New Round of Grants Helps Big Employers SHIFT Return to the Workplace
With traffic on Bay Area freeways rising as the COVID-19 pandemic eases its grip on the region, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) this month launched the second round of its MTC SHIFT partnership program to help major employers manage their employees’ return to the workplace and improve peak-period traffic flows. The Commission will fund up to $900,000 in grants to help equip employers with software from platform vendors Luum, RideAmigos or RideShark to manage commute-benefit incentives, parking-management strategies, carpool and vanpool programs, and other congestion-relief tools.
MTC SHIFT aims to attract employers with 2,000 or more workers to test strategies for spurring the formation of carpools or other commute modes to reduce solo vehicle trips on Bay Area toll bridges and other key freeway corridors. This aligns with the goals of the Bay Area Commuter Benefits Program, which encourages alternatives to solo driving to improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease traffic congestion.
Targeted employers include those whose workers commute to work via the San Francisco-Oakland Bay; San Mateo-Hayward; Dumbarton and Richmond-San Rafael bridges, or along Interstate 80 in Alameda and Contra Costa counties; Interstate 880 in Alameda and Santa Clara counties; U.S. 101 and Interstate 280 in San Francisco; U.S. 101 in San Mateo County; and State Route 237 in Santa Clara County.
Employers who participate in MTC SHIFT can qualify for funding to cover up to 75 percent of the setup and three-year subscription costs for commute-management platforms offered by Luum, RideAmigos or RideShark and covering as many as 3,000 employees each. These platforms offer various features to administer parking-management strategies, integrate with third-party systems to manage commute benefits and incentives, and provide performance data to measure changes in workers’ drive-alone rates. .
MTC in the coming weeks will host two virtual information and demonstration sessions for major employers to learn more about MTC SHIFT and the vendors’ commute-management platforms: .
- Tuesday, May 18, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Zoom. Register in advance (recommended): - Tuesday, May 25, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Zoom. Register in advance (recommended):
More information about the MTC SHIFT program and basic requirements for employers can be found on MTC’s Procurement Portal. The deadline to apply for MTC SHIFT funding is July 15. Large employers interested in learning more are invited to contact Edward Phillips, Contracts Specialist, of the MTC staff at ephillips@bayareametro.gov. .
MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.