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Texas Instruments, Dallas, Texas
Texas Instruments (TI) provides a variety of trip reduction options to
employees all over the world and North Texas. TI is on the cutting edge
of helping employees reduce
the time, costs, frustrations and pollution associated with commuting
to and from work. Cycling to work is a way of life for Bob Karnaugh, site
water process engineer. Bob lives in the Lake Highlands neighborhood and
has a scenic 6 mile, 35 minute commute down the White Rock trail, an urban
hike and bike trail through Dallas’ wetlands. He commutes to the
South Campus, parks his bike, freshens up and takes the shuttle
to his office in the TIME Building on the North Campus.
Program at a Glance
Texas Instruments is a supporter of the North Texas Clean
Air Coalition and participates in the group’s annual Commute Solutions
Month program. TI also hosts special events such as “bike to work
day” and education campaigns, and maintains an employee trip reduction
website to keep employees informed. All of TI’s benefits are spearheaded
by their EZ Commute team, which is composed of individuals from several
different organizations within TI such as Transportation, Communications,
Environmental Safety and Health, HR and Benefits, and others. The team
meets every other month to discuss ways to improve shuttle service from
rail stations to TI facilities. They also work to improve the employee
trip reduction program through incentives and education, with an aim to
increase use of commute solutions in North Texas.
TI purchases Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) System Gold passes for
employees based in the greater Dallas metropolitan area. These passes
provide unlimited local and express service on buses, DART railtrains
and Trinity Railway Express (TRE). Some added benefits include the executive
ride program, which gives discounts on Enterprise Rent-a-Car services
for important business meetings, emergency ride home, and special offers
such as Bally Total Fitness passes and deals with Cingular Wireless.
In addition, More than 350 employees use carpools and subsidized vanpools,
and TI shuttles approximately 500 employees each day between rail stations
and company worksites. These and many more services make up TI’s
excellent commuter benefits.
Program Recognition
In 2004, TI’s North Texas site was recognized for its robust commute
solutions such as air pollution watch notifications, special events and
more. TI has been recognized by North Texas Clean Air Coalition with a
Gold Level Clean Air Recognition of Employers (CARE) award in 2003, a
Climate Protection award in Austin by the EPA, Transportation Excellence
Award for their Rideshare program in Santa Cruz by the County’s
Regional Transportation Commission, and in the Philippines with an Outstanding
Environment Performance Award.
TI procurement Specialist Leonard Buhrow traded in his Mustang GT convertible
for an electric bicycle. Like Bob Karnaugh, biking has become away of
life for him. Leonard rides his environment-friendly Tidalforce M750-X
electric bicycle, which contains five TI digital signal processors.
Leonard takes a mini vacation from the city during his 14-mile, 50-minute
commute around White Rock Lake in Dallas and down the White Rock Trail.
Richard K. Templeton, President and CEO of TI stated, “The Company’s
actions regarding Environmental Safety and Health (ESH) make TI a preferred
place to work. This makes it easier to attract and retain skilled employees,
and it increases their motivation and loyalty.” As a result of their
comprehensive commuter benefits programs, TI was tied for sixth place
on the Best Workplaces for Commuters from FORTUNE 500 companies
in 2005.
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