TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY NORMAN MINETA
BRINGS ECOMMUTE TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Immediate Past SCAG President Ron Bates,
Los Angeles County Mayor Michael Antonovich Join Mineta as Part of
Southern California Launch of Ecommute National Pilot Program

Los Angeles , CA - August 1, 2001 - Ecommute, a national pilot program to encourage the development of employer-based telework programs, was launched in Southern California today by a contingent of national and local transportation and environmental leaders, headed by United States Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta. More than 100 business and public sector leaders were in attendance at the launch event in downtown Los Angeles to learn how they can enroll in this unique program.

"Today, we face many serious transportation challenges, and we need to work together on solutions that are creative and that reflect the reality of future population growth and the corresponding traffic and air quality issues," said Secretary Mineta. "One of those solutions is ecommute, and I'm particularly excited to see how successful this program will be in Southern California."

Ecommute is a new national pilot program launched earlier this spring after receiving congressional approval and funding. Its intent is to enroll businesses and encourage the establishment of employee telework programs. Participating companies will be provided with new software that will enable them to calculate the reduction in vehicle miles traveled that result from their individual employee telework programs. The companies may eventually be eligible to receive air quality emission credits as a financial incentive for establishing a telecommute program. Employers would also reap the benefits of increased morale, productivity and retention of employees. The city of Los Angeles has documented that two days of sick time per commuter are saved as a result of ecommuting.

According to Michael Antonovich, Los Angeles County mayor and chair of the Southern California ecommute policy steering committee, more than 5,000 county employees participate in ecommuting. These employees save more than $2 million in personal expenses and 335,000 hours in travel time each year. The county program also conserves approximately 583,000 gallons of gas and eliminates nearly 150 tons of air pollutants each year.

The local ecommute program will be jointly administered by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), and the Southern California Economic Partnership. In addition to Southern California, ecommute pilot programs are being implemented in Denver, the District of Columbia, Houston and Philadelphia.

"Southern California has long been known for its traffic woes, and given what we know about how our region will evolve over the next 20 years, we still have considerable work to do as a region to get a better handle on our ever-present congestion problems," said Ronald Bates, Los Alamitos mayor pro tem and immediate past president of SCAG. "Ecommute represents an innovative means in which employers can contribute to relieving traffic congestion and improving our air."

For more information about the ecommute program, call 909/396-5757 and ask to speak to an ecommute representative, or visit the ecommute Website at www.the-partnership.org/ecommute.

Norman Mineta, Secretary, US Department of Transportation (left); John Cox, President, Southern California Economic Partnership, and Los Angeles Ecommute Program Project Director (right)

Below are excerpts from the Ecommute Program's Final report which identify recommendations resulting from Business Round Table Discussions for future telework programs.

Discussion findings:

Educating management remains the biggest challenge.  Participants who were looking to implement or expand their telework programs felt what was needed most was access to statistics that help quantify effective program results.  Also needed was more Information on cost savings that could be made available to companies.  Majority of the group felt they would benefit from materials received from sucessful telework programs such as The Aerospace Corporation and Los Angeles County which quantifies the success of teleworking within their organizations showing significant benefits to both company and employees alike.

To ensure success of future telework programs there will be a need to: -

• Make available Management training in effective communication strategies.

• Introduce tier stepped educational process to educate management on regulatory requirements, and encourage them to adopt solutions (like teleworking) that will help them reach air quality, parking, congestion relief goals at no out of pocket expense.

• Offer financial incentives to companies willing to participate.  It was difficult to determine an incentive value effective enough to motivate a company to begin a telework program.  A one time start-up incentive value ($100-$500) per new telework participant could be considered or a value per lb ($1.60 - $3.00) of pollution saved per teleworker on a monthly basis could also be considered.

• Emphasize to management the value in tracking all employee commute methods – not just the telework activity.  Management tracking identifies time, fuel consumption and emissions produced for solo commuters in addition to time, fuel and emissions saved through telecommuting and other alternate commute methods.