Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

Report to the Premier recommends requiring large public and private sector employers to consider ways to reduce ‘unnecessary and unwanted’ employee commuting


Shortening commutes for tens of thousands, reducing congestion, boosting the economy, saving the environment, proven effectiveness, improving employers’ bottom line, fantastic Return on Investment (ROI) – why delay?

Commuting is a twice-daily living nightmare for millions of workers in this province, and congestion keeps getting worse. Businesses groups on the North Shore and in the Sidney area have been calling for action. They cite long commutes as adversely impacting recruiting of new employees, absenteeism, 
morale, mental and physical health, productivity and retention, while congestion can cripple their freighting and delivery efficiency. Health authorities and school districts are similarly struggling to find, motivate, and retain good employees while keeping HR costs in line.

Currently politicians at the federal, provincial and municipal levels are assembling multi-billion-dollar commitments to expand transportation and transit infrastructure, the so-called “supply side” of transportation. Meanwhile the Premier’s Office and planners in multiple ministries are mulling over a management consultancy’s report recommending a program to simultaneously work on the people side (the “demand side”), to eliminate some of the ‘unnecessary and unwanted’ component of the daily commuting grind. 

The proposal is for a province-wide “employee commute trip reduction” program (CTR) focusing on what employers can do to minimize their employees’ commutes and also encourage biking, walking, transit, carpooling – essentially anything but the single-occupancy vehicles (SOVs) that clog our roadways. Employers largely control employees’ worksite location and scheduling, so this can make a huge difference.

CTR and is not new concept. The Washington State Department of Transportation introduced its CTR back in 1991. Their program currently includes the state’s 1,100 largest employers with a combined workforce of over 570,000 people. The Department of Transportation now attributes an overall 8% reduction in congestion to the program – this for a budget of less than $3 million per year. Additionally, large employers in voluntarily invest on employee CTR’s – presumably because having employees with shorter, greener commutes is “good for business.”

Why has BC never done this? No one seems to know. What would a BC CTR program look like?

From the report’s recommendations, participation would be mandatory for all employers (public, private and non-profit sector) with over 50 employees in the province. Each employer would make “best efforts to reduce their employees’ commute distances and durations, and to encourage less polluting and more active travel modes.”

There are many tactics that an employer would be able to consider, just a few of these could include considering home-worksite proximity at time of hiring ...
supporting biking, walking and other active commuting modes ... connecting employees with carpool services ... incentives promoting transit use with discounted passes ... a guaranteed ride home for family urgencies ... providing a shuttle to transit stations ... EV and e-bike charging stations ... selecting or moving office/branch locations ... and supporting other existing and planned transportation and transit improvement programs, just to name a few.

What is the scale of existing “unnecessary and unwanted” commuting?
Using teaching professionals as an example labor group, data from Statistics Canada’s National Household Census reveal there is potential for school districts in the Metro Vancouver region to decrease the long commutes of over 17,500 teaching professionals. By allowing employees to work closer to their homes, school districts could expect to reduce the $150+ million spent annually in absenteeism, ease their recruiting and retention challenges, improve the lives and work performance of teachers, help BC toward meeting its Green House Gas (GHG) emissions targets, and help decrease congestion. 

British Columbia Teachers’ Federation member unions have unanimously resolved to support “green lateral exchange/transfers” (CloserCommutes peer job swaps) within and between school districts. The exchanging teachers would retain their seniority, pay, benefits and pensions as before while enjoying the benefits of a shorter commute. In August Education Minister Rob Fleming lent his support, encouraging five school districts to conduct a CTR pilot project beginning this fall.

Another illustration of the scale of “unnecessary and undesirable commutes” was the consultants’ analysis of commuting data for RBC Royal Bank employees that revealed these findings ... over 75% are not working at the closest branch to their homes ... there was someone with the same job role, in 50% of the cases, where with whom they could switch worksites so each would have a shorter commute.

Finance minister (and Deputy Premier) Carole James is encouraging CTR pilot projects be conducted with private sector employers. A pilot with a bank would – appropriately – aim to quantify the financial benefits to an employer of CTR action.

Could adverse effects of long commutes on workers make CTR a WorkSafeBC initiative?

Peer-reviewed research from many countries links longer commutes to increased worker stress, unhappiness, sedentary living (lack of exercise) and obesity, and pollution exposure, leading to reduced productivity and job dissatisfaction, illness and absenteeism, and domestic conflicts among other effects. 

The consistent evidence of adverse health and safety effects suggests that CTR program participation by employers might be mandated through a Cabinet Regulation to amend occupational health and safety regulations – similar to how the Christy Clark government banned mandatory high heels for restaurant servers. An advantage to this approach would be convenient access for all employers through existing OH&S reporting channels and workplace safety committees.

Carbon emissions and improving affordability for families – who will lead?

If and /or when the Premier’s Office decides to go ahead, it is not clear which ministry or agency will be tapped to orchestrate a province-wide, mandatory employee commute trip reduction program.

Transportation currently accounts for over 50% of urban carbon emissions. Long commutes are particularly problematic for lower-paid workers (especially those working part-time and/or multiple jobs), wasting time that could be spent with family and wasting income needed for housing, food and other living expenses.

Municipalities are lobbying for action on commuting and congestion. So, will it be Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure, Labour (with WorkSafe BC), Environment & Climate Change Strategy or Municipal Affairs? All seem to be likely candidates. 

For more information, contact the author at:

Bruce Batchelor, CEO
Trelawny Consulting Group Ltd.
CloseCommute Systems Inc.
Email: bruce.batchelor@gmail.com  
Phone: 250-380-0998 (Pacific)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BC cannot regulate, redesign, and reinterpret its way to a stable forestry sector. Communities need clear rules, predictable timelines, and accountability for results.

Photo credit:  Atli Resources LP   BC’s Forestry Crisis Continues with Closure of Beaver Cove Chip Facility   As industry leaders, Indigenous partners, and contractors gather this week at the BC Natural Resources Forum in Prince George, the gap between government rhetoric and reality could not be clearer. Just hours after the Eby government once again touted reconciliation, certainty, and economic opportunity under DRIPA, Atli Chip Ltd, a company wholly owned by the ’Na̱mg̱is First Nation, announced it is managing the orderly closure of its Beaver Cove chip facility. The closure comes despite public tax dollars, repeated government announcements, and assurances that new policy frameworks would stabilize forestry employment and create long-term opportunity in rural and coastal British Columbia. “British Columbians are being told one story, while communities are living another,” said Ward Stamer, Critic for Forests. “This closure makes it clear that announcement...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stamer: Hope for Forestry Completely Shattered After Another Provincial Review Driven by DRIPA

IMAGE CREDIT:  Provincial Forestry Advisory Council Conservative Critic for Forests Ward Stamer says the final report from the Provincial Forestry Advisory Council confirms the worst fears of forestry workers and communities; instead of addressing the real issues driving mill closures and job losses, the NDP has produced a report that ignores industry realities and doubles down on governance restructuring. Despite years of warnings from forestry workers, contractors, and industry organizations about permitting delays, regulatory costs, fibre access, and the failure of BC Timber Sales, the PFAC report offers no urgency, no timelines, and no concrete action to stop the ongoing decline of the sector. “ This report completely shatters any remaining hope that the government is serious about saving forestry ,” said Stamer.  “ We didn’t need another study to tell us what industry has been saying for years. While mills close and workers lose their livelihoods, the NDP is focused on re...
Post a Comment
Read more

FORSETH – My question is, ‘How do we decide who is blue enough to be called a Conservative?’

How do we decide who’s blue enough to be a Conservative? AS OF TODAY (Friday January 30 th ), there are now eight individuals who have put their names forward to lead the Conservative Party of British Columbia. Having been involved with BC’s Conservatives since 2010, and having seen MANY ups and downs, having 8 people say “I want to lead the party” is to me, an incredible turn-around from the past. Sadly, however, it seems that our party cannot seem to shake what I, and others, call a purity test of ‘what is a Conservative’. And that seems to have already come to the forefront of the campaign by a couple of candidates. Let me just say as a Conservative Party of BC member, and as someone active in the party, that frustrates me to no end. Conservatives, more than any other political philosophy or belief, at least to me, seems to have the widest and broadest spectrum of ideals.   For the most part, they are anchored by these central thoughts --- smaller and less intru...
1 comment
Read more

Labels

Show more