Summary of objective implementation status
To further promote the use of alternative forms of transportation, the County launched a Clean Commute program that included pre-tax commuter benefits and discounted Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) passes. In May 2022, using funding awarded by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to reduce the drive-alone rates for large employers in the Bay Area, the County launched its Online Trip Tracker. The Online TripTracker allowed employees to log their telework and alternate commute days, sign up for pre-tax commuter benefits, and find a carpool. For every telework day or alternate commute trip logged, the system automatically calculates the amount of money saved, calories burned, and CO2 emissions reduced. Since its inception, 1,803 County employees have logged 263,966 trips into the Online Trip Tracker and saved 1,517.3 metric tons of CO2.
This objective was identified as a near-term measure within the Climate Resilience Comprehensive Action Plan approved by the Board of Supervisors on September 10, 2024. Adoption of the Climate Resilience Comprehensive Action Plan included allocated funding to support the TripTracker contract for two additional years.
Key milestone update
The Clean Commute program continues to evaluate and evolve to meet the needs of employees and encourage them to decrease the number of single occupancy car trips to work. Expansion includes:
Coordination and partnership update
The partnership with the County of Sonoma and Santa Rosa’s CityBus to offer free transit fares for employees will be on-going. Additionally, the launch of all internal County employee-related programs requires significant coordination between various County departments, including the County Administrator’s Office, Human Resources, ACTTC, ISD, and Public Infrastructure.
The E-bike Pilot Program will be designed and managed by Public Infrastructure and funded through a successful grant award by Sonoma Clean Power.
Community, equity and climate update
Staff is working to make the program as accessible as possible by including various modes of transportation into the subsidy program. There will always be geographic equity issues with public transportation systems, but that is not within the scope of this objective. The implementation of this objective will reduce employee commute greenhouse gas emissions.
Objective funding
The Clean Commute Program initially received Strategic Plan Funding in the amount of $135,000 to cover program costs through June 2024. The funding was fully expended. On September 10, 2024, the Board of Supervisors approved additional funding for this objective through the adoption of the Climate Resilience Comprehensive Action Plan. The identified funding sources to support this objective were the Climate Resilience Fund and the Tribal Mitigation Fund. This additional funding will cover the cost of the TripTracker for two more years.
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