If you are looking for ways to get your employees to use public transit providing employee travel discounts is a good place to start. You can work with your local transit authority to find out your options. Here are a few benefits and ideas to get started.
Cost Effective Option
Have a program started at work that encourages staff to participate by taking public transit to work. Look for options that will help them want to participate. Many companies provide flexible hours as a good start as it allows employees to work with the transit schedule without being stressed out about having to get up too early or getting home too late. You can even look for someone to take on the role as a transit advisor who has schedules and maps available to look for a realistic route and time for employees to travel. It is a far more cost effective option compared to traveling by car everyday where gas, parking and insurance are all factors adding to the expense.
Subsidize
Sometimes it takes a little coaxing and we all know money talks. Look into subsidizing transit fares for staff to make public transit even more enticing from a cost stand point. Consider adding it to the benefits program and look for tax advantages to offering subsidized transit to employees. It often only takes as little as five employees to participate in a program to get tax breaks for your business.
Van Pool Programs
If you have enough staff interested in saving money, but who are not as keen on public transit you can also look into Van Pool programs that can transport as many as 15 employees to work for a reasonable monthly price. Employees can split the cost and are picked up at their door or an agreed upon site. This is very effective for those who are looking at a longer bus or train ride. This is an excellent idea and many people will probably be excited to have this as an option. You can also choose to subsidize this type of program for tax benefits.
As you can see there are many options to offer employee travel discounts to your team. The good news is that all of them also provide tax benefits to you as well.
Dart can assist with providing options and ideas for employee travel discounts for your business. Visit for more information on public transit in your area.
