It's been a quiet commute to work the past few mornings. And not just because it's dark and cold again thanks to the forced spring forward in time. There's a certain hush in my vehicle because my carpool buddy has been unable to share a ride recently. We both work at the Overland Park, KS facility but may have never joined GHG reduction forces without the aid of the Sprint Smart Commute Program.
As a 2008 recipient of the Mid America Regional Council's (MARC) Academy for Sustainable Communities award, the Sprint Smart Commute Program has been recognized for greening the planet. Working in partnership with the MARC, a team of volunteers from the Overland Park, KS headquarters worked to incorporate various commuting options for employees and provide a resource for education, information, incentives and feedback.
The new program was officially rolled out in July of 2008 and by the end of the year Sprint employees had reduced more than 500,000 miles of travel and more than 22,000 gallons of gas. The number of participants has ranged between 400-900 commuters utilizing alternative methods of getting to work: bike, walk, carpool, telecommute or flex work.Other components of the ongoing program include Green Parking (preferred parking spots for carpoolers or alternative fuel vehicles), Green Bikers (bicycles owned by Sprint that employees can use to get to meeting on campus, or to ride during lunch or breaks), Bicycle Incentive (employees who bike to work 10 or more times per month get a partial credit on their fitness-center fees back on their paychecks), drawings for gas cards, food certificates, and much more. The objectives of the program are to establish an official, internal alternative transportation program for Sprint employees, educate Sprint associates on alternative commute options, help Sprint associates reduce commute costs, establish grassroots support for Sprint Green Initiatives, and be a one-stop-shop for information and resources. The volunteer committee met as often as twice a week to ensure the seamless rollout of the new program. Additional volunteers, known as Green Ambassadors, assisted in the critical task of dispersing information about the program to Sprint associates, in the form of information covered chocolate bars. Who says saving money and resources can’t be fun?
As for my own Smart Commute experience, I've saved gas, wear and tear on my vehicle, greened up my little part of the planet, and made a friend (importance not necessarily in that order). If you're interested in finding out about setting up a ride share program at your place of business, visit http://www.marc.org.
Message Edited by AmyS on 03-11-2009 12:05 PM
