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Air Innovations Conference

Chicago, IL

August 11, 2004

Mayor Patrick McCrory

City of Charlotte

Best Workplaces for CommutersSM

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National Traffic Facts

• From 1980 to 2000 the number of vehicles increased almost twice as fast as the population (DOE, Transportation Energy Data Book).

• From 1982 to 2002, the U.S. population grew 22%, but commuting travel delay grew by 288%, increasing from 16 hours to 62 hours per year due to traffic congestion. (Texas Transportation Institute)

• The American Lung Association reports that even low levels of ground-level ozone, which is produced by automotive tailpipe emissions and is a component of smog, adversely affect nearly one-third of our population.

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Commuting and the Environment• Vehicle emissions contribute to air pollution and global

climate change– 1 gal. gasoline = 20 lbs. of climate change pollution (CO2)

– Passenger vehicles cause 20% of U.S. climate change pollution

• Air pollution and global climate change are on the rise– Driving has more than doubled since 1970 to 2.5 trillion

miles per year– SUVs and minivans are now

half of auto market polluting 3 to 5 times more than cars

– 75% are “drive-alone” trips

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Commuting in Charlotte

• Expected 40% population growth rate in the next 25 years (660,000 to 945,000)

• Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMI) could increase by 75% from 21 to 36 million miles per year

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Charlotte Initiatives

1.CATS 25 year Transit Program2.CATS Coordinated Car Pool/Van Pool Program3.Employer Transportation Coordinator Program (Best Workplaces for Commuters Program)4.Transportation Planning Improvements (HOV,

BRT, road widenings)5.New Design Standards (Sidewalks, Bike Lanes)6.General Development Policies – Smart Growth

Philosophy focusing on high density corridors

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How Do We Encourage Change?

• Offer commuter benefits!

- When employers provide an outstanding level of commuter benefits, 10% to 30% of employees will shift transportation “modes”

– Employees with commuter benefits are 8 times more likely to use transit than those who don’t have them (2001 Xylo Survey)

– U.S. employers spend $36 billion annually on employee parking (KPMG Peat Marwick study)

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What is Best Workplaces for CommutersSM?

• Regionally and nationally recognizes employers that meet or exceed a National Standard of Excellence in commuter benefits

• For participating employers, requires that support be provided to employees taking alternative modes such as vanpool, transit, carpool, and telework

• Dozens of transportation, air quality, human resources, business and government organizations in communities across the country are endorsing and supporting the program

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BWC Campaigns Planned or Underway 2004-2005 

• Aspen

• Boulder

• Charlotte

• Dallas

• Denver

• Houston

• Minneapolis/St. Paul

• New England

 

 

• New York metro

• Phoenix

• Raleigh-Durham-RTP

• Sacramento

• San Francisco Bay Area

• St. Louis

• Tucson

• Washington DC metro

 

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg

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Response from across the USA

• 3Com• Adobe• Aetna• Apple Computer• AT&T• Bayer Corp• ChevronTexaco• Genentech• General Dynamics• Hewlett-Packard

• IBM• Kaiser Permanente• Lockheed Martin• Oracle• Penske Truck• PeopleSoft• Pixar Animation • Sun Microsystems• Visa• Yahoo!

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What Employers are Saying

“ Getting and retaining the best employees is critical to success in today’s business world. Being recognized as a Best Workplaces for CommutersSM is a win-win way to benefit your company, your employees, and your community.”- Hewlett-Packard Company (San Francisco Bay Area, CA)

“We became a Best Workplaces for CommutersSM to support our ‘triple bottom line’ (people, planet, profits). This program contributes to our social bottom line providing a fulfilling work experience; helps us care for the environment; and allows us to be more competitive by attracting the best employees to our company. This, of course, contributes to our economic bottom line.”- Idyll, Ltd. (Philadelphia, PA)

"Best Workplaces for CommutersSM complements our business programs by recognizing employers who offer transit benefits to their employees. Every time an employer subsidizes transit through an RTD program, they're helping reduce the number of cars on the road, which alleviates traffic problems for all of us." - Regional Transportation District (Denver, CO)

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Best Workplaces for Commuters Results

Over 900 employers covering almost 2 million commuters

Employers designated as Best Workplaces for CommutersSM in 31 States

saving more than 35 million gallons of gasoline annually

reducing the number of miles driven by more than 7.5 million miles a day

reducing significant amounts of VOCs/N0x

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How to Participate

• To learn more about becoming a Best Workplaces for CommutersSM or supporting a regional campaign:

– Visit www.bwc.gov

– Call the hotline at 888 856-3131