02-17-2016, 11:58 AM
One of the key things we aren't mentioning about tech companies: their employees' age. A worker who has sunk 10-15y of costs into a car and would have to switch from a 15min commute to a 75 minute one, yes, we aren't likely to get. But I'd bet that if Communitech/Tannery/Google/Tech employers surveyed their new hires, they'd find car ownership at that point would be incredibly low.
But then they have a bunch of money, and pressing work lives, and it costs money and time (to line up) to get bus pass, vs. free parking (for some). So they buy the car, and the likelihood of them ever living car-free or with fewer cars than average takes the single biggest nosedive of any age and employment group. Young techies should be the group most likely to live car-free, and we see the point at which they might transition to the group of car owners, infinitely less likely to give their car up, and we make it hard to stay car free, put up barriers there, while encouraging them to get a car. That is an incredibly high value moment in keeping our region multi-modal, and we just watch it float by. That group should be one of the most-targeted groups for TriTAG.
And yes, I'm not just talking about the corporate pass, I'm talking about a guaranteed-buy plan. If an employer is offering their employees even just $75/month worth of free parking, but not offering to buy their employee a bus pass, they are directly pushing employees to drive.
Individually, I get a $5/month carshare membership, and their corporate plan lets me agree to be billed every month (not once for a year) for $68 to get a bus pass. Plus I have carshare access. So for less than the cost of a bus pass, I get a single card that I'm less likely to lose, and never need to plan my month around waiting in line at Charles St terminal.
But then they have a bunch of money, and pressing work lives, and it costs money and time (to line up) to get bus pass, vs. free parking (for some). So they buy the car, and the likelihood of them ever living car-free or with fewer cars than average takes the single biggest nosedive of any age and employment group. Young techies should be the group most likely to live car-free, and we see the point at which they might transition to the group of car owners, infinitely less likely to give their car up, and we make it hard to stay car free, put up barriers there, while encouraging them to get a car. That is an incredibly high value moment in keeping our region multi-modal, and we just watch it float by. That group should be one of the most-targeted groups for TriTAG.
And yes, I'm not just talking about the corporate pass, I'm talking about a guaranteed-buy plan. If an employer is offering their employees even just $75/month worth of free parking, but not offering to buy their employee a bus pass, they are directly pushing employees to drive.
Individually, I get a $5/month carshare membership, and their corporate plan lets me agree to be billed every month (not once for a year) for $68 to get a bus pass. Plus I have carshare access. So for less than the cost of a bus pass, I get a single card that I'm less likely to lose, and never need to plan my month around waiting in line at Charles St terminal.