Sustainable Transportation for Saint Paul Employers and Properties

Employee Incentives

Both your organization and your employees have plenty to gain from supporting transportation options at your worksite, including:

• An enhanced benefits package
• Tangible and low-cost perks employees will appreciate
• Improved staff morale and productivity
• An environmentally friendly workplace to be proud of
• Reduced need for parking and related costs
• Effective traffic management

Tax Benefits

Supporting sustainable commuting options lets you take advantage of federal and state tax savings, including:

• Corporate income tax credits (30%) for bus passes and vanpool expenses
• Federal and state tax-free treatment of transit benefits, up to specified limits
• Regional discounted bus pass programs

Job Satisfaction and Employee Retention

Eight out of ten employees consider the commute an extension of their workday. A stressful commute seriously impacts an employee’s sense of job satisfaction and can negatively affect employee retention. On the whole, people who walk, bike, and use transit report a much happier commute.

Employee Recruitment

The transportation network is an organization’s lifeline to labor markets. An efficient network plays a role in an employer’s ability to attract good employees and access new labor markets. Millennials walk, bike, and take transit significantly more than people their age did a decade ago, with 20% of millennials using public transit at least once a week and millennials as a whole less likely to own cars or have drivers licenses.

Productivity

“Traffic was terrible!” is an all-too-common talking point as employees arrive at work grumpy, stressed, or late. Traffic congestion is one of the top causes of stress of driving commuters—and as the Twin Cities region continues to grow, it will only get worse. Employees that arrive late to work or stressed from the long commute negatively impact overall productivity and the quality of the work environment. In contrast, transit riders often report enjoying their commute because they can get a jump-start on their work day, read the news, or enjoy a book. People who bike or walk arrive energized because of the active commute.

Land and Facility Costs

Parking facilities are expensive to construct and maintain, and reliance on parking affects an organization’s ability to support continued expansion. The average cost of a single parking space in a ramp was over $20,000 in 2019, and will only get higher. Surface parking lots, while cheaper to construct, see much higher maintenance costs related to snow and ice, contribute to water pollution, and take up valuable space.

Environmental Leadership

More and more businesses and organizations are showing leadership on environmental issues. Climate change and air pollution aren’t good for any of us—and vehicle transportation is unfortunately a leading cause of both. Employees and customers see that. In fact, polling shows that across the U.S. people are increasingly describing climate change as a crisis. By supporting and encouraging employees who take transit, bike, or walk to work, you are part of the solution. Employees and customers see that too.