| FlexPass: Excellence in commute reduction, eight years and counting | ||
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| Metro's FlexPass is taking more cars
off the road than ever King County Metro introduced a new kind of bus pass in 1993, and since then the FlexPass has played a major role with many King County employers in reducing commute trips in the Puget Sound region. The program has grown considerably since its creation. This year 130 employers within King County are participating, with FlexPasses issued for over 80,000 employees. The program helps to reduce traffic and fill empty seats in Metro buses and vanpools, benefiting area employers and increasing capacity on our streets and highways. Combining a transit pass with a selection of other commute options has made the FlexPass very popular with King County organizations and employees, proving itself a valuable tool in the battle against gridlock and air pollution produced by the 1,236,443 cars registered in King County. The FlexPass has become a staple of many organizations' Commute Trip Reduction programs and is responsible for 6 million of the total 98.5 million passengers boarding Metro buses in 2000. The program's broad range of benefits also has helped to provide alternative commute modes to companies not located near transit lines. FlexPasses are used today not only to provide bus pass subsidies, but also to provide vanpool subsidies, and carpool and non-motorized commute incentives. An example is the Diamond Award winning Federal Detention Center at SeaTac. The Detention Center is not located near convenient bus routes for most of its employees and thus is an excellent example of the value of the commute options offered by the FlexPass. Of the 200 FlexPasses issued by the Federal Detention Center to its employees in the year 2000, 70 people carpooled and 60 used vanpools to commute to work. “For many employers who are concerned about spending transportation dollars efficiently, the FlexPass makes good business sense,” said Metro Market Development Planner Matt Hansen. “We try to provide employers with a simplified approach and one invoice for all the benefits.” FlexPass
has grown, continues to expand The newest addition to the FlexPass program is a benefit called “FlexPerks.” FlexPerks is a merchant discount program, available to any FlexPass holder. FlexPass cards will be honored for a discount on purchases at Seattle's Best Coffee and Dollar Rent A Car. Amtrak will provide a discount on Cascades service to Portland and Vancouver B.C. And Flexcar, the nation's largest car-sharing organization, will provide a discount on registration fees. FlexPerks debuts on May 1, 2001. For more information, visit http://transit.metrokc.gov/programs_info/employer/empcommute.html. Metro was recently awarded the coveted Innovations in American Government award from the Ford Foundation and Harvard University for its FlexPass program and “Commute Partnerships” with King County employers. The FlexPass program has been an integral part of forming and maintaining these partnerships and the results are startling. In downtown Bellevue, the FlexPass is responsible in part for a 24 percent drop in drive alone commutes from 81 percent in 1990 to 57 percent in 2000. From 1993 to 2000, transit use in downtown Bellevue rose from 13 percent to 18 percent. “Our goal is to expand the market in terms of reaching more employers,” Hansen said. “We are in a partnership with each one.” With a rising population in King County, programs like FlexPass are important to maintain the environment and the quality of life to which Puget Sound residents have become accustomed. FlexPass use is increasing everyday, and many King County businesses have found it to be a valuable transportation investment. |
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