Category: Diamond Award for Voluntary CTR program Shapiro and Associates, Inc., Seattle Sue Sander, President

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Commitment of small firm belies its size
Shapiro and Associates, Inc. of Seattle is a natural resource, planning, and regulatory compliance firm. The expertise and experience of its staff, many of whom have worked with, or for, resource agencies for decades, have led the firm to adopt a comprehensive CTR program for employees, even though it is not affected by the state’s CTR law. A 2003 Commuter Challenge Diamond Award recognizes that the outstanding efforts of this organization to encourage commute options are unusual for its size.

March 16, 2004 Awards Ceremony Accepting a 2003 Diamond Award for Shapiro and Associates' voluntary commuting program are Marc Boule and Sue Sander.

Shapiro’s dedication to encouraging staff to take advantage of alternative commute mode subsidies and its central downtown location make this program highly commendable. For 25 of the firm's 30 years of business, the offices of Shapiro and Associates have been located in Pioneer Square, close to bus, ferry and more recently Sounder train connections. The remaining 5 years, the firm was located in the lower financial district, which also had good connections to bus and ferry. Shapiro’s owners and managers have made a conscious effort to keep the office near public transportation connections to encourage employee use.

Despite the fact that Shapiro and Associates has only 34 employees in its Seattle office, which exempts it from the state CTR Law, it manages to offer a strong transportation program. Shapiro covers half of the cost of bus, ferry and Sounder fares for all full and regular part-time employees. The firm also allows employees to telework, compress their workweek and work flexible schedules to reduce the frequency of peak-time commute trips. Employees have access to fleet vehicles for work related trips during the day as well.

Fully 28 of Shapiro’s 34 employees use alternative commute modes, including five of the eight members of management. "Shapiro and Associates is a small firm and, on the surface, our staff’s work-related travel habits may not seem like they would have much impact on local transportation, traffic, parking and noise," president Sue Sander said. "Being an environmental consulting firm, however, we understand the importance of each person doing what he/she can to improve the area in which we live."

*Some definitions: An “ETC” is the staff-level employee transportation coordinator responsible for the daily administration of the transportation program. “SOV” stands for single-occupant vehicle, and “CTR” for commute trip reduction. 

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