County Employers Win COG Commuter Connections Awards

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Contact: Esther Bowring, 240-777-6530
Tom Pogue, 301-565-7317

For Immediate Release: July 26, 2000

COUNTY EMPLOYERS WIN COG
COMMUTER CONNECTIONS AWARDS

Two Montgomery County employers are this year's winners of the third annual Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) 2000 Commuter Connections Employer Recognition Awards. GEICO Direct and Suburban Hospital were both recognized for starting programs that successfully encouraged the use of commuting alternatives to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.

Commuter Connections encourages regional employers to voluntarily initiate efforts that will get their employees out of single-occupancy vehicles and take advantage of transportation options such as ridesharing, bicycling, walking, telecommuting or using transit. Programs eligible for awards include those that either marketed alternative commuting options, initiated a successful telecommuting program, or provided incentives that make using alternative transportation modes even easier.

"Reducing traffic congestion and air pollution poses one of the greatest challenges to improving quality of life in our region," said County Executive Douglas M. Duncan. "It is essential that we persuade commuters to use convenient and easy alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles that reduce stress and benefit all of us."

Winning in the incentives category, GEICO Direct originally started its program in 1985 to ease parking problems at its work site. Now, 26 percent of the company's employees use alternative modes of transportation. GEICO sells Metrorail farecards, Metrobus tokens and Ride On bus passes on-site and discounts them by $7. The company charges for parking, but carpoolers receive free parking in preferred spaces closer to the building. The company also owns and operates nine vanpools, which take 78 cars off the road. The company promotes their Transit Incentive Program during employee recruitment and orientation.

Suburban Hospital received its award in the marketing category for its Fare Share Program that motivates employees to use public transit. The Fare Share program pays 50 percent of an employee's cost to commute to work using public transportation. The hospital also offers a shuttle service to the Medical Center and Bethesda metro stations. Carpoolers have reserved garage parking and the garage also has bike racks. Suburban advertises the program through its employee newsletter, on employee pay stubs, and during orientation sessions. Fare Share participation increased 10 percent in 1999 to include 110 employees.

Suburban also participates in a medical center working group with the National Institutes of Health and the National Navel Medical Center to identify and implement measures to reduce single-occupancy vehicle use.

"GEICO Direct and Suburban Hospital are both part of Montgomery's Smart Moves 2000! Campaign," said Tom Pogue, Montgomery County Administrator of Commuter Services. "They're smart movers and are leaders in promoting alternate transportation choices to their employees."

The County's Smart Moves 2000! Campaign has the goal of encouraging 2,000 employers to implement at least one strategy to promote options to the use of single occupancy vehicles.

The winners of the COG 2000 Commuter Connections Employer Recognition Awards were recognized at a ceremony held at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. on June 28, 2000.

For information about Montgomery County's Commuter Services program, call 301-770- POOL (7665). The County will provide free technical assistance to any Montgomery County employer interested in starting a commuter connections program.

For more information about COG's Commuter Connections program, call 202-962-3200 or go to www.commuterconnections.org. To find out more about GEICO's program, contact Margie Robertson at 301-986-3571 or mrobertson@GEICO.com. To learn about Suburban Hospital's program, contact William Taylor at 301-896-2009 or wtaylor@suburbanhospital.org.

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