TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL COMMUTE TRIP REDUCTION (CTR) PROGRAM

START at the top! Get your company’s management to buy into the benefits of CTR: less money on parking, more green points for your company, and a solid choice of transit benefits create happier, more productive employees. 

KNOW your acronyms! (There are so many!)

• CTR: Commute Trip Reduction
• ETC: Employee Transportation Coordinator
• TDM: Transportation Demand Management
• TMP: Transportation Management Plan
• Non SOV: -Single Occupant Vehicle

DESIGNATE a company Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC) who has excellent people and management skills who can develop, implement and monitor a successful CTR program. Make sure the ETC is registered for training courses (provided by the City of Bellevue) so he/she can understand the need and benefits a solid CTR program can provide to both the company and its employees.

CHOOSE YOUR OFFERINGS! Complete CTR/ETC training and decide what benefits work best for employees at your company: 

•    Transit/ORCA Pass
•    Ride Matching
•    Car or Vanpools
•    Cycling
•    Compressed Workweek
•    Parking Payout
•    Telecommuting/Remote Work
•    All of the Above!

IMPLEMENT & MARKET! Once you decide what CTR elements your company will offer employees, it’s time to implement! Create a webpage, a brochure or a flyer of benefits offered. Orient employees – especially those newly-hired – per the CTR benefits our company offers. Consider hosting transportation fairs.  Send timely emails about various non-Single Occupant Vehicle (SOV) options, and more! The more you promote your CTR program, the more your employees will enjoy the benefits offered and your company will attract and retain the best and the brightest, while cutting down on expensive parking use, helping to ease traffic congestion and lessen pollution.  

STAY IN TOUCH & INFORMED! Join CTR/ETC groups in and around the Puget Sound area. There are many to choose from. Also be sure to utilize the Choose Your Way Bellevue site for the latest information on all forms of non-SOV travel, CTR/ETC updates, models & resources to help promote your program and more!

AND FINALLY! Prepare, prepare, prepare for your company’s biannual employee survey and program report.  The company-wide survey can seem a daunting task initially, but it is completely doable and the information your company gains from the survey results is invaluable. You’ll get a notice 45-days prior to the survey, then set the start date of the survey, and have two weeks to reach the return rate goal of 70%.  In a nutshell, the better your survey return rate, the more knowledgeable you’ll be about your program’s successes and areas that may need improvement. 

And last but not least, thank you for your role in helping KEEP BELLEVUE MOVING!!

-Choose Your Way staffer Alison