One of the benefits you’re offered on your first day as a Google employee in downtown Ann Arbor is a financial incentive to leave your car at home. Mary Sell told the audience at the Getting Transportation to Work Commuter Summit in Traverse City earlier this month that the company offers one of the best commuter incentive packages in the city.
If you missed the Getting Transportation to Work Commuter Summit, you missed the best transportation event of the year.
In the late 1990s, Stanford University found a way to trim the mounting costs of providing a high quality education: Pay university staff to leave their cars parked at home. Locally, Northwestern Michigan College recently unveiled a new master plan, which calls for an additional 244 parking spaces to accommodate an expanding technical education program and double the amount of student housing. Are there any lessons local college officials can learn from the California university?
Traverse City will welcome two special guests for next Tuesday’s Getting Transportation to Work Commuter Summit. Mary Sell is the Commuter Services Specialist for GetDowntown Ann Arbor, and Jeff Tumlin is a national transportation expert and parking guru.
It’s time for bikes and buses ’cause the weather’s gettin’ warmer. The 19th Annual Smart Commute Week is just around the corner!
Earlier this year, we asked about 1,500 Traverse City-area employees why they commute the way they do, and what would encourage them to use the bus, bike, or walk to work. The results were clear: While many are interested in more transportation options like transit, biking, and walking, many felt that those options aren’t available, and if they are, they aren’t convenient.