Employee Commuter Benefits
Commuting can be a significant aspect of your employees’ workday and providing them with valuable benefits can improve job satisfaction, reduce stress, and contribute to a more sustainable future.
Commuter Benefits
Why Commuter Benefits?
Tax Savings
Employee Recruitment and Retention
Reducing Stress
Incentives
ConnectingVA Vanpool Program
The ConnectingVA Vanpool Program makes commuting easier and more affordable for employees while benefiting your business. We provide guidance on vanpool formation, help match employees with existing vanpools, and offer financial assistance to make shared commuting a seamless experience.
Vanpools are an excellent option for groups of five to 15 riders traveling 15+ miles one way to work. Employees who participate may qualify for direct or pre-tax commuter benefits, and employers have several ways to support vanpooling at their workplace.
How Your Business Can Support Vanpooling
Encouraging employees to vanpool offers multiple benefits, from reducing parking demand to enhancing employee satisfaction. Vanpooling provides a reliable commute, making it easier for employees to arrive on time while cutting down on transportation costs. Employers can support the program in different ways:
Buy: Large employers may choose to purchase vans outright, allowing for complete control over their fleet. This option requires managing vehicle registration, insurance, and maintenance but offers long-term savings and customization.
Lease: Leasing vanpool vehicles is a flexible, lower-cost option that allows businesses to scale up as more employees express interest in vanpooling.
Contract: Employers can partner with a vanpool provider to handle everything, from forming vanpools and recruiting drivers to managing insurance and maintenance. This hands-off approach simplifies the process for businesses while ensuring employees have a stress-free commute.
Assist: If purchasing, leasing, or contracting isn’t feasible, you can still support vanpooling by helping employees find an existing vanpool. The ConnectingVA app and website make it easy to locate vanpools, or you can contact us for assistance in forming new groups.
Why Vanpooling Works for Employers
By supporting vanpooling, businesses can reduce the need for parking spaces, cut down on employee commute-related stress, and enhance job satisfaction. Companies that provide commuter benefits, such as pre-tax savings or financial incentives for vanpool riders, can also boost employee retention and recruitment efforts.
Many businesses also choose to offer incentives such as preferred parking for vanpools or covering part of the monthly vanpool cost. These small investments can lead to a more engaged and productive workforce.
Want to learn more? Contact us today to explore vanpool solutions for your business!
Providing Options
Provide Transit and Commute Options for Employees
Providing new employees with a packet that offers commute options on their first day or prior to their first day via email may assist them with options they had not thought about. This packet could include a free week bus pass and route information to your facility, bicycle maps, etc.
E.g., carpool/vanpool matching, transit routes and schedules) via a company employee intranet website or postings in employee break areas. Encourage employees to use the ConnectingVA website or mobile app for ride matching, trip planning, and to earn rewards. (https://connectingva.agilemile.com/)
Offer carpools and/or vanpools preferential parking close to the main door to encourage and reward carpooling and vanpooling.
Allow employees the opportunity to shift their hours to better align with transit schedules, accommodate carpools/vanpool hours, or family schedules. Also, a compressed work week such a four – 10 hour days/week or working 9 days in two weeks. For free assistance with your company’s hybrid work plans, visit https://connectingva.drpt.virginia.gov/hybrid-work-plans/
Parking Cash-Out is a program in which the employer offers employees the option to accept taxable cash income instead of a free or subsidized parking space at work. This gives the employee the choice to keep the parking space at work, use the money to pay for transit or vanpool fares, or save the money by carpooling, bicycling, or walking to work. (Note: The employer can provide a tax-free transit or vanpool benefit as part of a Parking Cash-Out program.) By equalizing the incentives, some employees who currently drive alone may think twice about it and choose another option.
Provide safe and secure covered or indoor bike racks or lockers near the main entrance of your facility. Shower facilities add an important amenity for employees that bicycle to the office.