Category: Parking Management

PacifiCare of Washington, Mercer Island

• CEO*: Chris Wing, President and CEO
• PM: Tad Degenhardt, Telecommunications/Facilities Manager
• ETC: Shannon Rise, Telecommunications/Facilities Administrative Assistant

Parking charge encourages alternative commute modes

PacifiCare of Washington took a bold step and decided to do something few employers east of Lake Washington and no other employer on Mercer Island does—charge employees for parking.

Accepting a Diamond Award on behalf of PacifiCare of Washington are Tad Degenhardt, Telecommunications/Facilities Manager, and Shannon Rise, Telecommunications/Facilities Administrative Assistant.

PacifiCare, which is headquartered in California, has a company-wide policy of not subsidizing employee parking. When the company opened an office on Mercer Island in 1993, that policy was enacted, and employees were charged $20 per month for parking. In 1998 PacifiCare, which administers and consults on employee benefit plans, closed its Seattle office, and moved those employees to the Mercer Island office. However, this created a parking space shortage and reinforced the need to continue to charge for parking and to promote ridesharing.

Parking is by permit and the fee is administered through a payroll deduction. If an employee receives a bus pass, no payroll deduction is taken. Employees who carpool park at a reduced rate. PacifiCare fully subsidizes transit and ferry fares and offers bicycle storage and showers for the hardy souls who brave Puget Sound's weather to bicycle to work.

Incentive program rewards alternative commuting

As further encouragement, PacifiCare recently introduced an incentive awards program. The program allows employees to earn 100 points for every day they commute round-trip via a means other than driving alone in a car. These points are used to “purchase” items from a catalog of merchandise provided by a nationwide private vendor.

*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.