2002
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Category: Transit Group Health
Cooperative,
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Listen to one of the radio spots featuring this winner! |
Vanshare connections allow for more
transit use
Group
Health Cooperative is the nation’s second largest consumer-governed,
nonprofit health care system, providing coverage and care for one in ten
Washingtonians. Because of its location, the organization has made a concerted
effort to encourage employees to use transit rather than resorting to
driving alone. It is this effort that has earned Group Health Cooperative
a 2002 Commuter Challenge Diamond Award for transit.
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Jan. 22, 2003 Awards Ceremony Group Health Director of Administrative Services Bill Biggs (c) accepts a Diamond Award for Transit, along with (from left) Trammel Crow Property Assistant Andrea Coonrod and Employee Transportation Coordinator Cicely Beutler. On his right is Tukwila Assistant City Administrator Rhonda Berry and Tukwila Mayor Steve Mullet. |
Employees of Group Health’s Tukwila worksite receive subsidies for transit, and ferry passes as well as 50% of their vanpool fees. FlexPasses are offered to employees for $25 per month. Carpools receive discounted or free parking, depending on the number of riders, and all vanshares are completely subsidized.
Because Group Health’s Tukwila site is located in a remote area of the city, there is limited bus service within walking distance. In its effort to encourage transit use, Group Health determined that providing a shuttle from the Tukwila campus to the Tukwila Sounder Station and the Tukwila Park and Ride through an outside vendor was a viable solution. However, this shuttle service proved to be a significant expense and began experiencing problems with overcrowding and unreliable service. Replacing the shuttle with Metro VanShare became a more cost-effective solution. In addition, Group Health determined that subsidizing the VanShare service would help the Tukwila site improve participation in its trip reduction program by providing employees with the control and flexibility they want in their commute.
Group Health has realized cost savings of approximately $153,600 per year by using VanShare instead of the outside shuttle service. The money saved by this transition will allow Group Health to further expand and improve other aspects of its CTR program. Group Health was also able to work with King County Metro to add an express bus from downtown Seattle to the work site in Tukwila.
The employer’s intranet site as well as employee word-of-mouth, have been highly effective in promoting and providing information on the program. In addition, a Transportation Fair was held at the Administrative and Operations Center campus to provide employees with information about their commute options. FlexPass sales have steadily increased as more employees utilize Sounder, due to the availability of the VanShare connections.
Commute Program
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*Some definitions: An “ETC” is the staff-level employee transportation coordinator responsible for the daily administration of the transportation program; “PM” is the transportation program manager; and “CEO” refers to the top management-level person at the worksite. “SOV” stands for single-occupant vehicle, and “CTR” for commute trip reduction.