Businesses
Optimize Your Employee Benefits
Way to Go Durham is working with employers to create and identify cost-effective solutions to reduce drive-alone commute trips. Our team promotes and provides the Durham community with options and resources to encourage employers to adopt best practices to develop or enhance their commuting program. By encouraging commuters to explore transportation options such as bus, carpool, vanpool, and bike, we can all make Durham an even better place to work, live, and play.
A Comprehensive Transportation Program Can Result In:
Health and financial benefits for employees
Employee recruitment & retention
Reduced parking cost & needs
Increased employee productivity
Sustainability & good neighbor
Carpool and Vanpool
Establishing a rideshare program is an easy and low-cost way for employers to optimize their commuter benefits. Each person in a carpool or vanpool is one less parking spot that you need to pay for. Those cost savings can be used to fund other commuter benefits such as bus passes.
Way to Go Durham and Durham County offer a subsidy that will cover all of the program’s costs, excluding fuel, for the majority of the commuter groups.
Carpools
Carpools are two or more people who use a personal vehicle to get to work and is a great way for your employees to reduce their commuting costs.
Vanpools
Vanpools are groups of four or more people who drive themselves to work in a vehicle provided by Commute with Enterprise. Vanpool groups determine their own schedules, routes, and pick-up points and split a monthly fare that includes the vehicle, insurance, and maintenance. Many employers in Durham provide a subsidy towards a vanpool fare.
A reserved and/or premium parking spot for your carpoolers or vanpoolers is a great way to thank them for sharing the ride. Offer discounted parking rates for 2-person carpools and free parking for 3+ person carpools and vanpools.
ShareTheRideNC.org
Free ridematching for your employees to find carpool and vanpool partners.
Learn more.
Emergency Ride Home
When your employees carpool or vanpool to work, they can get a free taxi ride home when they or a family member gets sick, has a sever crisis or if they have unscheduled overtime.
Learn more.
Pre-Tax Vanpool Subsidy
Provide your employees with a tax-free commuter benefit to bring down the cost of their vanpool.
Learn more.
Bus
Durham has a robust transit system with over 20 bus routes serving Bull City. Whether your employees are commuting from Raleigh, Mebane, Chapel Hill, RTP, or anywhere in between, taking a bus is easy.
All Durham buses are equipped with Wi-Fi, bike racks and stop at the Durham Station, which makes transfers to a local route seamless. Durham Station is located in the heart of Durham, offering an easy walk to most downtown businesses.
Employers can provide their employees with a discounted monthly bus pass to give them a flexible commute to work and save money on parking costs. If you have 100 or more employees, offer the GoPass: an annual bus pass that gives your employees a free ride on all the regional buses and bills you for actual boardings at a discounted rate. Due to transit being Fare-Free Until June 2024, employers no longer need to request GoPasses or monthly passes for their employees.
Transit Resources:
Bus routes
System maps for GoDurham and GoTriangle.
Durham ADA Paratransit Service
For those who qualify, there is GoDurham ACCESS which provides you curb-to-curb ADA paratransit in the City of Durham and Durham County.
Emergency Ride Home
When your employees take the bus to work, they can get a free taxi ride home when they or a family member gets sick, has a sever crisis or if they have unscheduled overtime.
Learn more.
Pre-Tax Transit Subsidy
Provide your employees with a tax-free commuter benefit to bring down the cost of their bus pass.
Learn more.
Telework and Alternative Work Schedules
With clear guidelines and input from managers and supervisors, a telework program is a great way to retain talent, increase productivity, and reduce commute costs! While telework will not work for all people or positions, we can help guide you on policy creation and guidelines to help telework employees stay connected to supervisors and team members.
A flexible schedule allows employees to schedule work days around personal and business needs and can provide the same benefits as teleworking. Allowing employees to work a 4/10 or 9/80 schedule will allow them to reduce commute costs and get an extra “vacation” day, while still putting in their 40-hours a week!
Telework Resources:
NC Telework Toolkit
Find resources to help you establish best practices for a telework program.
Managing Teleworkers
Bike & Walk
It’s easy to create a successful bicycle program with simple infrastructure.
Employees need a safe and secure place to store their bikes while at work. If your company leases space, contact your property manager about converting space for a bike rack or corral. If there is available public space, contact the City of Durham to suggest a location for a new bike rack.
Install lockers in a restroom or break room, to give bikers and walkers a secure place to secure their gear and to keep a change of clothes.
If your facility does not have showers for your bikers and walkers, offer a discounted membership to a nearby gym.
If you provide free parking for employees, consider giving your bikers and walkers a monthly allowance towards bike maintenance or walking shoes.
Bike/Walk Resources:
Durham Bike/Walk Map
City of Durham Bike Rack Request
Bicycle Parking Solutions
Bicycle Facilities
Emergency Ride Home
When your employees bike to work, they can get a free taxi ride home when they or a family member gets sick, has a sever crisis or if they have unscheduled overtime.
Learn more.
Other Best Practices
Go Perks
Your employees can receive prizes when they don’t drive alone to work.
Personalized Commute Assistance
Personalized commute plan to help employees get to work.
Electric Scooters
Provide your employees with a first/last mile connection to transit.
Best Workplace for Commuters
Set up an outstanding commuter benefits program and get recognized for it.
Carshare
ZipCar and Enterprise CarShare are alternatives for your employees who need their car for work.
Commuter Center
Designate an employee to disseminate information about transportation options and resources. Ensure that all your employees have the resources at their fingertips through new employee orientation, employee handbook, website, and regular emails.