Upcoming DATA events - stay tuned for more information!

DATA Board of Directors and Membership Meeting
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
8:00 am
Location TBD

DATA Annual Dinner
Thursday, May 7, 2009
6:00 pm
Location: Hilton Washington Dulles Airport
Speaker: Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer

TDM Financial Incentives Offered at the State Level

Maryland
An individual or corporation may claim a credit against the State income tax for the cost of providing commuter benefits to the business entity's employees as provided under An employer can receive a tax credit up to of 50% of a $100 benefit for providing eligible commuter expenses for their employees. The maximum value of the tax credit is $50 per month, per employee. More info on how it works from Maryland Department of Transportation. See Maryland Code: TAX- GENERAL Title 10: Income Tax Subtitle 7. Income Tax Credits Section 10-715. For providing employee commuter benefits and Maryland Code : ENVIRONMENT : Title 2: Ambient Air Quality Control. Subtitle 9. Tax Credits for Employer-Provided Commuter Benefits. Section 2-901. Established. (for rates).

Fundamentals About A Guaranteed Ride Home Program

What is a Guaranteed Ride Home program?
A GRH program is a free or subsidized ride provided to commuters who use alternative commute modes to accommodate their occasional unexpected trips (such as on emergency errands or an unexpected need to work late, removing the concern of being stranded at work without an automobile).


Is offered by a sponsor such as an employer or a third party such as a rideshare service, a TMA, a transit company or an MPO.
The sponsor may pay for taxi rides, contracted car rentals, transit passes or offer company vehicles for participating employees.
Why is a GRH program important?
Improves commuters' security and flexibility to respond to emergencies without relying on their car. GRH makes alternative modes more feasible especially to non-drivers and low-income employees because they avoid unexpected emergency expenses while using alternative commute options that save them money.
It is an effective low cost program. In 1993, COMSIS estimated that GRH typically averages less than $5 per employee per year (1993 dollars) since less than 10% of eligible employees uses GRH. The Warner Center TMA in Los Angeles found that about 1% of the 6,000 eligible rideshare patrons used the service (Park, 1991) and a nationwide survey of eleven GRH programs by KT Analytics found that their average use is about 13 rides per 100 eligible employees per year.
Increases employee satisfaction, commitment and retention. A GRH program shows that the employer cares about their well-being and is willing to provide support services.
Helps achieve TDM objectives by using alternative modes. In a 1992 K.T. Analytics survey, 59% of rideshare and transit patrons considered GRH important in their decision to use alternative modes, and in the 1998 Hunt & McMillan survey, availability of GRH has a value roughly equivalent to subsidized transit fares at a fraction of the cost. In Bellevue, it was found that bus trips increased by 12%, carpool dropped by 2% and vanpool increased by 64% with some notation that most increases came from solo drivers switching.
How can a GRH program be implemented?
By an employer or a third party such as a rideshare service, a TMA, a transit company or an MPO using:
Taxi rides reimbursed by the program sponsor.
Company vehicles of employer.
Car rentals contracted by employers.
Transit passes offered by the program sponsor.
By implementing concrete policy specifications
Who is eligible? The program could cover all employees, or only those who use alternative modes for a specified portion of commuting.
What trips are eligible? The program could cover any trip, or it could be limited to unexpected business appointments or overtime, earlier departure of carpool/vanpool, employee or family member sickness, and other personal emergencies (victim of crime, home fire, plumbing leak etc).
Maximum number of uses allowed. Is it during a certain period, maximum miles within a period, or maximum cost per trip?
Which staff or department is responsible for implementation? Is it the human resources, parking, security, finance, etc?
What are the procedures for using the GRH service? See "typical implementation steps" below.
Pay attention to precautionary measures.
Involve stakeholders such as employees, taxi companies, car-share organizations or other contractors in the planning process.
Tie it closely to your commute options, i.e., design of a GRH program features should be derived from the type of commute options to be implemented.
Consider co-payments, i.e., GRH may be free or it may require a modest co-payment from the service user.
Limit restrictions, i.e., to allow commuters to participate in unplanned non emergency events that can still affect their decision whether or not to drive (it is most effective if requirements are not restricted to "emergency" trips alone).
Anticipate cost variations i.e., Commuter Transportation Services in Los Angeles suggests an estimation between 0.5 and 20 percent of current rideshare patrons ranging from companies allowing rides for overtime, errands or business trips, to companies allowing emergency use only respectively.
What are the typical implementation steps?
Identify and decide on the commute options the company would offer. These include transit, rideshare, bike, walk, skateboard, etc.
Ensure top-level support of the commute options.

Tailor the GRH program plans to the commute options selected.
Develop program description based on selected commute options.

Itemize benefits to the employer and related opportunities.

Itemize costs to the employer and related challenges.

Determine the feasibility of offering a GRH program.
Estimate the average cost at $5 for 20% of current rideshare patrons per year.
Identify potential providers and assess their requirements.
Assess employee commute needs and support to use the program.
Ensure top-level support of the GRH program.

Develop program policies and procedures (better anticipate than react).
Involve stakeholders throughout the process.
Specify eligibility such as type of commute, times of commute, employee status etc (also see form at http://www.nctr.usf.edu/clearinghouse/formgrh.htm).
Determine whether employees will use vouchers or be reimbursed and the approval procedures (balance convenience versus abuse).
Develop appropriate paperwork, e.g. registration forms, ID cards and reimbursement vouchers in triplicate (copies for administrator, employee and service provider).
Allocate resources
Assign an Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC) who will administer the program and liaison with outside providers, jurisdictions and other related entities.
Make appropriate arrangements with taxis, rental car companies, local transit agency and other relevant service providers.
Manage the Program
Continually promote the program to potential users of alternative modes as a safety net for participants (information of availability versus encouraging to use).
Ensure that the service is fast, reliable and convenient.
Keep records and regularly analyze patterns especially about frequent uses that may address a larger personnel issue (childcare, unplanned overtime, accidents etc).
Monitor the program against abuse by employees or service providers.
Keep stakeholders informed especially management and service providers.
What are some of the GRH challenges?
Possible high costs. For taxis, company car or rentals especially for programs serving commuters working late or overtime. However, experience indicates that employer costs are usually low, especially for programs offering emergency service during the workday only, and it is a very cost effective way to reduce automobile commuting. In general, taxis are cost effective for short trips while auto rentals are preferable for longer trips.

Liability exposure. In case of accidents and late arrivals to appointments but this need to be specified in policies and sign up forms. In many states, worker compensation laws only recognize where an employee is carrying out employment duties.

Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit Rates for 2009 - Update

Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit Rates for 2009 - Update

Employers may provide workers with up to $230 per month in tax-free transit and vanpool benefits in 2009. Effective March 2009, as part of the stimulus bill, the monthly limitation under Section 132(f)(2)(A) Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits regarding the aggregate fringe benefit exclusion amount for vanpools (commuter highway vehicles) and transit passes was increased from $120 to $230 per month. The monthly limitation under Section 132(f)(2)(B) regarding the fringe benefit exclusion amount for qualified parking is $230. Commuters can receive both the transit and parking benefits (i.e., up to $460 per month). Employers can allow employees to use pretax dollars to pay for transit passes, vanpool fares and parking.

Beginning in 2009, employees can be reimbursed up to $20 per month for biking to work. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110 343), added qualified bicycle commuting reimbursements to the types of qualified transportation fringe benefits. The benefit can not be combined with those other qualified transportation fringe benefits.

What is Slugging?

What is Slugging? Borrowed from Slug-Lines.com

Slugging is a term used to describe a unique form of commuting found in the Washington, DC area sometimes referred to as "Instant Carpooling" or "Casual Carpooling". It's unique because people commuting into the city stop to pickup other passengers even though they are total strangers! However, slugging is a very organized system with its own set of rules, proper etiquette, and specific pickup and drop-off locations. It has thousands of vehicles at its disposal, moves thousands of commuters daily, and the best part, it’s FREE! Not only is it free, but it gets people to and from work faster than the typical bus, metro, or train. I think you'll find that it is the most efficient, cost-effective form of commuting in the nation.

How the Slugging Works
The system of slugging is quite simple. A car needing additional passengers to meet the required 3- person high occupancy vehicle (HOV) minimum pulls up to one of the known slug lines. The driver usually positions the car so that the slugs are on the passenger side. The driver either displays a sign with the destination or simply lowers the passenger window, to call out the destination, such as "Pentagon," "L’Enfant Plaza," or "14th & New York." The slugs first in line for that particular destination then hop into the car, normally confirming the destination, and off they go.

No money is exchanged because of the mutual benefit: the car driver needs riders just as much as the slugs need a ride. Each party needs the other in order to survive. Normally, there is no conversation unless initiated by the driver; usually the only words exchanged are "Thank you" as the driver drops off the slugs at the destination.

There doesn’t need to be any discussion about the destination , such as giving directions, because the drop-off points are generally understood. "Rosslyn" means the Metro station in Rosslyn, not at some other point along the way. The "Pentagon" means the curb along Fern Street, not the North Parking Lot. However, there are a few places where the destination drop-off point is not understood; in these cases, the slug must state where he or she wishes to be dropped off. For example, at "Tackett’s Mill," the driver usually asks "New or Old Lot?" because the driver will take you to either. And there is Crystal City, where drivers drop off slugs anywhere between 12th Street and 23rd streets. Later in the book these exceptions are explained in greater detail.

When Did Slugging Begin Anyway?

It’s hard to believe that slugging has been around in the Northern Virginia and Washington, DC, area for 36 years! That’s right; slugging debuted in about 1971 when the first HOV lanes were constructed. Of course, the exact date is uncertain because there really aren’t any official government records that have studied slugging from its infancy. The best source of information has been individual interviews (I interviewed a man who started slugging back in 1982—that’s 20 years of slugging!). The next source has been the numerous newspaper articles written on the subject over the past few years. I’m sure that whatever I determine as the "origin" of slugging, somebody will have a brother-in-law with a Ph.D. in ‘Slug-ology" with undeniable proof that slugging starting years prior….okay, fine.

Here is an portion of an email I received in November 2004 from a fellow slug which suggests that slugging was working in 1979. "I'd just like to compliment you on your very interesting web site. I worked in Washington DC as a college student in the late 1970's and I would like to confirm your claim that slugging began prior to the 1989 study. During the summer of 1979, I commuted by bus from my sister's house in Annandale to Naval Research Lab. This trip required riding into downtown DC and catching a cross-town in the morning, then the reverse in the afternoon. On a few occasions I slugged the last leg of the trip home in the afternoon. There was an informal slug line in front of the FBI bldg, which took riders down the Shirley Hwy corridor to various endpoints. When I worked in DC from 1981 to 1985, there were indeed firmly established slug lines at the locations you mention on Keene Mill Road, as well as further out close to George Mason where there was a park&ride. I was in a regular carpool at this time and sometimes our driver picked up a slug or two when a regular rider was absent so that we could still get into the HOV lanes. Sincerely, Mary Ann"

How Slugging Began
Slugging can trace its roots back to the Arab oil embargo of the 1970’s. During this era, gas prices soared, as it became apparent that the United States was dependent on foreign oil. In an attempt to reduce its dependence, the United States adopted a number of measures to curb gasoline consumption. Speed limits were reduced from 65+ m.p.h. to 55 m.p.h., car manufacturers were told to make cars more efficient, and high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes were constructed. These lanes were for vehicles with more than three occupants. The benefit for the government was twofold: reduced gasoline consumption as well as some environmental benefits.

The Shirley Highway
When the HOV lanes on Shirley Highway (I95) opened in 1971, the first slug lines began to emerged. With these high occupancy lanes being strictly enforced, drivers had to abide by the HOV-4 rule (later changed to HOV-3) or pay stiff fines.

When a driver did not have enough passengers for the HOV, he would pull up to a line of commuters waiting for the bus and offer a ride to anybody in the line. Faced with waiting in the summer heat or winter cold for a bus that could be late or full to capacity, some commuters began opting for the car. Soon word began to spread as drivers found an easy solution to meeting the HOV requirements, and bus riders found a faster, cheaper alternative to the bus. I’m sure it took some time for the word to spread, but soon enough people knew which bus stops catered to the offers of free rides.

It is believed that slugging began with people waiting at bus stops on their way to the Pentagon (which was—and still—is a major transportation hub).

The Very First Slug Line
According to a study by the Urban Institute in 1989, slugging existed in only one location in Springfield, VA. That doesn’t mean slugging began in 1989, only that when the study was conducted, formal slug lines already existed. Since I have interviewed people who have slugged from the Springfield area since 1982, we know that slugging predates the Urban Institute study with evidence that slugging began in the early 1970’s.

Nevertheless, the Urban Institute did recognize that a "formal" slug line was in operation at a place known as "Bob’s," which referred to a line adjacent to Bob’s Big Boy restaurant at the intersection of Bland Street and Old Keene Mill Road in Springfield. As it turned out, Bob’s had all the ingredients normally needed for a slug line: parking, a bus stop (or other mass transit), and easy access to the HOV. Because the Pentagon was—and still is—a major commuter hub, Bob’s line had the Pentagon as its only destination.

Today, some 20 years later, Bob’s has undergone a number of changes. The Big Boy restaurant has been replaced by Shoney’s, and the slug line no longer services the Pentagon but has been replaced with two lines: one for L’Enfant Plaza and the other for the Memorial Bridge area. Furthermore, the lines themselves have moved across the street next to Long John Silver’s.

So, if Bob’s is next to Long John Silver’s, why is it still called "Bob’s"? Either out of respect for tradition, or simply because the name just stuck, the name "Bob’s" has endured the test of time.

Where Did the Word "Slug" Come From?
The term "slug" itself did not derive from the word that means mollusk, as some people think. Instead, the term appears to have originated from bus drivers as a derogatory term.

The story goes like this. Bus drivers had always been warned to be aware of counterfeit coins (also known as slugs) from people trying to pass off this fake money in the coin collection tray.

When slugging was in its infancy, commuters stood at the bus stops, waiting for a driver to pick them up. Bus drivers, thinking these people were waiting for the bus would stop to pick up the passengers only to be waved off, frustrating many of the drivers. As this event became more and more frequent, bus drivers began recognizing the real bus riders from the fakes. Because the people weren’t really waiting for the bus, drivers began to simply call them "slugs." This definition seems to make sense because these people weren’t real bus riders or even real car poolers in the usual sense of the word. They were, just as the name implies, counterfeit riders or slugs. Hence, the term was born.

Over time, the less-attractive term "slug" has had many contenders, such as "instant car pooler," "hitchhike commuter," and "casual car pooler," but tradition has continued to outlive the newer, more politically correct terms.