Employer Partner Information

How can your company benefit from SmartTrips Business?

What is SmartTrips Business and how does it work?  

What free services does the SmartTrips Business Team provide?

What are the benefits of participating in SmartTrips Business?

What are the Top 8 reasons to encourage commute options?

Who are our current employer partners?

Want more information?

Contact Us

What is SmartTrips Business?

SmartTrips Business is a free project offered by the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation to all employers in the city.We help connect commuters to valuable transportation resources and incentives.  We also want to help small businesses bring in more local shoppers, increase employee productivity, and market your business. 

How does the SmartTrips Business program work? Simply!  

You can have your employees order free commuter info on our on-line order form. Or we can bring directly to you commuter packets for all of your employees.  We also have marketing opportunities for your business and information on saving money while encouraging your employees to use transportation options.  

Click here to get your organization connected to the SmartTrips Business program. 

What free services does the SmartTrips Business team provide?

The SmartTrips Downtown team provides employers throughout the city an array of transportation resources and consultation and management services - for free!

We want to work with you to help your organization develop the most efficient transportation plan for your business and employees possible.  Our free services will help your company save money, increase productivity, and benefit the environment. 

Here is a brief list of some of the services we will provide.

• SmartTrips Business commuter resource program (Free commute options information for employees)
• Marketing opportunities to bring in local shoppers
• Business Energy Tax Credit consultation
• Sustainable transportation consultation
• Transportation workshops for employees
• Bicycle parking consultation - Get a free bike rack in front of your business!
• Brownbag presentations on timely transportation topics

What are the benefits of participating?

Economic Benefits - Fact: The way an employee gets to work effects his or her productivity, health, and your company's bottom line. 

Helping your employees to carpool, ride transit, walk, bike or telecommute to work can increase productivity, reduce health costs, and attract and retain talented employees. SmartTrips Business provides technical assistance to employers and individualized transportation tools for employees.

Employees who walk or exercise a half hour a day take less sick time.

According to health researchers, people who initiate a walking regime for 30 minutes a day will cut their sick days in half.  In addition, employees who ride transit are four times as likely to walk 30 minutes a day.  By encouraging transit ridership, you can help employees get healthy and take less sick time.

Quick facts:

• Estimated lost productivity time due to inactivity each year........................ 3 weeks
• Estimated annual per employee cost of lost productivity.............................. $3338
• Estimated increase in productivity due to increased physical activity......52%

Employee Health Benefits - Fact: The Surgeon General recommends 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity to achieve better health.  Employees who ride transit are four times more likely to walk 30 minutes a day than auto commuters.

Additionally, The results of a new study conducted by Duke University found that walking 30 minutes a day, six days a week can reduce health risks associated with many different conditions and aid weight loss.

Cycling five miles a day at a "no sweat" pace also satisfies the Surgeon General's recommendations for 30 minutes of moderate daily exercise.  Employers who offer bicycling incentives, such as "Bike Bucks," showers, lockers, and good bike parking can help employees bike commute and stay healthy.

In a study comparing stress levels, auto commuters showed significantly higher levels of reported stress, more negative mood, indicated the trip required more effort, and felt that their trip was less predictable compared to train commuters.

Quick Facts:

• Median daily walk time achieved by Americans utilizing transit.............19 minutes

• Percent of Portland workers with commutes less than 1.5 miles..............30%
• Number of Portland-area residents registered at CarpoolMatchNW.org.....8,600

Environmental Benefits - Fact: On average, every mile we drive releases 1 pound of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere. 

Global warming, obesity, and water and air pollution are some of the more serious environmental and health hazards associated with automobile use.  Helping your employees switch to more environmentally-friendly modes can lighten your organization's footprint and inspire your employees to make healthier transportation choices at home, too.

For example we asked 700 of our program participants, "Aside from your work commute, have you reduced other drive alone trips (e.g. errands)?"  78% said they had. 

Quick Facts:

• Gallons of gasoline the United States burns everyday.....................400 million

• Percent of carbon dioxide emissions in Oregon from transportation.....38%
• Percentage of benzene (a harmful pollutant) that Portlanders living near freeways are exposed to....400% over the legal limit

 1. Reducing stress - Finding alternatives to driving alone to work can reduce employee stress and fatigue. Less stress and fatigue translates into better performance at work.

2. Increasing employee satisfaction - Trip reduction programs increase employee satisfaction in a number of ways. For instance, having alternative work schedules gives an employee a guilt-free way to visit the doctor or attend a child's baseball game. Many employees appreciate reducing the costs of commuting. People who share the ride to work report that camaraderie is an important benefit.

3. Improving productivity - Employees who are given flexibility in their schedules feel better about their jobs and this increases productivity. In addition, people are more likely to arrive at work on time if they catch a bus, carpool or vanpool.

4. Reduces demand for parking spaces - Fewer cars in your parking lot can free up spaces for customers and avoid the expense of building new parking facilities.

5. Expanding labor pool - Not everyone owns a car or can work 8 am to 5 pm. Flexible schedules and support for ridesharing allow more people to apply for jobs and increases the labor pool from which to draw qualified candidates. An excellent telecommuting program can even draw employees from out of state.

6. Being recognized as a "good neighbor" - When an organization takes action to reduce traffic congestion and improve the environment, people notice.

7. Attracting and keeping the best employees - Trip reduction programs are often viewed by employees as a benefit and organizations can use them as a recruitment tool. Such programs give employers a low-cost method of reducing turnover and improving employee retention.

8. Tax Breaks - The IRS allows certain commute trip elements like transit passes to be paid for by an employee using pre-tax income which equates to lower payroll taxes. Tax-free fringe benefits allow employers to offer employees monetary incentives as well. Employers and property managers who also provide commute trip reduction programs incentives to or on behalf of their own or other employees are eligible for a credit against their business.

*This list is courtesy of the "Clark Commute" program.

 The SmartTrips Business program has partnered with over 300 organizations, including some of the city's largest (and smallest!) employers.  No matter how big or small your business - we want to help!

Here is a list of just a few of the employers we are working with: