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January 2009Spotlight: 934th Airlift WingOutreach to employees jumpstarts Van-GO! vanpools For a first-time effort, the 934th Airlift Wing of the U.S. Air Force hit their vanpooling initiative out of the park. Since 2000, the 934th Airlift Wing has been part of a federal program that offers financial incentives to qualified employees who take the bus or train or vanpool to work. The program aims to help reduce federal employees’ contributions to traffic congestion and air pollution. Several employees have been regular transit customers – the base is located just north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport – and take advantage of the program. Base officials recently saw an opportunity to get even more staff, including those who aren’t served by transit routes, to share the ride to work. Thanks to a new initiative to educate employees about commuting options, 50 out of the 350 workers at the base now participate in Van-GO! vanpools, said Roger Hanson, who helped spearhead efforts at the base. Ten new vanpools formed last year serve employees at both the 934th Airlift Wing and the 133rd Airlift Wing of the Minnesota Air National Guard, located next door. Both bases now represent the largest employer group using vanpools and support the most vanpools going to any single destination. Commuter fairs promoted options Commuter fairs, which promoted alternate methods of getting to work and the federal transportation incentive program, were held at the base in June and November in partnership with Met Council’s Van-GO! program, Metro Transit and VPSI, the company that leases Van-GO! vans. Employees continued to support the program even as the cost of gas eased, Hanson said. “We saw a lot of interest when gas prices went up,” he said. “Even when gas prices went down, employees continued taking vanpools to work.” In addition to holding commuter fairs, the 934th Airlift Wing has a section on its intranet where employees can get information on transit and sharing the ride to work. Program honored with Commuter Choice Award The 934th Airlift Wing’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed. The organization won Rookie of the Year award at the 2008 Commuter Choice Awards program. Read more about this year’s award winners here. Watch video from the event here. |
