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Employer Trip Reduction (ETR)
Under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, states that have areas designated as extreme or severe nonattainment for ozone were required to revise their state implementation plan (SIP) by adopting regulations to implement ETR programs and reduce work-related vehicle trips and miles traveled by employees. In 1995, Congress amended the law, allowing states to remove ETR programs from the SIP as long as the state can maintain emissions reductions equivalent to those achieved with the ETR program. The program is now an optional strategy and is usually referred to as the Commuter Choice Leadership Initiative, but it is still viewed by the EPA as a viable method for reducing ozone-forming pollutants.
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Benefits for Employers
For a variety of reasons, including the cost of gasoline and parking and increased charges for public transit, employees are viewing commuting subsidies as one of their most desired employer-supported benefits. In addition, companies wanting to demonstrate social responsibility in reducing energy consumption, air pollution, and traffic congestion can point to the positive environmental impact of their commuting programs.
Benefits that employers that provide incentives for alternative commuting receive include:
- Absenteeism and productivity. Employees who take public transit or rideshare are less likely to be absent, stressed, or nonproductive as a result of their commute to work or parking problems.
- Recruitment and retention. Difficulty or cost involved in traveling to and from work and finding parking can adversely affect recruitment and retention for employees. Furthermore, employers that assist their employees in easing their commute financially and time-wise clearly improve employee morale and loyalty.
- Housing and employee pool. Commuting and ridesharing programs allow a company to draw workers from a larger geographic area, including towns where housing costs may be more reasonable.
- Tax benefits. The value of employer-sponsored vanpools may be excluded from gross income up to the statutory monthly limit less any other transportation vouchers provided by the employer (IRC Sec. 132(f)(5)(B)). The federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) offers payroll-related tax-favored benefits to employers to ease employees’ commuting costs for ridesharing or mass transit.
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Next month we will take a look at how employers can promote alternative commuting options.