The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors celebrated a record 16 local employers for their recognition as Best Workplaces for Commuters, at the December Board Meeting. To achieve this standard of excellence employers must provide an array of commuting options to their staff and apply for recognition through the University of South Florida’s Center for Urban Transportation Research. The Fairfax County Commuter Services (FCCS) team appreciates the significant impact recipients can and do have in reducing congestion, and supports them by sponsoring their applications and through efforts to bolster eligibility. FCCS and the employers partner to provide commuters with options like:
Guaranteed Ride Home: This service is provided through a partnership of local transportation entities (like FCCS) called Commuter Connections. Through this program commuters who regularly (twice a week) carpool, vanpool, bike, walk or take transit to work, can receive a FREE ride home when an emergency arises. The service can be used up to four times per year and can empower employees to try new commuting options.
Financial Incentives: The Commuter Benefits program is an IRS compliant platform that allows employers to provide staff with an opportunity to assign pre-tax income directly to a SmarTrip card, for use Metrobus, Metrorail and Fairfax Connector buses. FCCS supports individuals trying transit for the first time, through their employer’s Commuter
Benefits program, with a program called Plu$50, which provides them with a SmarTrip card free of cost and preloaded with
50 dollars!
Ridesharing: Individuals who commuter to, through or from Fairfax County can use their free, online Commuter Connections account to find partners to carpool or vanpool with, based on commute origins and/or destinations. Fairfax County also provides individual ridematching assistance through RideSources which can be reached here: (703) 877-5900.
Vanpool: FCCS works with the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation to provide employees in Fairfax County access to temporary funding for vanpools. The VanStart program funds empty seats during the critical start-up period, while
additional riders are recruited. The VanSave program partially funds existing vanpools experiencing problems due to loss of riders.
Teleworking: Employers in Fairfax County can receive cost-free assistance from FCCS and TeleworkVA! to create, formalize or expand telework (or work-from-home) programs or to leverage any relevant and available tax credits.
Corporate Bikeshare memberships: The Fairfax County Department of Transportation is proud to have recently launched Bikeshare in Reston and Tysons! The County currently has 17 stations and will add more in South Reston in the spring of 2018. Bikeshare provides easy, flexible and affordable transportation from point A to point B (meaning that one can leave a bike in a different location from where it was picked up), making it ideal for lunches, meetings and errand and memberships can be used region-wide, in all Capital Bikeshare systems. Employers in Fairfax County have the opportunity to purchase reduced-cost corporate memberships for their staff.
Over the last seven years, 79 employers, large and small, private and public, have been recognized County-wide.
This year’s recipients are:
Ace Info Solutions Inc.
Avenir Place
Avizia Inc.
Creative Systems and Consulting LLC
eTrans Systems
Farm Credit Administration
Foxhole Technology
Gabriel Marketing Group
H2 CFO Consulting
K Force Government Solutions, Inc. (KGS)
Mosaic
New Oasis International Education
Open Technology Group
Remine
SOS International
Upskill
If you are interested in bringing these and other commuting options to your workplace, or believe that your office may qualify as a Best Workplace for Commuters, contact Fairfax County Commuter Services for free consultation and support: (703) 877-5600.
Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) ensures nondiscrimination in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To request this information in an alternate format, contact FCDOT at 703-877-5600, TTY 711.