5.50.070 Requirements for affected employers.

An affected employer is required to make a good faith effort, as defined in RCW 70.94.534(2) and this chapter, to develop and implement a CTR program that will encourage its employees to reduce VMT per employee and drive alone commute trips.

(1) CTR Program—Mandatory Elements. Each employer’s CTR program shall include the following mandatory elements:

(a) Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC). The affected employer shall designate an employee transportation coordinator (ETC) to administer the CTR program. The ETC’s and/or designee’s name, location and telephone number must be displayed prominently at each affected worksite. The ETC shall oversee all elements of the employer’s CTR program and act as liaison between the employer and the county. The objective is to have an effective ETC presence at each worksite. An affected employer with multiple worksites may have one (1) designated ETC for all sites. ETCs will be responsible for attending all CTR sponsored trainings and meetings.

(b) Information Distribution. Information about alternatives to drive alone commuting as well as a summary of the employer’s CTR program shall be provided to employees at least twice a year and to new employees at the time of hire. Each CTR program description and subsequent annual reports must describe the information to be distributed and the method(s) of distribution.

(c) Emergency Ride Home (ERH) Program. The affected employer shall offer an emergency ride home program to employees. If an ERH program is available through the regional CTR program administrator, then the employer may choose to use this for its program. The ERH program offered by the regional CTR program administrator will allow employees to use three (3) emergency ride home vouchers in one (1) calendar year period or one (1) year within their start of work date if the employee has worked for the employer for less than one (1) year. An employer may choose to allow more emergency ride homes if the employer chooses to pay for them.

(2) Additional Program Elements. In addition to the specific CTR program elements previously described in this section to meet the CTR goals as identified in the county’s CTR plan, employers will be required to have two (2) additional program elements as part of their CTR program. Elements may include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) Provision of preferential parking carpools and vanpools;

(b) Reduced parking charges for carpools and vanpool vehicles;

(d) Provision of subsidies for rail, transit fares, or vanpool fares and/or transit passes;

(e) Provision of vans or buses for employee ride-sharing;

(f) Provision of subsidies for carpools, walking, bicycling, teleworking, or compressed schedules;

(g) Provision of incentives for employees that do not drive alone to work;

(h) Permitting the use of the employer’s vehicles for carpooling or vanpooling;

(i) Permitting flexible work schedules to facilitate employees’ use of transit, carpools or vanpools;

(j) Construction of special bus stops for transit users;

(k) Provision of bicycle parking facilities, such as bicycle lockers or secure areas inside a building or a covered outside area that requires some type of key access or ability to lock bicycles to;

(l) Provision of changing areas and showers for employees who bicycle or walk to work;

(m) Provision of a parking incentives program such as a rebate for employees who do not use the parking facilities;

(n) Establishment of a program to permit employees to work part- or full-time at home or at an alternative worksite closer to their homes which reduces commute trips;

(o) Establishment of a program of alternative work schedules such as a compressed work week;

(p) Implementation of other measures designed to facilitate the use of high-occupancy vehicles, such as on-site day care facilities or food establishments;

(q) Charging employees for parking and/or the elimination of free parking; and

(r) Other measures that the employer believes will reduce the number and length of commute trips made to the site as approved by the regional CTR program administrator.

(3) CTR Program Report and Description. Affected employers shall review their program and file a regular progress report with the county in accordance with the format provided by the county every two (2) years. If necessary, the regional CTR program administrator may require a regular progress report be submitted every year. The CTR program report and description outlines the strategies to be undertaken by an employer to achieve the commute trip reduction goals for the reporting period. Employers are encouraged to consider innovative strategies and combine program elements in a manner that will best suit their location, site characteristics, business type, and employees’ commuting needs. Employers are further encouraged to cooperate with each other to implement program elements. At a minimum, the employer’s CTR program report and description must include:

(a) A general description of the employment site location, transportation characteristics, employee parking availability, on-site amenities, and surrounding services;

(b) The number of employees affected by the CTR program and total number of employees at the site;

(d) Description of any additional elements included in the employer’s CTR program; and

(e) A statement of organizational commitment to provide appropriate resources to the program to meet the employer’s established goals.

(4) Biennial Measure of Employee Commute Behavior. In addition to the baseline measurement, employers shall conduct a program evaluation as a means of determining worksite progress toward meeting CTR goals. As part of the program evaluation, the employer shall distribute and collect commute trip reduction program employee questionnaires (surveys) at least once every two (2) years, and strive to achieve at least a seventy (70) percent response rate from employees at the worksite. (Sec. 3 of Ord. 2010-01-07)