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This!
What's new
this week in transportation
FlexPark:
a new way to cut costs, ease congestion
Brianna
Garrett and Craig Reynolds of Milliman USA are the first
commuters in King County to sign up for a new Metro
demonstration program that rewards them with $100 per
month and an employer-paid FlexPass, in return for giving
up their downtown parking spots.
This week Milliman USA [external link], an international
consulting and actuarial firm headquartered in the
Rainier Tower in downtown Seattle, will become the first
company to take part in an innovative demonstration
program that rewards employees for leaving their cars at
home.
Starting Aug.
1, four Milliman employees who signed up for King County
Metro's FlexPark program will trade in their company-paid
parking space for $100 a month added to their paychecks
and an employer-provided FlexPass that provides a
flexible package of commute options, including a bus
pass. They'll still be able to have four free parking
days a month, use a Flexcar shared car when they
need to run errands during the day, and receive up to
eight free taxi rides home per year for emergencies
during work hours or unplanned overtime.
"We're
committed as corporate citizens to help however we can to
ease some of our traffic congestion downtown," said
Karen Peterson, Milliman USA's Employee Transportation
Coordinator. "Metro came to us with a solution that
holds promise, and we're delighted that some of our
employees have chosen to participate in FlexPark. We'd
encourage other firms to join in."
FlexPark program benefits
will vary by employer. At Milliman USA the benefits include:
- Employer-provided
FlexPass: The FlexPass is good for unlimited
rides on King County Metro and
Sound Transit. Both rail and bus are included.
Participation by transit agencies will vary by employer.
- Free
Parking Days: To accommodate days when
employees need a car for work or personal use,
they can have four free parking days per month.
- Home
Free Guarantee: FlexPass includes access to
up to eight free taxi rides home per year for
emergencies during work hours or unplanned
overtime.
- Flexcar:
Flexcar members have access to a fleet of cars
parked downtown and throughout the greater
Seattle area. Members pay per hour and mile
driven but avoid all other car operating costs.
Participation in the FlexPark program includes a
Flexcar membership and a $50 credit for Flexcar
use.
- $100:
Each month $100 in pre-tax dollars will be added
to employee paychecks.
The FlexPark
demonstration is one of the projects made possible by a
$419,000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration's
Value Pricing Pilot Program, which supports work with
high-rise owners, parking garage operators and employers
to reduce the number of drive-alone commuters. The FHWA
helped launch the Downtown Seattle Access project, in
partnership with King County Metro, City of Seattle and
Sound Transit.
Earlier this
year, Metro's Commute Partnerships Program, of which
FlexPass is a part, won the prestigious Innovations in
American Government competition, an award program
sponsored by the Ford Foundation and Harvard University.
The FlexPass
program has primarily worked through employers, but with
the help of the Downtown Seattle Association, it's now
reaching out to individual office buildings and to small
downtown businesses that employ 25 or more.
To learn more
about this innovative program, contact project manager
Kathy Koss at (206) 684-1649 or via e-mail at kathy.koss@metrokc.gov.
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