Positive Results From Offering Great Commuter Benefits

Our Environment

Companies that offer excellent commuter benefits that qualify them as Best Workplaces for Commuters^SM are helping to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Ground-level ozone, also known as smog, is produced by the combination of pollutants from many sources, including smokestacks, motor vehicles, paints, lawn mowers, solvents and household products. Emissions from motor vehicles are the primary source of ozone-causing pollutants, accounting for about 30-40% of these pollutants.

Ozone pollution is of particular concern to people with asthma and other respiratory problems, because when it is breathed into the lungs, ozone reacts with lung tissue. It can harm breathing passages, making it more difficult for the lungs to work. People who suffer from lung diseases such as emphysema, pneumonia, and asthma have even more trouble breathing in polluted air. Children often play outside on hot, muggy days. Their lungs are still developing, and they breathe more rapidly and inhale more air pollution per pound of body weight than do adults. On days when ozone pollution is at its worst, these factors put children at increased risk for respiratory problems.

10 Things You Can Do to Reduce Ozone Formation

1. Instead of driving, share a ride, walk or bike.
   
2. Take public transportation.
   
3. If you must drive, avoid excessive idling and jackrabbit starts.
   
4. Conserve energy in your home to reduce energy needs.
   
   During ozone season, and especially on ozone action days, also:
   
   
5. Don't refuel your car, or only do so after 7 p.m.
   
6. Avoid using outboard motors, off-road vehicles, or other gasoline powered recreational vehicles.
   
7. Defer mowing your lawn until late evening or the next day. Also avoid using gasoline-powered garden equipment.
   
8. Postpone chores that use oil-based paints, solvents, or varnishes that produce fumes.
   
9. If you are barbecuing, use an electric starter instead of charcoal lighter fluid.
   
10. Limit or postpone your household chores that will involve the use of energy-using products.

Passenger cars burn about 8.5 million barrels of oil per day and emit more than a billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas contributing to climate disruption. Greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector are growing faster than any other major sector of the U. S. economy. An employer with 1000 employees that meets EPA’s National Standard of Excellence and qualifies as a Best Workplaces for Commuters will reduce that pollution by 485 tons per year.

Reduce Commuting Stress

Due to the number of cars on the road in many metropolitan areas, traffic jams, congestion, accidents, and other delays have become a commonplace, yet aggravating, part of the daily commute. Many people believe that this annoying—often twice daily—experience is just part of the normal work week. Best Workplaces for Commuters advocates a variety of new commuting choices to reduce commuting stress associated with traffic congestion. In turn, these solutions provide the following benefits to commuters:

• Increased productivity
  
• Increased job satisfaction
  
• Decreased stress and tension
  
• Increased health and well-being
  
• Potentially more leisure time
  
• Reduced risk of traffic accidents and injury on the road

Saving Money on Commuting Expenses

Auto insurance, parking, gas, maintenance, wear and tear on commuters’ personal vehicles, and tolls can add up to a considerable expense for the average commuter driving alone. Best Workplaces for Commuters employers help commuters who opt for smarter ways of getting to work, and they can then save money by sharing expenses with others or eliminating personal vehicle-related expenses altogether. In fact, if half of all employers in the United States offered commuter benefits like Best Workplaces for Commuters employers do, American workers would save about $30 million in gasoline costs every working day or $7.5 billion each year. In addition, commuters will save even more money from the benefits their employers offer, such as tax-free transit passes or vanpool benefits.