Driving Change: 5 Strategies to Help Your Employees Transform Their Commute

What is rideshare month?

Ridesharing is exactly what it sounds like --sharing the ride. You can share with a co-worker, a friend, a family member, or someone you identify through a specific program designed to match people with similar commutes. Commonly referred to as carpooling or vanpooling, the term has come to encompass any form of transportation that moves more than one person at a time such as biking groups, public transit, or riding on private shuttles. Rideshare month celebrates those who rideshare because the choice to use a mode that isn’t a single-occupant vehicle is better for the environment.

Why rideshare?

The benefits of choosing alternatives to driving solo are numerous. Commuters who rideshare save money. According to AAA, the average cost of driving per mile ranges from $0.53 to $0.79 (“AAA’s Your Driving Costs” AAA Exchange, exchange.aaa.com/automotive/driving-costs). Multiply that seemingly small expense by the number of miles driven per year and the hidden cost of driving alone adds up quickly. To calculate your drive alone cost, try our Commute Cost Calculator.

How does ridesharing help businesses?

How we get to the workplace affects our overall job satisfaction, mood, and productivity. The Neponset Valley TMA (NVTMA) provides strategic consulting services focused on transportation solutions that reduce the number of cars on the road for Canton, Dedham, Foxborough, Norwood, and Westwood, MA. Explore how our Transportation Demand Management (TDM) expertise could benefit your location.

Celebrating National Rideshare Month

Usually observed in the colder months after the peak of the bike to work season is over, Rideshare Month is celebrated in October. To get the most participants a commuter services program should highlight the benefits of a sharing the ride and raise awareness of the available transportation options. A dedicated commute management professional or Transportation Coordinator should use a variety of rideshare tools and programs complimented by promotional marketing designed to encourage participation and long-term behavior-change.

The Neponset Valley TMA provides comprehensive commuter services programs for Rideshare Month and beyond that deliver low-cost, high-impact results.

  • Commuter Origin Analysis. Mapping where commuters begin their trips can illustrate hotspots for potential carpool and vanpool groups, locations for off-site parking, and private shuttle routes. Our commute data experts overlay public transit routes and existing park and ride lots with your zip code data for even deeper analysis.
  • Commuter Surveys. Gather data to plan for parking demands and gauge commuter interest. Surveying commuters before a program launch is critical to success. Customized to your specific needs, our surveys are secure and anonymous. 
  • Shuttle Options & Off-Site Parking. Private shuttles can connect your commuters to public transit and extend its reach to your location. If you need additional parking capacity, seek a shuttle vendor who can assist with locating and procuring the best off-site parking solutions. The NVTMA assists members with launching and optimizing shuttle services.
  • Online Ridematching. Finding someone to ride with is what ridesharing is all about. To find the best list of partners, you’ll need to base the results on multiple commute factors such as the origin, destination, work hours, and preferences. Our private member-based platform, eCommuter, provides an all-in-one resource for matching to potential carpool, vanpool, and biking partners, exploring transportation options, and much more. 
  • Emergency Ride Home (ERH). One of the biggest barriers to ridesharing is the “what if I need my car?” An ERH program gives commuters the peace of mind to share the ride by providing those who do not have their car due to ridesharing a backup transportation option. Managed and administered through our eCommuter platform, our dispatch team provides our commuters emergency rides home through Lyft, taxi, or Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
  • Commute Challenges and Incentives. Sometimes you need that extra something to get you started. Designed to encourage and reward those who choose alternatives to driving alone, NVTMA manages and administers customizable and scalable promotions focused on sustainability through commuting. See what the current Commuter Challenge is here.
  • Marketing & Promotions. The best commuter programs are only effective for those who know about them. In partnership with our clients, we design program materials that embrace your corporate culture and communications style. NVTMA works with a full-time in-house creative marketing team dedicated to the success of your commuter services program.

Get your Rideshare Month rolling with the Neponset Valley TMA. Discover how we can add to your commuter benefits package, email Director@NeponsetValleyTMA.org or call 781-404-5023 today!

This blog post originally appeared on the TransAction Associates blog, Driven. This content has been customized for Neponset Valley TMA and is redistributed here with permission [source: https://www.transactionassoc.com/celebrate-rideshare-month-in-october].

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