Workplace Travel Plans - main body - Final Jan 2010 ENGLISH - FCM

Chapter 4 — Travel Plan Measures
Ridematching
Many Canadian communities offer public ridematching
services, usually Web-based but sometimes with a
telephone option. In some cases, employers can arrange
for a dedicated service allowing their employees to search
for potential carpool partners among colleagues only, if
they so desire. Some employers also establish their own
internal ridematching systems, to maximize both
employee uptake and corporate control.
Ridematching service providers typically include a liability
waiver in commuter ridematching applications. The
purpose of the waiver is to relieve any liability exposure
that employers or service providers may experience when
their intervention results in carpools that would not
otherwise have formed.
Vanpooling
Vanpools typically carry seven to 15 occupants in a vehicle
owned by a third party, and are driven by one of the
vanpool members. Because of the capital cost of a
dedicated vehicle, and due to the extra effort to pick up
and drop off passengers, vanpools tend to be most
practical for long-distance commutes where public transit
is not available. Public vanpooling services—a hybrid
between public transit and carpools—are only offered (at
the time of writing) by Jack Bell Ride-Share in British
Columbia. Private, for-profit vanpooling services are
offered in some other locations, and a small number of
Canadian companies operate their own in-house vanpools
to help employees get to work. Current legislation in some
provinces does not permit third-party vanpool services.
Preferential parking
At workplaces where parking lots are large or regularly fill
to capacity, the provision of designated priority parking
spaces for carpools can be an effective incentive for
ridesharing. Discounted parking fees for carpools can also
work, although carpoolers already benefit by dividing
parking fees among themselves. Priority parking spaces
that are highly attractive to eligible carpoolers are also
highly attractive to ineligible users (i.e. solo drivers and
visitors), and therefore they are subject to abuse.
Commuters may police themselves effectively in smaller
workplaces, but elsewhere a system to register eligible
users and issue identification stickers or hangtags is highly
recommended, as is regular monitoring and enforcement.
User information
Especially when launching a new ridesharing initiative, it
can be useful to remind employees about the ease and
convenience of carpooling. Reassurance about the
flexibility of individual carpooling arrangements, and
communication about incentives or supportive policies at
the workplace, can encourage commuters to give
ridesharing a try. Reminders that a ridematching system is
available should be made frequently.
Special events
Annual events like the Environment Week in June and
RideShare Week in the fall can provide the motivation for
individuals to try carpooling for a limited time, which is
often the first step to a longer-term arrangement.
Corporate environmental fairs or similar events offer an
opportunity to promote ridesharing and raise awareness of
related services and incentives.
Emergency (or guaranteed) ride home
An emergency ride home program offers assurance that
carpool passengers will be able to get home quickly and
conveniently in case of family emergency or unexpected
overtime, and that carpool drivers can also do so without
inconveniencing their passengers.
Other support and incentives
In workplaces where different staff groups have varying
core hours, flexible working hours allow commuters to
search more widely for potential carpool partners.
Travel plans can include reward programs that let
employees track their commuting activity. Ridesharers
that accumulate a certain number of annual shared trips
could be eligible for recognition or a prize of some type.
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Workplace Travel Plans: Guidance for Canadian Employers