SEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Air and Radiation Transportation and Air Quality EPA420-F-01-015 September 2001 w AGREEMENT PARTICULARS NN H fe } u ffi ^^J*- (J As a Commuter Choice Employer in the Commuter Choice Leadership Initiative, you agree to work with the Commuter Choice Federal Team to further the goals of the program. By voluntarily signing the attached Agreement you agree to undertake activi- ties that will provide your employees with the National Standard of Excellence in commuter benefits as defined in the Agreement and in this Agreement Particulars document. AGREEMENT CLAUSE THIS COLUMN PROVIDES DETAILS AND OTHER EXPLANATORY INFORMATION 1. Designate a central point of contact The central point of contact should be the person who is most familiar with the day-to-day operations of your commuter benefits programs. 2. Centralize commuter benefit information so it is easy for employees to find and use 3. Promote the avail- ability of commuter benefits to employees Making information about commuter benefits available to your employees is critical to the success of the initiative and to your efforts. Centralizing the information about your commuter benefits may be done in whatever way that makes most sense for your employees--so that any employee can find information about commuting and commuting options in a single place. You may use a Web intranet site, bulletin board (more appropriate for small firms), an appointed individual who has the information readily avail- able, or any other method that makes it quick and easy for employees to get the information. Multi-site employers may choose to maintain separate centralized information sites for separate work sites. As a Commuter Choice Employer, you agree to effectively and regularly promote the availability of your benefits package to your employees. Regularly means twice or more per year and at any time your organization makes changes to your programs or offerings. However, more frequent communi- cation is encouraged. You should communicate in ways that are likely to reach all employees. 4a. Provide access to a Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH) for employees who do not drive alone to work 4b. Provide at least one of the following benefits: Reducing the number of cars that employees drive to work alone means that there will be employees arriving at work without their own private vehicles. Some employees may feel uncomfortable not hav- ing a vehicle at their disposal in case of unexpected events, such as illness of a family member or unscheduled overtime. Providing a GRH (e.g., taxi ride) in limited cases of emergencies or unsched- uled overtime has cost effectively resolved this issue for many employers. You need not provide this service yourself; in some areas third-party agencies provide GRH services. > Transit or vanpool benefits > Parking cash out > Telecommuting > An equivalent option achieving demonstrable benefits and agreed to by the Federal Team Transit or vanpool benefits (such as transit passes or vouchers) Parking cash out of at least $32.50 per month Under this option, the Employer agrees to provide at least $32.50 per month toward commuting via pubic transit or vanpool for employees whose actual commuting costs are $32.50 or more, and they are encouraged to provide up to the IRS monthly limit of $100. If the employees' commuting costs are less than $32.50, then the Employer must cover 100% of these costs. EPA will give at least 12 months notice prior to an increase in this requirement. When an employer provides the parking cash out benefit, employees may choose to "cash out" the value of employer-provided parking by foregoing parking, and receive the taxable cash value of the parking in return. The employer may also provide a tax-free transit or eligible vanpool benefit up to the IRS allowable tax-free benefit per month instead of taxable cash, or a combination of vanpool/transit benefits and taxable cash. This strategy works best in locations where parking costs are expensive (e.g., urban central business districts), when the parking is leased, and when eliminat- ing a parking space can significantly reduce costs to an employer and provide a significant payout to an employee. Where parking is very inexpensive, this option may not be effective. Employer agrees to provide the employee at least 75% of the actual saved parking costs, even if it is greater than $32.50. Visitwww.commuterchoice.gov Call (888) 856-3131 Emailcommuterchoice@epa.gov Page 1 of 3 ------- AGREEMENT PARTICULARS w 63 S3 C/5 w Q w I-J w u I I o ffi U 4b. continued Telecommuting pro- gram that reduces on average at least 6% of daily commute trips Allowing and encouraging employees to work from home provides many benefits to employers and employees while reducing traffic and air pollution. Under this option, the Employer agrees to offer a telecommuting program that reduces the number of commute trips by 6%. This means that for every 100 possible commute trips, six or more are avoided by telecommuting. For example, in a 20-day month a 100-person firm has 2000 possible commute trips (20 days x 100 people = 2000 possible commute trips). To achieve a 6% participation rate, employees would work from home to avoid at least 120 of those commute trips (2000 x 6% = 120 commute trips). An equivalent option proposed by the Employer that achieves demonstrable benefits and is agreed to by the Federal Team 4c. And, three or more additional options from among these, or as proposed by the Employer and agreed to by the Federal Team Note: Employers with fewer than 20 employees may provide one or more options 5. Exceed a mini- mum level of employee participation -14% non-SOV or -1.12AVR/AVO Recognizing that different strategies will work for different employers and in different locations, a Commuter Choice Employer may propose an alternative option or benefits package, as long as the Employer and the Federal Team together can demonstrate that it will reduce the rate at which employees drive alone to and from the work site at least as successfully as other options, and that employees perceive the option as a significant workplace benefit. Options may include things like comprehensive shuttle services and very aggressive and successful ridesharing. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. Active membership in a Transportation Management Association (TMA) or similar organization 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 $32.50 per month or less than 75% of the actual parking benefit Shuttles from transit stations, either employer-provided or through a local TWIA or similar service provider Parking at park-and-ride lots or vanpool staging areas Provision of intelligent (i.e., real-time) commuting information Preferred parking for carpools and vanpools Reduced parking costs for carpools and vanpools Employer run vanpools or subscription bus programs Employer assisted vanpools Secure bicycle parking, showers, and lockers Electric bicycle recharging stations Employee commuting awards programs Discounts and coupons for bicycles for bicyclists or shoes for walkers Compressed work schedules Telecommuting Lunchtime shuttle Proximate commute (where employees work at locations closer to their homes) Incentives to encourage employees to live closer to work On-site amenities (e.g., convenience mart, dry cleaning, etc.) Concierge services Other options as proposed by the Employer One of the Commuter Choice Leadership Initiative's primary goals is to recognize employers that pro- vide their employees with a package of commuter benefits that represents a National Standard of Excellence. In addition to providing an excellent package of benefits and in order to maintain the integrity of the concept of Excellence, the qualifying work sites must meet or exceed a minimum per- formance level for employee participation. That performance level is at least 14% of employees not driving alone to work (the average commuting behavior for non-MSA areas in the U. S.). Alternatively, employers may exceed an average vehicle ridership (AVR) or average vehicle occupancy (AVO) of 1.12. Employers agree to meet the performance level within 18 months of joining and continuously after that. The Federal Team strongly encourages you to surpass this performance benchmark. Visitwww.commuterchoice.gov Call (888) 856-3131 Emailcommuterchoice@epa.gov Page 2 of 3 ------- AGREEMENT PARTICULARS 63 »* H N=l z e < w w u u H 6. Report program progress and success to EPA Will this Agreement change? As a Commuter Choice Employer, you must annually report to the Federal Team to indicate your con- tinuing participation in the initiative and to provide a few details about your program. Every two years, you must provide information on the commuting choices of your workforce. You may report using a written reporting form or electronically by email or on the World Wide Web once available. To reduce the need for duplicate reporting by the Employer, the Federal Team will do everything it can to accept reports in different formats that the Employer may already be producing for other purpos- es (e.g., for state- or locally-sponsored commuter programs). Yes. The Federal Team will make changes to the Agreement as changes in the market dictate. However, participants will be provided with plenty of notice prior to any substantive changes and may choose to continue or discontinue participation at any time. INFORMATION FOR MULTI-SITE EMPLOYERS Many employers have work sites in more than one location with different commuting circumstances. An employer may join this initiative by agreeing to apply the provisions at one or more of their work sites. An effective commuter benefits package is likely to differ from site to site depending on the employees' needs and locations. The following describes how a multi-site employer may register one, some, or all of its work sites. What is a work site? How many work sites may I register? Can different work sites offer different commuter benefits? How do I add addi- tional work sites? How do I register work sites? A work site is not necessarily an individual building, but is defined by the transportation environ- ment within which it is located. For instance, several buildings on a corporate campus may be considered a single work site. Similarly, spaces in two buildings in the same urban core may be considered a single work site. Also, several locations all in the same rural county, even if widely separated but in the same transportation environment, may be considered a single site. On the other hand, even if locations are in close proximity but are in distinctly different environments, they should be considered separate work sites. For instance, an office near a rail station may only be a few miles from a suburban office not well served by transit. These should be considered separate work sites for purposes of this initiative. You may join at only one work site, at all of your work sites, or anything in between, provided that each work site meets the requirements of the initiative. Yes. The actual package of benefits that is offered to employees will likely differ from site to site, depending on the commuting needs and available transportation options at each. Because of the varying transportation environments, you will need to provide individual reports for each registered work site. You may register new work sites to the Agreement at any time by notifying the Federal Team and providing the requested information about the new sites. If the program or its administration is significantly different, it may be appropriate to sign a separate Agreement. On the second page of the Agreement is a table that asks for a few pieces of information about each work site you would like to register. Just fill in the table with the selected work sites and include that information with the signed Agreement. If you need more room, you may use additional sheets. Visitwww.commuterchoice.gov Call (888) 856-3131 Emailcommuterchoice@epa.gov Page 3 of 3 Hecycleo/KecyaaDIe. Printed With Vegetable Oil Based InKs on Recycled Paper (Minimum 50% Postconsumer) Process cniocine Pree ------- ------- |