Employers are increasingly looking to build a better workplace experience and reduce the environmental impacts of their activities. Employee transportation management programs are a great way to advance both of these objectives.
Organizations can extract multiple important benefits from effective commuter management programs. These include:
- Higher levels of employee job satisfaction
- A more positive workplace culture
- Reduced employee turnover, and fewer recruitment and hiring costs
- Lower commuting-related environmental impacts
Pave Commute provides turnkey employee transportation management programs employers can launch with ease. Our digital platform offers a cost-controlled, affordable, and easy way for organizations to broaden their existing commuter support strategies.
Key Objectives of Employee Transportation Management Programs
The main goal of employee transportation management programs is to make life easier for commuters. A long list of studies have shown strong links between difficult commutes and employee dissatisfaction. One 2021 survey, conducted as return-to-office policies were taking effect as the COVID-19 pandemic began to decline, found that 1.3 million Londoners would sooner quit their jobs than return to their old commutes.
In general, commuter management programs aim to reduce dependence on single-occupancy vehicles. They instead encourage commuters to shift to healthier and more sustainable modes of transportation, including:
- Mass transit and public transportation
- Carpooling
- Active commuting, such as walking or cycling
Specific goals and tangible benefits of such programs include:
Reduced local traffic congestion
The reduced congestion can also have benefits specific to the business site. Car-based commuters often arrive and depart in bunches, around the same time every day. This can lead to traffic snarls, commuter frustration, and negative impacts on air quality.
Organizations that implement effective employee transportation management programs can ease or eliminate these problems, benefitting both morale and the local environment.
Lower parking-related costs
Managing and maintaining parking facilities is expensive. Costs also move in lockstep with demand: as more people commute by car, they go up. As fewer people drive to work, they go down.
Shifting commuters to more sustainable modes reduces parking demand. This can translate into huge savings. For larger organizations, savings can reach the seven-figure range.
Improved employee health and fitness
Active commuting gets your people team moving—and that can have major benefits for their health. Studies have shown that active commuters take fewer sick days, which boosts organizational productivity. Walking, cycling, and other active modes of transportation also improve mood and benefit cardiovascular functioning.
Similar benefits extend to public transportation. A landmark 2022 study found that public transit commuters have better overall health profiles than peers who commute by car.
As an added bonus, employers can reduce their spending on healthcare-related benefits programs by building a healthier team. To learn more, explore our article covering tips for kickstarting your journey toward a more active workforce.
Energy conservation and emissions reductions
In Europe, vehicle emissions account for 25% of total emissions. In the United States, they make up 28%. Vehicle emissions are a major driver of climate change, and employee transportation management programs help organizations do their part in the ongoing fight against it.
Fewer drivers also mean less demand for fossil fuels and higher levels of energy conservation. Commuter management programs deliver an easy and effective way for employers to reduce their carbon footprints and advance their community commitments.
Equity and inclusion
In many organizations—and especially larger ones—team members have variable levels of transportation access. This can put some commuters at a disadvantage, creating mobility limitations that reinforce historical patterns of discrimination.
Employee transportation management programs help level the playing field. They provide everyone, regardless of their personal situations or socioeconomic standing, with equal opportunities for commuting. For example, carpooling programs give people who do not own vehicles access to the convenience and efficiency advantages of automobile-based travel.
Stronger support for rural commuters
Employees who live in rural areas have fewer commuting options. As such, many of them default to driving to work, which carries high financial, health-related and environmental costs.
Employers can broaden the range of transportation options available to rural commuters in numerous ways. For example, organizations can subsidize or cover the costs of parking at a major transit hub along the commuter’s route. This gives the commuter an incentive to use a more sustainable mode for part of their journey, which generates both personal and community benefits.
On a larger scale, more support for rural commuters can have broader impacts. It can inspire municipal and regional authorities to make stronger investments in mass transit and commuter hubs, which can improve their usability, profitability, reliability, and safety.
Cost savings for employees
Commuting by car is expensive. Costs vary by country, but gasoline prices continue to edge ever higher. A 2021 study also found that commuting accounts for more than 25% of all mileage driven in 12 European Union (EU) countries including Germany, Italy, and Austria.
Beyond its potential to generate environmental benefits, shifting commuters toward more sustainable modes can save employees a lot of money on fuel, vehicle maintenance, and related expenses. Cost savings can be a great motivator, and can result in people sticking with smarter transportation choices for the long term.
Connect with Effective Employee Transportation Management Strategies
Commuter management works best when organizations integrate multiple strategies into a unified program. This begins with organizational policy and a commitment to supporting commuters who choose smarter, more sustainable ways of getting to work.
From there, employers can adopt tech tools, targeted program promotion campaigns, and other proven ways to drive engagement. These broadly include:
- Commuter challenges
- Gamification and rewards programs
- Parking cash-out programs
- Earn-a-bike programs
- Establishing on-site facilities for active commuters, such as secure bike storage areas, lockers, and showers
You can also consult our beginners’ guide to employee transportation management to learn more.
Pave Commute lets you launch a new Employee Transportation Management Program with just a few clicks. Guiding your team toward more sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation options delivers both organizational and community benefits. These advantages are both economic and environmental, and they all function to build a better employee experience while easing daily commute-related struggles for your team members.
Pave Commute is a powerful, user-friendly app that connects commuters to a complete set of locally available alternatives to driving. You can launch our signature Employee Transportation Management Program with just a few clicks. Get started today by checking out our pricing plans.
