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Fall 2012

Award of Merit:
Top Tech Firms Embrace Commute Alternatives

Genentech, gRide Program; Google, Green Transportation Services; Oracle, Bay Area Commuter Program

Each weekday, thousands of Genentech and Google employees head to prearranged locations to board special buses that take them to work. Once on board the Wi-Fi-enabled coaches, commuters can rest, sleep or check work-related emails to get a jump on the day’s tasks. Meanwhile, thousands of Oracle employ­ees may still be at home, telecommuting with a hot coffee in hand.

At the office, there are such amenities as new electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids to take to an off-campus meeting or — for telecommuters — company-developed web conferencing software to facilitate meetings from remote locations.

These three progressive high-tech corporations have something in common — they are fostering commute modes that reduce congestion and greenhouse gases while increasing productivity and on-time arrivals. They are also showcasing a growing Bay Area trend that gives employees commute options and employers a competitive edge to attract and retain top tech talent.

For their innovative and far-reaching transportation demand management (TDM) programs, MTC is presenting these top Bay Area tech firms — Genentech, Google and Oracle — with a 2012 Transportation Award of Merit.

Over 3,000 Genentech employees arrive at work without driving alone, thanks to the gRide program that includes a fleet of 34 GenenBus motor coaches and other attractive options for commuters. (Photo: Noah Berger)

Genentech: Recruit and Retain

Genentech’s “gRide” program offers a fleet of 34 and growing Wi-Fi-equipped “GenenBus” motor-coaches that bring commuters from 56 communities throughout the Bay Area to work at Genentech’s South San Francisco campus, which houses 8,500 employees. An additional nine buses shuttle employees from nearby BART and Caltrain stations to work. The gRide program also offers cash incentives ($2 a day for bus commuting, $4 for other alternative modes), intracampus shuttles, and bicycle lockers and showers to support cyclists, runners and walkers. Since gRide began in 2006, the drive-alone rate at Genentech has fallen from 79 to 63 percent, with over 3,000 employees now arriving at campus using an alternate commute mode.

According to Dan McCoy, Genentech’s associate director for transportation, “While these programs ... reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality, we also recognize they benefit our business from an employee recruitment, retention and productivity perspective.”

Google employees can bike to work or use on-campus bicycles to navigate around the Mountain View headquarters. A fleet of shuttles and the latest electric vehicles provide additional incentives to choose a commute alternative. (Photo: Noah Berger)

Google’s Commute Options

At Google’s Mountain View headquarters, the 17,500 employees have a plethora of alternative commute options. A fleet of 105 Wi-Fi-enabled shuttle buses with ultra-clean engines bring employees to work from seven counties. On campus, a car-sharing program includes the newest gene­ration of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Employees also bike, walk, unicycle, skateboard and scooter to work. Google also donates to an employee’s favorite charity based on how often the commuter arrives on campus using a self-powered commute mode.

“We get tremendous support from our leadership as far as promoting our TDM efforts and we really have a focus on sustainability — not only as it relates to our electric car-share fleet, but also our bus fleet, which is the largest fleet of clean diesel buses running around the Bay Area,” said Kevin Mathy, Google’s transportation manager.

The results of this team effort are remarkable: On average, almost half of “Googlers” arrive on campus using an alternative transportation mode, with over 8,500 biking, walking, riding a shuttle, carpooling or vanpooling.

Oracle employees are encouraged to telecommute — or to bicycle, take transit or a shuttle to work — in order to promote a positive “work-life” balance. (Photo: Noah Berger)

Oracle Puts Telecommuting First

Oracle — with four Bay Area campuses in Redwood Shores in San Mateo County, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Pleasanton — offers employees a suite of commute alternatives, including telecommuting, taking transit and then a shuttle to the office, bicycling, carpooling and vanpooling.

At Oracle’s local offices, 35 percent of the 13,000 employees are eligible and encouraged to telecommute, reducing energy consumption, traffic congestion and employee stress. Using the latest technologies, including Oracle’s own web-conferencing software, employees are able to work as productively at home as in the office.

For those who cannot telecommute, there are shuttles from BART, Caltrain, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and the Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) train to campus, bicycle lockers, preferential parking for carpools, vouchers for vanpoolers, online ridematching, and an emergency ride home program.

“At Oracle, our commute options provide a work-life balance for employees,” said Lisa Soutter, the company’s director of Facility Services. “We encourage telecommuting and with our own software, telecommuters can see and talk to their co-workers through a computer interface. It’s a very popular option for employees.” Oracle estimates its Bay Area Commuter Program avoided 500,000 automobile trips to the Redwood Shores headquarters last year, saving 358 million gallons of gasoline.
— Terry Lee

Transactions Fall 2012 Issue: Contents