The Clean Air Campaign® and Local Partners Welcome 91 New Workplaces to Georgia Commute Options

Employers offer mutually beneficial commute options to employees

With a recent study ranking metro Atlanta seventh worst for traffic congestion, finding commute solutions is more important than ever. Metro Atlanta employers are getting the message, and in the last six months of 2012, 91 of them joined the ranks of more than 1,600 employers that participate in Georgia Commute Options. These employers partner with The Clean Air Campaign and local transportation management associations (TMAs) in job centers around the region to improve mobility and air quality by supporting alternatives to driving alone, including carpool, vanpool, telework, transit, bicycle and walking options.  These options are found to create less-stressed, more productive and happier employees.

“Traffic congestion costs the region's employers a combined $3.1 billion a year in lost productivity,” said Tedra Cheatham, executive director of The Clean Air Campaign. “These employers are taking action, to make the situation better for their employees and the bottom line. That is the kind of leadership that can have a dramatic impact on our region.”

Each workday in metro Atlanta, more than 400,000 commuters use alternatives to driving alone. They keep enough cars off the road to stretch from Atlanta to Maine, while also saving money and helping reduce metro Atlanta’s traffic congestion.  Many of these commuters work for employers that participate in Georgia Commute Options.

New Employer and Property Manager Partners from Gwinnett County include:

• Gwinnett County – Logical Choice Technologies; QTS Suwanne; Kubota; ACI Worldwide; EasyLink/Open Text; NCR Corporation; VWR International; Park Springs; RockTenn; Victory World Church; Nordson Corporation

Georgia Commute Options gives employers access to free consulting services to develop custom commute options programs that motivate employees to choose alternatives to driving solo.  These efforts help reduce pollution in many areas across Georgia where more than half of smog-forming emissions come from the tailpipes of cars and trucks.

Based on the elements of a workplace’s programs and their commitment to providing transportation choices for employees, partners have an opportunity to receive recognition through the annual PACE Awards program, honoring the best commute options programs.