Businesses Encouraging Mass-Transit Use

Posted by A. Caleb Hartley on January 10th, 2009 filed in mass transit

I live in Columbus, Ohio, quite possibly the urban sprawl capital of the midwest… and a dead downtown outside of business hours.  Columbus is a place where people work downtown at the myriad corporations (including some big ones like Nationwide Insurance, American Electric Power (AEP), Chase Bank, Huntington Bank, etc. etc.) but live outside the beltway of I-270 in exurbs such as Dublin, Reynoldsburg, Sunbury, even as far away as Mount Vernon (something like a 90-minute drive each way).

Spending that kind of time in the car must be torture in and of itself, but I can’t imagine what it was like when gas prices were $4.00 plus per gallon – especially because many many people drive urban assault vehicles (SUVs), they being so necessary in the flatness that is Central Ohio.

I bring this up for a few reasons:

1. My wife and I just returned from Germany, where we were staying with the family of our very good friends for the holidays.  We had a great time, and I was happy to see all the recycling facilities that were available, as well as the mass-transit (bus) system and especially the smaller vehicles that make up the bulk of personally-owned transportation in Europe.  We were able to walk from where we were staying (you could call it the “suburbs,” I guess) to downtown Wiesbaden in about an hour.  Or the bus got you there in something like 15-20 minutes.
2. While there, one night I got into a discussion with one of our friends (whose wife’s family was who we were staying with) about social issues and such – specifically about mass-transit and its viability in Columbus.  He does not think that it is viable to have mass transit in Columbus since we are so sprawled.  I think that that we can’t afford NOT to have mass transit BECAUSE we are so sprawled.  This is a discussion I would like to delve deeper into – let’s do so in the comments!
3. I recently stumbled upon an article that I saved months ago so that I could write about it at some point, and I thought now would be a good time!

So the article that I recently uncovered once again is from Progressive Railroading, a rail transportation industry magazine. From a freight transportation perspective, rail is significantly more efficient, to the tune of about 4x less fuel used per mile of each ton of freight moved.  In other words, one ton of freight can be moved about 470 miles by rail for each gallon of gas, but by truck, each ton moves only 120 miles or so per gallon of gas.

I don’t know the numbers for people transportation, but many people moving in one vehicle (be it bus or train) is significantly more efficient than each person in their own vehicle.  Not only from a fuel perspective, but also from a wear-and-tear on the roads and on the vehicles standpoint.  Additionally, people who are riding as opposed to driving can be productive while enroute (using blackberries to check email, editing memos or reports, reading a book, etc.) without endangering themselves and others on the road.

Okay – so that being said, how do you encourage people to actually use mass-transit?  The article in Progressive Railroading was about businesses subsidizing monthly passes for transit in Miami, Florida.

First off, Miami-Dade Transit offers a group discount to employees of organizations who purchase monthly passes through payroll deduction. Not only do these employees receive a $12.50 discount for the month, they also get tax benefits by having it deducted from their paychecks (the deduction is pre-tax, like your medical benefits or your 401k).

On top of the discount above, many employers subsidize the remaining cost as well!  In the article, it is stated that The University of Miami has decided to pay 100% of the cost for any of its employees making less than $35,000 per year, and 50% of the cost for all employees making between $35,000 and $100,000 per year.  This small cost per employee will reduce an employers expenses for parking (maintenance of parking lots, etc.) in the long run, as well as mean more money in the pockets of its employees, who:

• Won’t have to pay for gas
• Won’t have to pay for parking
• Won’t be late to work due to car trouble, accidents, or traffic
• Will save money on maintenance of their car since it won’t be driven as much
• May be able to sell a car since it won’t be needed to commute back and forth to work
• and on and on and on…

Employees who take advantage of the payroll deduction at the University of Miami nearly doubled in just one month since it was announced that the university would subsidize some or all of the costs of the program.  This plan gives employees a great deal, the employer saves some money as well and earns more retention of employees who benefit, and the transit authority ensures that it has money coming in regularly so that it can improve and expand its services – benefiting others who may not have had convenient service before.  These people can now find better or more meaningful employment than they may have been able to in the past, which benefits all of us in the long run, yes?

Are you listening, COTA?

Namaste,
A. Caleb Hartley

---

Do you use mass-transit? Why or why not? Would you, if it was more convenient? What would make you more likely to use it in the future? All aboard the express train to the comment section….

---

Popularity: 12% [?]