NJDOT Announces New Jersey’s 2007 NJ Smart Workplaces and Best Workplaces for Commuters
(Trenton)-New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Commissioner Kris Kolluri today recognized the 139 employers that have qualified as New Jersey’s 2006-2007 NJ Smart Workplaces and Best Workplaces for Commuters.
“Governor Corzine has made a strong commitment to improve our residents’ quality of life by reducing traffic congestion on state highways, providing more mass transit choices, and curtailing air pollution,” said Commissioner Kolluri. “The employers on this year’s NJ Smart Workplaces and Best Workplaces for Commuters lists are doing their part to help the state reach those goals by offering a variety of substantive commuter benefits.”
In 2006, NJDOT and the state's eight Transportation Management Associations (TMAs) developed the NJ Smart Workplaces program to support and encourage companies to provide transportation programs that help their employees get to work. Companies can qualify at the Bronze, Silver or Gold level depending on the programs that they offer. Activities range from providing transit schedules at work, allowing employees to deduct their commuting costs from their paychecks on a pre-tax basis, providing telecommuting and flextime programs, hosting vanpool and carpool meeting and providing on site amenities to reduce employees' travel requirements.
New Jersey in 2005 became the second state and seventeenth regional area to launch a Best Workplaces for Commuters campaign. Established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Best Workplaces for Commuters program publicly recognizes employers that provide commuter benefits that help employees address limited or expensive parking, reduce traffic congestion, improve employee recruiting and retention, and minimize the environmental impacts associated with drive-alone commuting.
New Jersey companies that meet the Best Workplaces for Commuters National Standard of Excellence must provide a monthly transit pass subsidy or van pool subsidy of at least $30, a significant telecommuting program, cash in lieu of free or subsidized parking or another set of benefits proposed by an employer and accepted by Best Workplaces for Commuters. Most qualifying New Jersey companies offered transit pass subsidies.
“Investing in a more environmentally friendly commute to the workplace doesn’t just make economic sense; it contributes to a better quality of life for employees, which profits everyone," said EPA Regional Administrator Alan J. Steinberg. "We hope this distinction encourages other companies to get on board. Better air quality due to less congestion is an invaluable employee benefit.”
For more information about New Jersey’s Best Workplaces for Commuters program or the NJ Smart Workplaces program, please visit http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/commuter/rideshare/tma.shtm.
Attached is the list of all qualified companies.
