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The best
way to see how the PTC can help you, your organization, the
employees there, and the relationship between them all, is
to take a look at what other companies have learned. Click
on the links below to read about these companies' experiences.
Bellsouth.net,
"Getting It Done"
What do
you get when your company is growing in the triple digit range?
Strapped parking capacity, employees shuffling between two
sites and in general a commuting nightmare. To address their
growing pains and commuter problems Bellsouth.net turned to
the PTC.
"Initially
we brought in a valet parking service to make room for the
extra cars," explained Michael Carr, BellSouth.net Transportation
Coordinator. "But the valet service was expensive, costing
literally thousands of dollars a month so we turned to the
PTC." Michael Carr and Lisa Fritts of Bellsouth.net wanted
to alleviate some of the pressure, and help the company prepare
for the growth they knew was coming- and one day make the
valet service unnecessary.
They jumped
in right away, first into the Perimeter
Pass program, and within a couple of months were selling
35 monthly MARTA cards (a full 5% of their workforce, right
off the bat). The program was made even more successful when
Bellsouth.net began subsidizing the cards further, providing
them to employees for $20/month.
But they
didn't stop there. They moved on to design programs that helped
their employees who did not have access to MARTA. They held
several "Meet Your Match" meetings and installed parking spaces
reserved for car-poolers right next to the building entrance,
and beyond the control of the valet service. Those sharing
a ride were assured of a space, even if they left the building
for lunch. On a recent "Try Carpool Day" participants were
given prizes that ranged from water bottles to restaurant
gift certificates. But the real payoff has been fewer cars
in their lot, and employees who have beaten the frustration
of their commute (and saved $$$ too!).
And there's
more to come. The first vanpool at Bellsouth.net is only weeks
away from being reality (coming from the Acworth area). The
PTC is holding other zip-code based vanpool parties, while
senior management is considering purchasing electric bicycles
for employees to use in commuting between their two sites
during the day. This is a company to watch!
The
Art Institute of Atlanta: Doing It Creatively..... of Course!
Did you
know that the Central Perimeter is now home to over 1,200
new students studying hard to be chefs, web designers, graphic
artists, and interior designers? If it were any other area,
that many students (plus staff and faculty) would be a serious
addition to the traffic congestion.
But the
Art Institute is working with the PTC and has a culture committed
to alternative transportation, and they are providing leadership
for other companies to follow. In late 1999 AIA relocated
from their Buckhead location to a new home in Embassy Row
just two blocks from the soon-to-be-completed Sandy Springs
MARTA station. Before they arrived, the PTC partnered with
AIA in receiving a $40,000 University Rideshare Grant through
the Atlanta Regional Commission that is intended to help students,
faculty, and staff identify alternatives to driving alone.
With a new Transportation Coordinator in place, AIA now provides
discounted transit cards, ridematching assistance, and support
for Effective Cycling classes.
"Our school
has always been about alternatives, and transportation is
no exception," says Will Byrd, Director of Student Housing
and Campus Life. "Sixty percent of our students are already
taking alternatives to school, and we expect the new Sandy
Springs MARTA station to boost that number even higher." And
starting this month, a new vanpool has formed among students
and staff from campus housing (in Sandy Springs/Buckhead).
By itself, this van will remove 15-20 additional cars from
the campus parking lot and area roads, and provide cost savings
to students who may already be on a tight budget.
The University
Rideshare Grant and the PTC's Vanpool Startup Subsidy are
partially funding this vanpool, with AIA assuming the remainder
of the cost. "A diversity of uses in the Central Perimeter
is important to making this area a true Live-Work-Play community,
and the PTC is very excited about working with a non-traditional
organization like the Art Institute," says David Southerland,
the PTC's Program Coordinator.
The
Art Institute has brought another unexpected amenity to the
Central Perimeter. Culinary students and their faculty supervisors
operate a Classical French white linen restaurant¾ Creations.
A five-course dinner is served on Wednesday and Friday evenings
at 7:00 PM, and an a la carte lunch on Thursday and Friday
afternoons at 1:30 PM. For reservations, please call 770-394-8300x2111
on Tuesdays.
Hewlett
Packard: Still Setting the Example
When Ted
Turner of Hewlett Packard started their alternative commuting
program six years ago, he didn't do it thinking he was doing
anything visionary for the Central Perimeter business community-
but that is exactly what has happened. Reacting originally
to the need to retain good employees when the firm moved from
Cobb County to Dunwoody in 1995, HP has since become a model
company in addressing employee's traffic and commuting concerns.
Just
one of HP's stable of 11 vanpools. The vanpool program
alone takes 125 cars off Central Perimeter roads each
day.
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"Prior
or our company's relocation to the Perimeter area, we
were out there thinking about these things," says Turner.
"We had two big investments we wanted to protect: a truly
talented employee group, and a great new headquarters
on Lake Hearn, and the last thing we wanted to happen
was to reduce the value of either due to something like
traffic." That corporate move has resulted in one of the
most effective and comprehensive alternative commuting
programs in all of metro Atlanta. |
Most
visible is the HP Vanpool program, with 11 vans from eight
different communities around the region. The company provides
a near 100% subsidy for each van, ensuring that no employee
will have an economic reason not to join a vanpool group.
An employee from Acworth can ride to work in one of the company
vanpools for $10 a month. HP also subsidizes MARTA cards for
employees, and sells over 135 cards a month. To ensure that
those employees on transit can get to their building safely,
HP also runs a shuttle during rush hours on weekdays, and
during the lunch hour every Wednesday.
In an
effort to make these and other alternatives more visible,
the company set aside the best parking spaces in their deck
for vanpool and carpools, ensuring that every employee not
taking an alternative would see what they are missing each
day. To make beating the traffic even easier, HP also has
one of the most generous flextime programs in the area, stretching
their starting hours over a nearly five-hour period. They
also have an extensive telecommuting program in place as well.
"Our alternative commuting program is a successful employee
benefit here at HP," says Facilities Services Manager Freddy
McIntosh, manager of the whole commuting program and himself
a vanpool rider.
"We have
received lots of awards and recognition for what we have done,
but the truth is that our programs have made good business
sense, both when we started them six years ago, and today."
With 135 vanpool riders, 50 registered carpools, 135 MARTA
riders, a few bicycle commuters, and the telecommuting program,
HP is probably removing close to 400 cars a day from Central
Perimeter roads. Their impact in business leadership, traffic
reduction, and contributions to improving the region's air
quality cannot be overstated.
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