Category: Leadership

Adobe Systems Incorporated,
Seattle

• CEO*: Manny Freitas, VP Customer Support, North America
• ETC: Craig Snyder, Administrative Assistant, Facilities

Relocation called for major changes in CTR program

In July of 1998, Adobe Systems undertook the huge task of moving its 500 employees from Pioneer Square, adjacent to downtown Seattle, to its new building in the Fremont neighborhood, west of the University District. One of the tasks faced by the software development company was to meet the expectations of its employees to develop a CTR program that would make it possible for them to commute other than by SOV. In Pioneer Square, which boasts ample transit service, alternative commute modes were used by more than 50% of the employees.

Showing off Adobe's Diamond Award is Craig Snyder, Administrative Assistant in Facilities.

Undaunted by the task, Employee Transportation Coordinator Craig Snyder dug in, and with the support of management, developed a comprehensive commuting program that offers something to every employee. First, Snyder mapped out where all employees live and determined a FlexPass program would cover 93% of them. The other 7%, including Snyder himseThe FlexPass, which is 100% subsidized by Adobe, is issued to all employees. It allows Adobe employees to commute via King County Metro, Pierce Transit, and Community Transit buses and vanpools. Some Adobe employees live in the University District, and many others commute through that corridor. lf, commute via the ferry system.

However bus service connecting the University District and Fremont was very limited. Adobe participated in meetings with other members of the Fremont community and Metro, and the result was a new bus route providing additional service between the two neighborhoods.

Adobe subsidizes walk-on ferry fare for the 35 employees who commute via ferry each day, and an Adobe shuttle takes them back and forth to the terminal in downtown Seattle. The shuttle also is used to transport employees who live downtown, or who are visiting from out of town.

Adobe employees also have developed some unique commute alternatives on their own. Because the new facility is located on the Lake Washington Ship Canal, six people kayak to work during the summer. One employee drives his electric car (Adobe has recharging for electric cars in the garage). Covered and secure bicycle storage and showers encourage bicycling to work. Fifty-five people bicycle in the summer, and 20 hardy souls do it year around. Another 40 employees walk on a regular basis.

In addition to helping Adobe employees with their daily commutes, Snyder chairs the Dexter/Denny/Mercer Employer Network and has formed LUCK (Lake Union Commuter Kinship), a group of ETCs representing employers located along Lake Union. They currently are working on a service that will match employees from all of the employers in the area in order to form carpools and vanpools.

So, has all of this hard work paid off? It is no secret the Fremont neighborhood was very concerned about the impact 500+ employees commuting in and out of the area every day would have on this unique community. A week after Adobe had moved into its new offices, Snyder overheard two residents talking in one of the Fremont stores. The neighbors discussed the fact they had seen the moving vans at Adobe and wondered when the employees were going to show up.

A job well done, indeed.

*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.