SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Air and Radiation
Transportation and Air Quality
EPA420-F-01-015
September 2001
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AGREEMENT PARTICULARS
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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
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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.
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10.
11.
12.
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15.
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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
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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
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