Help ease traffic congestion
Back in July, Gov. Charlie Baker filed an $18-billion state transportation bond bill, full of the usual efforts to fix crumbling road and bridge infrastructure and enhance public transit options and use. Included among those billions is an interesting effort – capped at $50 million annually – to pay employers to help keep their workers off the road.
Anyone can tell you Massachusetts roads are most clogged during rush hours, when people are heading to and from work. This is when our transportation system needs its greatest capacity, but it doesn’t make sense to design a transportation system to meet this need, since the roads, subways and buses aren’t nearly as full during non-rush hours, which make up the majority of the day.
However, left unchecked, the rush hour problem will only grow, especially as more people commute from affordable communities in far-flung suburbs to economic centers like Worcester and Boston. The average one-way commuting time in Massachusetts is 29 minutes, and in Worcester, it is 24 minutes. A study released in August by the real estate website Apartment List said the number of super commuters – people who commute more than 90 minutes each way – has grown to 13,000 in Worcester County, as nationwide the number has grown 36% since 2007.
To help reduce this problem, the program proposed in Baker’s bond bill will provide a $2,000-per-employee tax credit to any business who lets workers telecommute, thus reducing the number of cars on the roads. Telecommuting requires a special level of management oversight, and most employees can’t work remotely 100% of the time; but even letting workers stay at home two or three days a week will have a significant impact on road congestion. Telecommuting can have productivity benefits as well, since workers at home can better focus on their core projects without in-office distractions, especially if they are home alone.
Even if your workers can’t telecommute due to the nature of their job, or if you’re not comfortable letting your employees be far flung, an alternative would be to let your workers travel to the office during non-rush hours. Jobs are less tied to 9-to-5, and workers who start and end their days before or after the rush hours get the added benefit of not having to fight traffic when traveling to work and home. That will make them happier people.
Transportation congestion and infrastructure failure are only going to become a bigger issues in Massachusetts. Employers play a major role as to when workers are on the roads. By easing the hourly and location restrictions on those workers, you can ease the burden on our transportation systems.
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