new employee orientation kit (the TMO can provide this for free)
• Commuter resource folder in a break room or HR library
• Commuter section in an employer newsletter
• Commuter bulletin board with rideshare matching section
• Commuter resource table at annual benefits fairs, wellness fairs or environmental fairs (A TMO information specialist can staff these tables for free.)

Free Rideshare Information, Programs and Services

• Metro Transit provides a free, online rideshare matching service for people who want to start or join a pool.
• NuRide is a free, online, on-demand ridematching program that also offers rewards for sharing rides.
• VanGo! is a regional vanpool program subsidized by the Metropolitan Council. Employees can contact them for a list of vanpools with open seats that are operating in their area.
• Guaranteed Ride Home is a free regional program available to commuters that carpool, vanpool, take transit, bike or walk at least three days a week. Commuters receive two coupons good for a free bus or train ride home or up to $25 in taxi fare reimbursement.
• Park and Ride Lot maps are available online at metrotranist.org. Carpoolers can meet at a lot and carpool into work. If someone in the pool needs to leave early, they can use a Guaranteed Ride Home coupon to get to their car.
• Discounted Parking is available to carpools and vanpools in several city ramps. The ABC Ramps, for example, offer $20 a month carpool contracts for qualified carpools and free parking for vanpools.
• Preferred parking spaces for carpools and vanpools may be available in your building ramp or lot. Simply informing employees how to register for these spaces can help promote carpooling. As more buildings become LEED certified, these designated carpool spaces will become more common.

Rideshare matching services

Two reasons commuters are reluctant to start or join a carpool are:

1. Not wanting to ride with a stranger
2. A reluctance to commit to carpooling five days a week.

Employers can help overcome these obstacles by:

• Creating their own flexible ridematching program within their own organization, OR
• Working with their building management company to create a ride-matching system for their office tower

These programs could be as simple as a ride-match board in a common area or an online message board on a company intranet site or building manager site. Employers could also host "zip-code parties" where folks who live in the same region can meet and mingle while looking for a carpool partner.

Preferred parking for carpools & vanpools

If you own your own lot or ramp, creating designated carpool spaces closer to the building entrance or elevators can be an excellent incentive for employees to carpool.  
If you don't own your own parking facilities, ask your parking service provider if they would be willing to offer this service.

Reduced parking costs for carpools & vanpools

Employers who need more parking spaces for customers or an expanding work force can encourage carpooling by subsidizing the cost of parking for carpools. This can also help employers qualify for the Best Workplaces for Commuters designation.

Commuter awards programs

Creating a commuter awards program for employees is a great way for employers to encourage "green" ways of getting to work. Awards can be free lunch coupons at the company cafeteria, discount coupons at local shops who help sponsor the program, pizza parties or ice cream socials, discounted gym memberships, or even extra vacation days.

These programs demonstrate an employer's commitment to reducing traffic congestion and global warming emissions and can help employers get recognized through the national Best Workplaces for Commuters program and the regional Commuter Choice Awards program.