The Bellevue Trip Reduction Incentive Program (TRIP) offers a market-based approach to reducing congestion. The program provides cash rewards to local businesses whose employees eliminate their own single-occupant vehicle (SOV) commutes. Those trips can be replaced in a variety of ways, such as using transit, carpooling, bicycling, vanpooling, vansharing, walking or other commuting options. Employers who reduce employee SOV commute trips will receive a cash award of $175 for each trip reduced on an annualized basis.

"This is a unique program that rewards employers who encourage their employees to make choices that reduce drive-alone commuting," said Harold Taniguchi, director of the King County Department of Transportation. "When businesses support commute trip reduction programs, it significantly increases smart commuting by their employees."

TRIP is a demonstration project open to downtown Bellevue employers of all sizes. The partner agencies provide funding and assistance with the development and implementation of transit and ridesharing programs.

"We’re excited to be the first city to bring this new innovative idea to Washington State. It’s another way we can help people in Bellevue to get around during Access Downtown construction," said Goran Sparrman, director of the city’s transportation department.

The program also achieves some long-range goals for the city. It is designed to help meet the City of Bellevue’s Comprehensive Plan goal of reducing the downtown SOV commute rate to 60 percent by 2005, which would be a reduction of 7 percent from the 2002 rate.

Help for businesses’ trip reduction efforts is available through such existing programs as:

• A business and occupation (B&O) tax credit, based on the cost of the business’s trip reduction efforts. This is made available through the State of Washington’s Commute Trip Reduction Program Tax Credit, available to employers who pay business and occupation (B & O) or public utility (PUT) taxes and provide commute trip reduction subsidies to their employees;
• King County Metro and Sound Transit are offering special incentives on their jointly offered FlexPass annual transit pass program to participating employers;
• Club R, sponsored by King County Metro and the City of Bellevue, offers incentives to individuals who carpool, vanpool, ride the bus, bike, walk, telecommute or work a compressed schedule. The program targets employees working in downtown Bellevue; and
• A $500 sign-up bonus for employers with fewer than 100 employees.

The downtown Bellevue demonstration program launched this month. Employers must register before the end of September 2003 to take advantage of the program, which runs through 2004. It is one in a series of demonstration projects the city is doing in conjunction with other transportation agencies to reduce drive-alone trips.

To receive the program benefits, employers are required to do two things. First, they must sign an agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation by the end of September. Then, they must agree to survey their employees on their commute trip behavior three times in a 12-month period.