Washoe RTC Vanpool Program
A potential benefit to employers and employees in Washoe County
Did you know that Washoe RTC offers a subsidized Vanpool program that employers can further subsidize as a benefit to employees who commute to work?
If you are looking to support your employees’ transportation needs and reduce your carbon footprint, offering employees a means to vanpool can cut commuting costs, reduce employee commuting miles traveled, and help maintain good local air quality.
There are several compelling reasons why an organization in or near the Truckee Meadows should consider RTC Vanpool as a transportation option for its employees:
- Cost Savings: Vanpooling can significantly reduce commuting costs for employees compared to driving alone. By sharing the cost of leasing, fuel, and maintenance, participants can save money on transportation expenses.
- Reduced Parking Demand: Vanpooling can help alleviate parking congestion at the workplace by reducing the number of single-occupancy vehicles needing parking spaces.
- Environmental Impact: Vanpooling reduces the number of vehicles on the road, leading to lower carbon emissions and improved air quality. This aligns with many businesses’ sustainability goals and demonstrates corporate social responsibility.
- Employee Retention and Satisfaction: Offering vanpooling as a transportation option can enhance employee satisfaction and retention by providing a convenient, cost-effective, and stress-free commuting solution. It can also help attract new talent to the organization.
- Productivity: Vanpooling allows employees to use their commute time more effectively. Instead of focusing on driving, they can use the time to relax, catch up on work, or engage in other activities, leading to increased productivity.
- Access to Incentives: RTC Vanpool may offer subsidies to businesses that participate in the program, further enhancing the cost-effectiveness of vanpooling as a transportation solution.
To learn more about the Washoe RTC Vanpool program, BEP’s Griffin Hadlock interviewed Scott Miklos from Washoe RTC and Brian Hitchcock from Commute with Enterprise, which has been contracted to manage the Washoe RTC Vanpool program.
Introductions
Brian Hitchcock
Brian Hitchcock is the Commuter Sales Executive at Enterprise for the state of Nevada and Tahoe Basin. He works with employers and public agencies to provide vanpool programs for their employees to help people get to work. He does that through partnering with public transportation agencies like RTC and Washoe County and other agencies throughout our state and neighboring areas to both help financially and with the infrastructure.
Scott Miklos
Scott Miklos is the trip reduction analyst for the Regional Transportation Commission in Washoe County. He previously worked at another transit agency. He’s been in transportation demand management since 1987. He oversees Washoe RTC’s Vanpool program, the bus pass subsidy program, the Ed Pass program, the website, and anything that’s alternative transportation at RTC.
What is RTC Vanpool?
Scott:
We contract our Vanpool through Commute with Enterprise, so they provide the vehicle, the maintenance, and the insurance licensing. They check out the drivers, they give them a gas card. What RTC does is provide a subsidy for each group.
Who is eligible for RTC Vanpool?
Brian:
Anybody that has a commute that either starts or stops in Washoe County. We have about 230 vans that go out to the Tahoe Reno Industrial (TRI) Center. We have a dozen or so vans that go down to Carson City. We have a bunch that go up to Susanville and the National Guard up there. We have 18 vanpools that go up to the Lake Tahoe area, currently. So as long as you either start or end your trip in Washoe County, you’re eligible for the subsidy. We have 334 that are leased right now.
What cars are available?
Brian:
Availability really comes down to the type of vehicle that you’re looking for. And that’s a bigger question. At the end of the day, how many do you need and when? We offer a range of vehicles: 15-passenger vehicles, all the way down to 7-passenger front wheel drive SUVs. We don’t do anything smaller than 7-passenger SUVs and we say that because we operate in the public transportation world. To maintain that status, we offer 7-passenger vehicles and above.
How does Vanpool work?
Scott:
You get a group of 5 to 15 people that work at the same place and live close enough or have pickup points that work for them. They set their own times. They set how many people are in the van. The monthly mileage and type of vehicle they use determines the price. The group designates anywhere from one primary driver and a backup to designating everybody as the driver.
Enterprise does a driving check on the people that are certified drivers. Then they pick their meeting times, their meeting places, and off they go.
It is a month-to-month lease that automatically renews. You will need a 30-day notice to terminate.
How much does RTC Vanpool generally cost?
Scott:
It depends on the type of vehicle and the distance you’re traveling. If you’re going from Washoe County out to the TRI Center, you’re probably driving 1500 miles a month, but that costs you (if you get a minivan) around $1300 plus tax and gas. Then, you usually deduct a $400 subsidy, which leaves you around owing $900. You split that with five or six people, and that’s what your cost is. It can be cheap compared to driving your own vehicle.
How much can RTC subsidize to help costs?
Scott:
Per van is $400 for 0-3000 miles per month, $500 for 3001-4000 miles per month, and $600 for 4001 miles or more per month.
Who pays for the maintenance and insurance for the vehicles?
Brian:
The Commute with Enterprise program is a very turnkey program. We include full coverage, auto insurance, maintenance, and roadside. The vehicle is included inside of everything in our turnkey program as well as an online portal for management. We utilize local vendors here in the area. We contract with them with our local operations team. Christina Uranga is our local operations manager. She’s very well versed in what she does and runs a quick team here to ensure that all our vehicles are well maintained. When there are challenges, they’re taken care of efficiently.
Savings really come into play as you’re able to report lower mileage on your insurance premium. You’re able to do less maintenance on your own personal vehicle. I’m spending less on gas because now I’m splitting it five ways or six ways. So now it’s $40 or $50 a month, which is great, but you don’t see that you’re reporting 15,000 to 20,000 less miles per month or year on your vehicle mileage. That’s a big impact on your insurance premiums.
What are the benefits of RTC Vanpool for businesses?
Scott:
Well, I could tell you personally about that, because I was in a vanpool myself at a couple of different companies. I was running the program, but I was also a participant and was able to just meet up with a van and hop in. Then, you could either work, listen to music, send emails, or catch up on sleep while you get to work. Because of this, your employees arrive much more rested and ready to go.
On top of that, workplace attendance of Vanpool participants is much higher because they’re on a schedule. They’re a lot less likely to miss work, especially for a vehicle issue because the vehicles are well taken care of with regular maintenance. Your employees arrive at work on time and ready to work. For example, I had a company in Southern California that had a vanpool of 5 managers. On their way to work every day they would hold their morning meeting. When they got to work, they’d already have gotten that out of the way and were able to just take off and get things going.
Brian:
When you start vanpooling, you create your own little family. That culture really goes into the workplace. People are happier, so you create positive recruiting efforts and positive retention efforts because now you have a transportation tool to offer that people need, especially at the transportation island we have out at TRI Center. That’s one example where I can help those employers find a way to help recruit more people out there and fill that gap.
Additionally, return on investment. Their employees are more efficient when they are more well rested when they come into work. The cost savings make people happier and increase longevity. They’re not constantly worried about “How am I going to get to work?” We want to make sure that we have inclusive rides to work, right? We want to make sure that everybody has access to this.
Scott:
Another asset with the Vanpool program is the commuter tax incentive. It allows companies to give their employees up to $315 per month tax-free for Vanpool. They have a pre-tax benefit already set up with the commuter tax incentive. If the employer does that, then that reduces their taxable liabilities and whatever the amount would be. With the commuter tax incentive, it’s much easier to administer than an employee’s health benefits. With this program you can go in and out anytime you want, so you can go in for six months if you happen to move.
What’s the easiest way for businesses and employees to start participating in the program?
Brian:
Call Scott. He’ll get you connected with us. 775-346-POOL (775-346-7665)
Or email me: Brian.Z.Hitchcocki@ehi.com
We’ll do a consultation and then we’ll figure out how to tailor the program to the best of their employer situation. I will build your tailored program and then, from there, we decide.
What does RTC have planned for public transportation?
Scott:
We’re adding more Flex Ride routes. Any student, faculty or staff that has a college ID can ride any of our buses other than paratransit for free. We also work with businesses on our bus pass subsidy program. We have about 20 companies that do that. The way that program works is the company is willing to subsidize 20% of the bus pass. RTC will subsidize 20% of the bus pass. So, the employee can buy it for $39 instead of $65.
We also use token transit, which is an online app that we will set up. Say you’re running the program at a business, for instance, and I come in and I say, “I need a bus pass for next month. Can you get me one?” You would just go on to the link and put in my phone number. The pass shows up on my phone instantaneously. So, your employees now have their bus pass on their phone, which makes it much more difficult for them to lose. If you lose your phone and you get another one with the same number, the pass will still be there.
What kind of challenges are you facing at RTC currently?
Scott:
Well, as usual, there’s not enough money to do all the projects we need because we do all the street projects that are in our jurisdiction. Right now, we’re in partnership with the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) working on Pyramid Highway.
One of our major goals for the last couple years has been to go to some of the streets like Oddie to put in sidewalks, lighting, bike lanes, etc. to make it more multi-modal in an effort to promote active transportation such as walking, biking, scootering, skateboarding, rollerblading, etc.
Are there any other key points or information you would like employers or employees to know about RTC Vanpool?
Brian:
Reno has the 4th largest transit partnership (as far as vanpooling goes) in the nation. As a result, we make a huge impact with vanpooling here in our community. When you think about “What can I do to continue to keep my employees at work? “What can I do to get more employees to come to work?” This is a great opportunity for you to employ a new alternative to, say, offering gym memberships or even sign-on bonuses.
Transportation is one of those intangibles. This is something that will keep people at their job for a very long time that will feed people’s families for years and years. Even if you don’t have a family, we’ll keep you living in your apartment and keep you employed for years to come and potentially establish you in a career. That’s why I do what I do. That’s the reason that I moved over up here from Sacramento is because when this job came across my desk, I had a memory of losing my job because I my boss told me it’s either figure out how to get to work or lose your job because I didn’t have a way of public transportation to get to work. So, at the end of the day this can make or break somebody’s life to a certain degree. So, it’s a very serious thing and that’s why we wake up and do what we do.
And it’s just a great benefit for companies to offer. It really doesn’t cost them much depending on their level of subsidy, if they want to do that. But if they don’t, just helping, organizing, getting their workers in a Vanpool, saving them a whole bunch of money, if they, especially if they do the pre-tax benefit, it just makes them so much more competitive with some of the other companies. Another way to look at it: do you want to pay your employees $3 more an hour to get them to stay and to work for you or do you provide them benefits that help them get to work, stress free and save money? You can spend 60 to 90 days trying to onboard somebody and then lose somebody every 90 days. That’s a bigger challenge than just providing something as simple as transportation.
Here are some numbers that have reduced traffic congestion and air pollution with the use of RTC Vanpool:
Last year, we saved over 20 million miles being driven. Because of the available program we reduced 544,549 passenger trips and so far, this year we are on pace to either tie that or break it.
10 million kilograms of CO2e reduction for the RTC this past year.
Visit RTC’s Vanpool website to learn more or get in contact with Scott Miklos.