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BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance
Click HERE for graphic. PREFACE Purpose This document is intended for Employee Transportation Coordinators (ETCs). It explains the survey requirements of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) Regulation 13, Rule 1. It also provides guidance and suggestions on how to conduct a successful employee transportation survey. Part 1 summarizes the survey requirement: when surveys must be conducted, which employees must be surveyed, and basic survey methodology. Part 2 describes the steps involved in planning and conducting a survey. Part 3 describes how to screen and review completed survey forms for accuracy and completeness. Part 4 describes survey processing options and how employers should report survey results to the BAAQMD. Part 5 describes how to evaluate the survey process and analyze the survey results, as well as BAAQMD action on the survey results. Appendix A provides the BAAQMD employee survey questionnaire, instructions for the questionnaire, and a sample cover letter. It also describes possible modifications to the BAAQMD survey form for employers which choose to develop a customized survey questionnaire. Appendix B provides the BAAQMD survey reporting forms that must be used to report the survey results. Additional appendices address the calculation of vehicle employee ratio (VER), multi-site averaging, random sample surveys, alternative survey methodologies, and credits for compressed work week schedules. Contacts To request documents or forms related to the rule, call (415) 749-4994. Questions regarding survey requirements should be directed to the appropriate BAAQMD trip reduction staff person: County BAAQMD Contact Marin, San Mateo, Solano, Sonoma Mark Kragen (415) 749-4643 Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa Jennifer Dill (415) 749-4902 Santa Clara David Burch (415) 7494641 Funding for administration of the BAAQMD employer trip reduction rule, including the development of this guidance document, is provided by the Transportation Fund for Clean Air (AB 434). Employee Transportation Survey Guidance June 1994 Part 1: Overview of Survey Requirement Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Performance Objectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 When to Survey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Response Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Survey Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Survey Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Recordkeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Confidentially. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Part 2: Planning and Conducting the Survey Determine Responsibilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Choose A Survey Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Select A Survey Week. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Identify Employees to Survey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Plan to Get a High Response Rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Prepare a Cover Letter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Distribute Survey Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Track Survey Forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Follow-up With Non-Respondents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Part 3: Reviewing Completed Survey Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Part 4: Tabulating and Reporting Survey Results. . . . . . . . .13 Part 5: After the Survey is Completed. . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Appendix A: Employee Transportation Survey Form. . . . . . . . . A-1 Appendix B: Survey Reporting Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1 Appendix C: Calculating VER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1 Appendix D: Multi-Site Averaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1 Appendix E: Random Sample Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-1 Appendix F: Alternative Survey Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-1 Appendix G: Credits for Compressed Work Week Schedules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G-1 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance PART 1: OVERVIEW OF SURVEY REQUIREMENT Requirement Regulation 13, Rule 1, Trip Reduction Requirements for Large Employers (hereafter referred to as "the rule") applies to all public and private work sites of 100 or more employees, where at least 50 employees start work during the 6 a.m. through 10 a.m. peak period. The rule requires employers to perform annual employee transportation surveys to monitor the effectiveness of their trip reduction programs. Employers are required to survey-all employees (as defined in the rule) who start work during the 6:00 a.m. through 10:00 a.m. peak period Monday through Friday. For detail on which employees to survey, see page 6. Purpose The employee transportation survey: û provides the employer with basic information needed to develop and implement an effective trip reduction program, including employee commute modes and the potential effectiveness of various incentives and services û determines whether the work site achieves the applicable performance objective in the trip reduction rule û monitors progress in reducing commute vehicle trips to the work site û provides an excellent opportunity to market the employer trip reduction program to employees, and to encourage employees to consider commute alternatives Performance Objectives The rule defines four geographic zones and establishes annual ridership performance objectives for each zone. These performance objectives are expressed in terms of Vehicle Employee Ratio (VER). VER represents the ratio of vehicles to employees, based upon employees who start work during the 6:00 a.m. through 10:00 a.m. peak period. VER is the reciprocal of Average Vehicle Ridership, or AVR. VER is explained in Appendix C. Failure to achieve the VER performance objectives is not a violation of the rule. It does, however, trigger the requirement to submit an Employer Trip Reduction Plan for BAAQMD review and approval. June 1994 Page 1 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance When to Survey Employers must conduct their initial survey by November 30, 1994 for work sites,with 500 or more employees. Work sites with 100-499 employees must be surveyed by May 31, 1995. These deadlines are based on total employees at the work site, rather than employees who start work during the peak period. The BAAQMD will notify you of which deadline applies when you register your work site. You must choose an eligible week to perform the survey (see Part 2). You may submit the results of a survey conducted prior to the effective date of the rule (July 1, 1994), provided that the survey was conducted no more than six months prior to the submittal date and that the survey was performed consistent with BAAQMD methodology. After receipt of the initial survey results, the BAAQMD will notify employers of the due date for the subsequent survey. The basic requirement is for an annual employee transportation survey at each affected work site. There are two exceptions to the annual survey requirement: û If the results of your survey demonstrate that a future year performance objective is achieved, you may conduct a survey every two years as long as a future year performance objective continues to be achieved. û If your survey demonstrates that the final (1998) performance objective is achieved, your work site will survey once every three years and will be exempt from all other requirements of the rule. Employers are limited to one survey per work site per year for purposes of reporting VER to the BAAQMD. That is, you are not permitted to re-survey your employees if the results of the survey demonstrate that the performance objective was not achieved. However, the BAAQMD may require an employer to re- survey its employees if the survey is not conducted according to BAAQMD methodology. Response Rate Employee participation is essential to a successful survey. The rule contains response rate adjustment factors which encourage the employer to obtain a high response rate. The adjustment factors are applied to the raw VER to calculate net VER. If the response rate is less than 60% among employees who start work during the peak period, then all non-respondents are counted as drive alone commuters (single occupant vehicles) for purposes of calculating VER. If the employer achieves a response rate of 60% or more among employees who start work during the peak period, then one-half of the Page 2 June 1994 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance computer network, or a system for monitoring employee transportation mode via time sheets or employee commute logs. For a discussion of these alternative approaches and the conditions which apply to their use, see Appendix F. Telephone surveys and gate or parking lot counts are not permitted as a substitute for a paper survey. Recordkeeping Employers are required to retain records to document compliance with all requirements of the rule for three years. You must retain documentation relating to the survey, including the survey cover letter, completed employee survey forms, and all survey reporting forms. Confidentially It is very important that employers treat employee survey data in a confidential manner. This is essential to prevent any abuse of the survey information and to assure employees that they can provide candid responses to the survey without fear of penalty. Be sure that employees understand that they will not be penalized if they mark "drive alone" as their commute mode on the survey form. The employer should safeguard the integrity of the completed employee survey forms. When employee survey forms are submitted to the BAAQMD for processing, the BAAQMD will treat individual responses in a confidential manner. Aggregate survey results for the work site as a whole will be within the public domain. Page 4 June 1994 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance non-respondents are assumed to have the same VER (i.e., the same mix of commute modes) as that calculated for the survey respondents, and one-half are counted as drive alone commuters (single occupant vehicles) for purposes of calculating VER. Employers with a survey response rate below 60% are unlikely to achieve their VER performance objective. Survey Processing The rule provides employers with three survey processing options: û tabulate the survey forms in-house; û hire a third party to tabulate the survey forms; û submit the survey forms to the BAAQMD for processing. Survey processing is described in Part 4. Survey Options Random Sample Methodology: The rule provides an option for employers to perform a random sample survey at any work site where 400 or more employees start work during the 6 a.m. through 10 a.m. peak period. The purpose of the random sample method is to reduce the cost of administering and processing surveys at large work sites. For further discussion of the random sample survey methodology, see Appendix E and Section 13-1-602 in the rule. Multi-Site Averaging: The rule provides an option for employers with multiple work sites located in the same zone to combine the VER results from individual work sites to demonstrate that the performance objective is achieved on an aggregate basis. For further information on multi-site averaging, see Appendix D and Survey Reporting Form E (Multi- Site Averaging) in Appendix B. The rule also provides an option for averaging VER among multiple employers, subject to BAAQMD approval. This option is available only where employers occupy the same work site or adjacent work sites within the same zone. Employers interested in this option should contact BAAQMD staff. Alternative Survey Methods: The basic survey methodology is to distribute a paper survey questionnaire to employees. There are several alternative means, in lieu of the basic paper survey, to gather the data needed to calculate VER. Alternatives include an electronic survey using an in-house June 1994 Page 3 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance PART 2: PLANNING AND CONDUCTING THE SURVEY Planning is the key to a successful employee transportation survey. You should begin planning your survey well before your actual survey week. The major steps are outlined below. Determine Responsibilities The Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC) should identify key steps and assign responsibilities as early as possible. Some questions to consider include: û Is the ETC located on-site? If not, who will serve as the on-site survey coordinator? û How will the survey forms be distributed and collected? û Who will follow-up with employees who do not respond to the survey? Choose a Survey Questionnaire The BAAQMD employee survey questionnaire appears in Appendix A. Employers submitting their survey forms to the BAAQMD for processing must use this form. The BAAQMD survey form is available on diskette in Microsoft Word for WindowsTm 2.0. The form is also available in Spanish and Chinese. Call (415) 749-4994. If you want to design your own survey form, or make changes to the BAAQMD form, be sure to check with your BAAQMD trip reduction staff contact (see Preface). See Appendix A for details on designing your own survey form and potential modifications to the BAAQMD survey questions. Select a Survey Week Your survey week must cover Monday through Friday. The five- day period provides a means to calculate credits for telecommuting, compressed work week schedules, and part-time use of ridesharing and transit. The employer may not offer any special incentives or disincentives in addition to its regular trip reduction program during the survey week. The employer may not take any action to bias employee commute mode choice during the survey week. Surveys may be conducted during either the January through May or the September through November period. The survey week cannot contain a federal, State or local holiday, regardless of whether the holiday is observed June 1994 Page 5 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance by the employer. The survey week cannot be California Rideshare Week or include "Beat the Back-up. " You cannot conduct the survey during a week when your company participates in any special event to promote commute alternatives, such as an on-site commute or transportation fair, "Bicycle to Work Day," etc. However, employers may conduct surveys during the BAAQMD "Spare the Air" campaign. Identify Employees to Survey The rule requires employers to survey all employees who start work between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Monday through Friday. For purposes of calculating VER, you should exclude the following: û employees who start work outside the 6:00 a.m. through 10:00 a.m. peak period û part-time employees who work less than 20 hours per week û employees who did not work during the survey week û field construction workers (as defined in Section 13-1- 217) û field personnel (as defined in Section 13-1-218) û seasonal/temporary employees (as defined in Section 13-1- 222) There are two approaches for identifying peak period employees and distributing survey forms: û Identify peak period employees in advance and distribute the survey only to those employees; or û Distribute the survey to all employees and then cull out any surveys from non-peak period employees after the completed surveys are collected. The first approach is generally preferable, wherever feasible. The disadvantage with distributing the survey form to all employees is that all non-respondents must be assumed to start work during the peak period for purposes of computing VER. By limiting survey distribution to peak period employees, the potential number of non-respondents is reduced. Plan to Get a High Response Rate A low response rate hurts your VER. You need to develop a plan to encourage employee participation in the survey, as discussed below. Analysis - Analyze your work force. Do your employees have experience in dealing with forms and surveys? Do some employees need the survey form in a foreign language? Will some employees need help in filling out the Page 6 June 1994 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance form? You may need a different approach with a blue-collar, industrial work force than with a white-collar, service- oriented work force. Develop a strategy that is appropriate for your work force and company culture. Management Support - Get management to endorse the survey. Employees are more likely to respond to the survey if they know that management places a high priority on their participation. Unions and Employee Associations - Work with unions or employee associations to obtain their cooperation. Make sure that they understand the purpose of the survey, how the information will be used and the potential benefits that trip reduction efforts can mean for their members. If possible, get union representatives to co-sign your survey cover letter. Train Your Supervisors - Many employers that achieve a high response rate rely on supervisors to distribute, collect and track survey forms. To make this approach work, you need to train your supervisors. Be sure that they understand the purpose of the survey and the need for a high response rate, and that they are prepared for the questions they are likely to encounter. Advance Promotion and Education - Inform your employees about the survey ahead of time. Explain the purpose of the survey and how it can benefit employees by helping your company develop an effective trip reduction program. You can promote the survey in advance via your company newsletter, an E-Mail system, departmental staff meetings, etc. Incentives - Offering prizes or rewards is an effective way to boost survey participation. One approach is to enter all employees who complete the survey in a drawing for prizes such as free meals, movie tickets, cash, or an extra day of vacation. Another idea would be to organize a competition among your departments to see which department can achieve the highest participation rate, with prizes for employees in the winning department. Local restaurants and shops may be willing to donate prizes. Some employers offer all employees who complete the survey a free treat in the company cafeteria. (Note: the rule prohibits an employer from offering special incentives or disincentives which would distort normal employee commute mode choice during the survey week. However, this prohibition does not apply to offering a reward or incentive to encourage employees to respond to the survey.) Presentation - Employees will respond better if the survey form is appealing to the eye. Be sure that each employee receives a clear, clean copy of the survey form. Printing the form on colored paper may help increase response. It is a good idea to include your company or organization name and logo. June 1994 Page 7 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance Prepare a Cover Letter The survey should be distributed with a brief cover letter or memo. The cover letter should explain the reason for the survey, why it is important for each employee to complete the survey, when and to whom the completed form should be returned, and who to contact with questions. Your cover letter cannot encourage employees to use a commute alternative during the survey week. A sample cover letter is provided in Appendix A. Customize the sample cover letter as appropriate for your work site. If you plan to offer any prize or reward as an incentive to encourage survey participation, mention this in your cover letter. Be sure to emphasize that employee responses are confidential. The cover letter should be signed, if possible, by the chief executive or another high-ranking officer to show that the survey is endorsed by top management. Try to anticipate questions. For example, if you have employees with compressed work week schedules, weekend schedules, rotating work schedules, or telecommuters, explain how employees should handle these situations in filling out the survey. If your company has a large number of employees who speak a foreign language and you will provide a translation of the survey form, consider translating your cover letter as well. Distribute Survey Forms Timing is important. Plan to distribute the forms at a convenient time for employees to fill them out during the survey week. To improve the response rate, minimize the time between distribution and the return date. Be sure to count the number of survey forms distributed--this information is needed to calculate your response rate. One good approach is to distribute the forms on Wednesday or Thursday of the survey week with instructions for employees to return completed forms no later than the following Tuesday. Employees can thus complete the survey form on the last day of the survey week (Friday) and return it no later than the following Monday or Tuesday. Some employers have achieved a high response by distributing survey forms at employee meetings and having all employees fill out the survey on the spot. This provides an easy means to answer any questions and to track survey response. Page 8 June 1994 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance Track Survey Forms Tracking surveys is essential to follow up with non- respondents and to assure that the returned surveys are not missing key information. Several ways to track survey response are described below. Consider which method is most appropriate for your work site. Employee Name - The BAAQMD survey form asks for the employee name and work phone number. This information is optional. It will not be used for data entry; it merely provides an easy way to track survey responses. You might consider preprinting the employee name on the survey form prior to distribution. Employers report that preprinting names results in a higher response rate. Employee ID Number - A variation of employee name is to assign each employee a distinct ID number prior to distribution (or use an existing employee numbering system). This requires a system to ensure that the coded forms are distributed to the correct employee linked to each ID number. Check-off System - An employer can track survey responses by requiring supervisors in each unit to distribute and collect the survey forms, check off completed forms on an employee roster, and follow-up with nonrespondents. Envelope with Employee Name - The employer can omit employee name on the survey questionnaire, but require the employee to return the survey in an envelope with the employee name on the envelope. This approach allows for a centralized collection system instead of relying on supervisors to collect and track the forms. Raffle Ticket or Contest Entry - Some employers conduct a prize-drawing as an incentive to encourage employees to complete the survey questionnaire. Employees can be checked off against the employee roster when they come to pick up their raffle ticket or receipt. One problem with tracking systems that do not ask for employee name (or ID number) on the survey questionnaire is that there is no way to identify which employee completed a particular survey form. This means that it is impossible to follow up with the employee if key responses are missing (see Part 4). Employers which omit employee name from the survey may experience a higher rate of invalid survey responses that must be treated as non-respondents. June 1994 Page 9 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance Follow-Up with Non-Respondents You should follow up at least once or twice with employees who did not complete the survey. Follow-up can be accomplished by a brief memo, a voice-mail message targeting all non- respondents, or a personal phone- call. Follow-up may include sending another copy of the survey form to nonrespondents. If these follow-up methods still fail to elicit a completed survey form, the ETC may administer the survey over the telephone to ensure employee response. (Note that a telephone survey is permitted only as a follow-up measure, not as a regular survey method.) Page 10 June 1994 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance PART 3: REVIEWING COMPLETED SURVEY FORMS o The ETC is responsible for screening completed survey forms prior to survey processing. This is an essential step to ensure that the forms are completed properly and that the results are tabulated accurately. Cull out the following survey forms that will not be included in the VER calculation: û Employees who worked part-time, less than 20 hours per week during the survey week (response #4 to Question C on the BAAQMD survey form). û Employees who did not work at all during the survey week (response #5 to Question C on the BAAQMD survey form). û Employees who started work outside the 6 a.m. through 10 a.m. period (Question D on the BAAQMD survey form). These surveys must be excluded from survey processing and from the calculation of response rate and VER. Count how many surveys fall into each of the three categories above. If you are sending your survey forms to the BAAQMD for processing (see Part 4), supply these numbers on Survey Reporting Form A, Part 2. If you process your survey forms in-house, report these number on Survey Reporting Form C, Part 1 (Line E). Employee survey forms which are excluded from the VER calculation must be retained on-site as part of your survey documentation subject to BAAQMD audit. Check for missing information. The ETC should review survey forms for completeness. A survey form must include responses to all of the following questions in order to be counted as a completed survey: Work Schedule - BAAQMD Question C Work Start Time - BAAQMD Question D Commute Mode - BAAQMD Question E Any form that does not provide answers to these questions must be treated as a non-response for purposes of calculating VER. If important information is missing on the survey form, and the employee who submitted the form can be identified, the ETC should contact the employee to obtain the missing responses. For example, if the employee leaves a blank for one or more days on the commute mode question (Question E), the ETC should contact the employee, if possible, to fill in the blank(s). Any day of the survey week that does not June 1994 Page 11 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance show the commute mode (or reason for not reporting) on Question E must be coded as driving alone. - Recode survey responses, where appropriate. Questions C and E on the BAAQMD survey form include the response "Other." For Question C, if the employee answers "Other" (response #6) and describes the work schedule during the survey week, the ETC can re-code the response to any appropriate response I through 5. For Question E, if the employee marks "Other" (response #9) and clearly describes the commute mode in the space provided, the ETC may re-code the response to the mode which corresponds to the employee's description. - Check carpool and vanpool occupancy (Question F). If an employee commutes in a carpool or vanpool (Question E) but fails to indicate the number of vehicle occupants in Question F, the default values (2.3 persons per carpool and 10 persons per vanpool) should be used for purposes of calculating VER (see Survey Reporting Form B, Side 1) - Check for employees who commute in vehicles powered by a clean fuel. The rule provides credits when employees commute in clean fuel vehicles (see Survey Reporting Form D in Appendix B). To qualify for clean fuel credits, you must contact employees who check response #3 for Question I to determine whether the employee actually commutes in a clean fuel vehicle. Information on employee use of clean fuel vehicles must be entered on Survey Reporting Form D in order to earn clean fuel credits. - Check for survey forms where the employee requests a Ridesharing matchlist. If your survey form includes a ridematching request form, you should sort through the surveys to find completed ridematching forms. The ETC is responsible for forwarding ridematching requests to the appropriate ridesharing agency (or providing an in-house ridematching list). Check that each ridematching request is complete and contact the employee for any missing information. Ridematching requests from work sites in Solano County should be sent to: Solano Commuter Information 333 Sunset Ave. Suite 230 Suisun City, CA 94585 (707) 447-7665 Ridematching requests from work sites in all other counties should be sent to: RIDES for Bay Area Commuters, Inc. 60 Spear Street, Suite 650 San Francisco, CA 94105 (800) 755-7665 Page 12 June 1994 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance PART 4: TABULATING AND REPORTING SURVEY RESULTS Processing Options Employers have three options for processing employee survey forms: 1. Tabulate the survey forms in-house; 2. Hire a third party to tabulate the survey forms; or 3. Submit the survey forms to the BAAQMD for processing. Employers who choose Option 1 or Option 2 must submit the survey results to the BAAQMD within 90 calendar days from the end of the survey week. Employers who submit their employee survey forms to the BAAQMD for processing (Option 3) must do so within 45 calendar days from the end of the survey week. The BAAQMD has developed Survey Solution, a survey processing program which employers can use to tabulate their survey results in-house. The program runs on Microsoft Excel for Windows.TM Call (415) 749 4994 to request a free copy of this program. BAAQMD staff can also provide a list of survey processing services and software vendors. Employers who plan to buy survey processing software or to contract with a third party to process survey forms are advised to consult this list to ensure that the survey processing methodology meets BAAQMD standards. To request this list, call (415) 749-4994 or the BAAQMD trip reduction staff contact for your county (see Preface). Survey Reporting Forms A through E are used to report survey results. The Survey Reporting Forms are provided in Appendix B. Address all submittals to: Employer Trip Reduction BAAQMD 939 Ellis St. San Francisco, CA 94109-7799 What to Submit If you process the surveys in-house or hire a third party, here's what you need to submit to the BAAQMD for each work site: û Survey Reporting Form A: Survey Information and Processing (Side 1) June 1994 Page 13 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance û Survey Reporting Form B: Employee Commute Mode û Survey Reporting Form C: Calculation of VER û El Optional: Survey Reporting Form D: Clean Fuel Credits Survey Reporting Form E: Multi-Site Averaging If you want the BAAQMD to process the surveys, here's what you need to submit: û Completed survey questionnaires (Submit only completed surveys that will be included in the VER calculation - see Part 3) û Survey Reporting Form A: Survey Information and Processing (both sides) û Optional: Survey Reporting Form D: Clean Fuel Credits Survey Reporting Form E: Multi-Site Averaging (Part I only) Enclose payment (check or money order payable to the BAAQMD) for the survey processing ($1.00 per survey submitted) If you submit employee survey forms from several work sites, the employee surveys must be sorted by work site and you must complete a separate Survey Reporting Form A for each site. If the sites are located in the same zone and you want the BAAQMD to calculate your multi-site aggregate VER (i.e., multi-site averaging), indicate this by completing and submitting Survey Reporting Form E, Part 1. The BAAQMD will provide the employer with the following: û Completed copy of Survey Reporting Form B, Employee Commute Mode û Completed copy of Survey Reporting Form C, Calculation of VER û Summary of employee responses to each survey question The BAAQMD will return the employee survey questionnaires to the employer after processing. Recordkeeping Recordkeeping: The rule requires that employers document compliance with the rule for three years. Records must be made available during any on-site audit conducted by the BAAQMD. Survey records that must be retained include the employee survey forms; the survey cover letter; and copies of all survey reporting forms. Page 14 June 1994 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance PART 5: AFTER THE SURVEY IS COMPLETE Analyze your Survey Evaluate Your Survey Experience: Performing a survey is a learning experience. Evaluate your experience once the survey is completed. Get feedback from employees and from managers and supervisors. Think about ways to improve each aspect of your survey process for the next cycle, including pre-survey promotion, your system for distributing, collecting, and tracking survey forms, etc. If your response rate was low, analyze the reasons and consider how to achieve a higher response rate for the next survey. Provide Feedback to Employees: A successful trip reduction program requires a partnership between employer and employees. Provide your employees with feedback from the survey as soon as possible. Send a memo or publish an item in your newsletter thanking employees for their participation and summarizing the survey results. Analyze Your Survey Results: Analysis of the survey data is the most interesting and useful aspect of the entire survey process. The survey provides a rich source of information for developing and improving your employer trip reduction program. û Compare your VER to both the current performance objective for your work site and the performance objectives that apply in future years. What will you need to do to achieve the objective that applies next year? û Compare your net VER to your raw VER. If your net VER is significantly higher (i.e. worse) than your raw VER, this shows that you need to improve your survey response rate. û Look at your commute mode split: Do certain commute alternatives seem to be under-utilized? û Look at your employee zip code breakdown: Try to identify clusters of employees who can form carpools or vanpools. û Analyze the responses to the attitudinal questions as well as any employee comments: Did your employees identify any special obstacles which prevent them from using commute alternatives? If so, what can you do to remove those obstacles? Did your employees indicate a clear preference for a particular commute alternative or any particular services or incentives? June 1994 Page 15 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance Consult your BAAQMD Guide to Employer Trip Reduction Programs for advice on how to use your survey results to develop an effective trip reduction program. BAAQMD Review of Survey Results The BAAQMD will review employer survey results and survey methodology. If the results or methodology are invalid, the employer must conduct a new survey. If your survey meets BAAQMD requirements, the BAAQMD will notify you of the next step required to comply with the rule. The BAAQMD will also inform you of the due date for your next survey. The survey results are compared to the performance objective for the year and zone in which the survey is conducted. For example, a survey performed in San Jose in 1994 is compared to the 1994 performance objective for Zone 3. There are three basic scenarios, depending upon how the net VER for the work site compares to the applicable performance objective: û If your survey shows that the performance objective for the current year was achieved, you must develop and implement an Employer Trip Reduction Program within six months of the survey week. The Program is not submitted to the BAAQMD for approval. û If the performance objective for your work site was not achieved, the BAAQMD will issue a determination that the performance objective was not achieved. You must submit an Employer Trip Reduction Plan for review and approval within 120 days from the date that the determination is issued. û If the survey demonstrates that the final (1998) performance objective was achieved, your work site is eligible for an exemption under Section 13-1-107 of the rule. The BAAQMD will send you a form which you must complete to qualify for the exemption. You are required to conduct a survey every three years to verify that the work site continues to achieve the final performance objective in order to retain the exemption. Page 16 June 1994 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance APPENDIX A - THE EMPLOYEE TRANSPORTATION SURVEY FORM BAAQMD Form This appendix provides the BAAQMD employee survey form. Instructions for completing the questionnaire are provided on a separate page. Also included is a sample survey cover letter that you can modify for use at your work site. Employers who plan to submit their employee surveys to the BAAQMD for processing (or use the BAAQMD survey software to process their survey forms in-house) must use the BAAQMD questionnaire. Employers who will perform their own processing have the option to develop a customized survey form. See the section on designing a customized survey form and potential modifications to the BAAQMD questionnaire on pages A-3 through A-5. The BAAQMD employee survey form is available on diskette in Microsoft Word for WindowsTm 2.0. Also available, in hard copy only, are Spanish and Chinese language versions of the survey questionnaire and instructions. Call (415) 749-4994 to request the diskette or the translated versions. The BAAQMD survey questionnaire is two-sided. Side 1 contains core questions. Responses to the core questions provide the data needed to calculate VER. Side 2 contains optional attitudinal questions and an optional ridematching request form. You are only required to use Side 1, the core questions. However, you are encouraged to use Side 2 in order to develop information regarding employee attitudes toward commute options and potential incentives and services. Employers who submit their survey forms to the BAAQMD for processing must print their BAAQMD Work Site ID number in the space provided in the lower right comer of the survey questionnaire prior to distributing the survey form to employees. Employers may distribute the survey instruction sheet to employees along with the survey questionnaire. If you do not distribute the survey instruction sheet, you should refer to the instruction sheet in responding to employee questions about how to fill out the survey. Fill in the dates of your survey week and the due date to return the survey at the top of the survey form. You are encouraged to "personalize" the form by adding your company or organization name and logo and making aesthetic modifications to enhance its visual appeal. June 1994 Page A-1 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance SAMPLE COVER LETTER Date To: All Employees From: President (or CEO or Executive Director or Personnel Manager) Subject: Employee Transportation Survey Please complete the attached employee transportation survey. The survey asks you to describe the means of transportation that you used to commute to work each day during the week of Monday, (date) through Friday, (date). Return the completed survey form to___________________ (your supervisor, Personnel dept., ETC) no later than (date). It is important that you complete the survey. The information you provide will be used to help (company name) develop an effective commute alternatives program and to comply with Bay Area Air Quality Management District employer trip reduction requirements. Your responses are confidential. If you have any questions, please consult the attached instructions or contact_______________________________ (ETC, your supervisor) at __________________________________. If you are interested in receiving a free ridesharing matchlist with information on potential carpool and vanpool partners, please complete the optional final section of the survey form. If you did not report to work at all during the survey week, you should still fill out the survey. Complete Questions A through E-- mark response #5 for Question C and response #12 or #13 for Question E. Skip Questions F through I. You may complete the questions on page 2. We will provide the results of the survey to all employees as soon as they are available. Thank you for your cooperation. Optional topics Describe any incentives, such as a raffle or other prize, that you are offering to encourage employees to complete the survey. If you have a lot of employees who work rotating shifts, telecommute, or work compressed work week or alternative work week schedules, you may want to include special instructions to make sure that these employees understand how to complete the form. Page A-2 June 1994 INSTRUCTIONS FOR EMPLOYEE TRANSPORTATION SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE Your name and work phone number are optional. Please complete the survey form based upon your work schedule and commute mode during the survey week. You must answer Questions A through E. For Questions F through M, answer only those questions that apply to you. Question C - Work Schedule Check the box that best describes your work schedule during the survey week. If you were off one or more days for vacation or illness, check the response that describes your regular schedule. A compressed work week is any regular full-time work schedule which eliminates at least one roundtrip commute trip every two (2) weeks. Examples include 4/40 (four 10-hour days per week) and 9/80 (nine work days which total 80 hours over a two week period). If you work a compressed work week, check #2 only (do not check #1). If you did not work at all during the survey week, check #5 in Question C. Skip Questions D through 1. You may complete Side 2. Question D - Work Start Time Indicate the time that you usually started work during the survey week. Be sure to check A.M. or P.M. If your work start time varies from day to day, indicate the time you started work most often duri ng the survey week. Question E - Commute Mode The survey covers the Monday through Friday work week. Place one number in each box (Monday through Friday) to indicate the means of transportation you used to commute to work each day. For any day that you did not report to work, mark number 10, 11, 12 or 13 as appropriate. If your work schedule includes Saturday and/or Sunday, do not provide information for those days.. If you use more than one means of transportation per trip, select the number for the means of transportation that you used for the distance of your commute trip. Example: Jane Commuter drives two miles to the BART station, rides BART 15 miles to Oakland, and walks three blocks from the BART station to her office. Jane should select #4 (public transit) because BART accounts for the greatest distance of her commute trip. Carpool (#2) means a vehicle occupied by two (2) to six (6) people traveling together for the majority of the total trip distance. A carpool includes employees who work at different companies or work sites. Students, children and family members are considered to be members of a carpool, provided that they are in the vehicle for the majority of the total trip distance. A motorcycle with two passengers is considered to be a carpool. Vanpool (#3) means a privately-operated vehicle occupied by seven (7) to fifteen (1 5) employees. A mini-van with six (6) occupants or less is a carpool. Public transit (#4) means bus, BART, train, light rail vehicle, or ferry. Club bus/buspool (#5) means a privately-operated or chartered bus which provides commute transportation on a subscription basis. Other (#9) - If none of the commute modes listed under #1 through #8 describes your means of transportation, write #9 in the appropriate box or boxes and briefly explain your mode of transportation in the space provided. Compressed work week day off (#10) - If you had a compressed work week (CWW) day off during the survey week, mark #10 in the appropriate box. If you work a 9180 schedule, mark #10 in the appropriate box for your CWW day off only if your CWW day off occurs during the survey week. Work at home/telecommute (#11) means working either at home or at an off-site telecommuting center (different than the regular work site) for the full workday. Time off (#12) means a regular day off (except a compressed work week day off), vacation, sick leave, compensatory time off, jury duty, or other time off. Work or Travel Off-Site (#13) - Check this response if you did not report to your work site during the 6 a.m. through 10 a.m. period for any of the following reasons: you reported to a different work site (other than a satellite telecommute center); you attended an off-site meeting or training session; you were traveling out of town on work-related business, etc. Question F - Number of People in Carpool/Vanpool If you commute in a carpool or vanpool, indicate the total number of people in the pool vehicle. Only write in one number. If the number of people varies from day to day, indicate the most common number of people in the vehicle. Students, children and family members qualify as members of a carpool, provided that they are in the vehicle for the majority of the total trip distance. Question I - Type of Fuel If you drive alone to work or drive a carpool or vanpool, indicate the type of fuel that your vehicle uses. Gasoline (#l) includes new reformulated gasolines. If you check #3 (Other), describe the type of fuel. Note: this question is for drivers only. Do not answer Question I if you are a passenger in a carpool or vanpool. Questions K, L, M These questions apply only if you drive alone to work. If your use a commute alternative (carpool, vanpool, transit, bike, walk), please do not complete these questions. Comments You may use this optional section to provide comments and suggestions on ways to improve commute alternatives to your work site. CarpooI/Vanpool Information This section is optional. Complete this section to receive a free matchlist with information on potential carpool and vanpool matches. Please Be sure to provide all the information requested, including at least one phone number (work or home) where you can be reached. Your home address and work address are strictly confidential. Click HERE for graphic. Click HERE for graphic. BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance Designing Your Own Survey Form Employers which plan to process their own surveys may develop a survey form customized to their needs. The customized survey must include the BAAQMD core questions (Side 1). Certain modifications to the core questions may be permitted, provided that the modifications do not change the questions in a fundamental way or interfere with the calculation of VER according to BAAQMD criteria. Potential modifications to the core questions are discussed below. Modifications to the survey form must be approved by the BAAQMD prior to use. Employers which modify or customize the survey form are required to submit a draft form to BAAQMD employer trip reduction staff for approval at least four weeks prior to conducting the survey. Use of an unapproved survey questionnaire may invalidate the survey. Employers who design their own survey form are strongly encouraged to include attitudinal questions. In fact, the main advantage in designing your own form is that it enables you to develop a customized set of attitudinal and/or demographic questions that will help you understand the factors that influence your employees' commute choices. We highly recommend that the survey questionnaire include an optional ridematching request form. This is a good way to increase ridesharing to the work site. You may also want to include a section for employees to request information on transit or bicycling. If you develop your own survey form, bear in mind that a simple survey form will achieve a higher response rate. You should have a specific reason for including each question. Survey questions and potential responses should be clearly worded and flow in a logical order. Avoid wording that would lead the employee toward a particular response and bias your results. The visual appearance of the survey form can have a significant impact on the response rate. Try to design a form that is pleasing to the eye. You should also consider how well your form is designed for data entry. Data entry is generally easier if the responses to the survey questions are coded with numbers rather than letters. Discuss your draft survey form with whomever will be responsible for data entry. We strongly recommend that you conduct a small-scale trial run with your survey form to eliminate confusing or ambiguous questions, refine your system for distributing and collecting the forms, and test your survey processing software. Potential modifications to the BAAQMD survey form are discussed below. Employee Name The BAAQMD survey form asks for employee name and work phone number. You may omit employee name and phone number and develop an June 1994 Page A-3 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance alternative means to track survey response (see Tracking Survey Forms in Part 3). Alternatively, you can leave employee name on the survey form, but emphasize, either on the form or in the cover letter, that this is optional. Zip Code and Commute Distance (Questions A and B) Home zip code and commute distance are very useful for analyzing employee commute patterns and designing your trip reduction program. These questions are not required, however. You can choose to delete them. Work Schedule During Survey Week (Question C) You may expand the range of responses to Question C. For example, some employers may want to include "swing shift" and/or "graveyard shift" as -possible responses to Question C. You may substitute another term such as "alternative work week" or "alternative work schedule" for compressed work week in Question C (and for "compressed work week day off" in Question E) if the alternative term is more familiar to your employees. Also, you may eliminate the compressed work week response (#2) for Question C and the responses for part-time schedules (#3 and #4) if these are not applicable at your work site. Work Start Time (Question D) The BAAQMD survey asks employees to indicate their usual start time during the survey week because, at most work sites, employee start time varies little from day to day. If you have many employees with variable start times, you can revise the question to ask for the start time each day of the survey week. Any day that an employee starts work outside the peak period should then be excluded from the VER calculation. You can also express the start times in ranges (e.g. 6:00-6:59, 7:00-7:59) rather than asking employees to write in their start time. The most basic way to design this question is to simply ask employees whether they start work between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. inclusive-- the employee would simply check yes or no. Commute Mode (Question E) The BAAQMD survey asks for employee commute mode for the Monday through Friday period only, because VER is based upon employees who start work during the Monday through Friday peak period. Employers with many employees who work weekends can modify Question E to include Saturday and Sunday if this will avoid confusion about how these employees should complete the survey. However, the calculation of VER must be based only on the Monday through Friday peak period; Saturday and Sunday must be excluded from the calculation. The employer may provide more detailed responses in the commute mode question. For example, an employer in Alameda County may want to break Page A-4 June 1994 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance down the "public transit" response to distinguish between BART and AC Transit. Also, you may eliminate the responses for "compressed work week day off" (10) and "work at home/telecommute" (# 11) if these do not apply at your work site. Carpool/Vanpool Occupancy (Question F) You have the option to delete this question and use the BAAQMD default values for carpool and vanpool occupancy (2.3 occupants per carpool; 10 occupants per vanpool) in calculating VER. Alternative Fuel (Question 1) You have the option to delete this question and forego any potential clean fuel vehicle credits. BAAQMD Work Site ID Number The lower right comer of the survey contains a box labeled "BAAQMD Work Site ID #. " Employers who perform their own survey processing may delete this box. Page 2 Page 2 (the reserve side of the survey form) includes four attitudinal questions and a ridematching application. Page 2 is optional. Employers. that perform their own survey processing may revise, expand upon, or eliminate Page 2. BAAQMD approval of changes to Page 2 is not required. June 1994 Page A-5 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance APPENDIX B - SURVEY REPORTING FORMS This appendix contains Survey Reporting Forms A through E. Pull out and complete each form that you need to submit (see Part 4). The purpose of each form is described below. û The forms are designed to be self-explanatory. û Detailed instructions on how to complete the Survey Reporting Forms are available upon request, along with completed samples of the survey reporting forms. Call (415) 749-4994. û Many employers will not need to fill in Survey Reporting Forms B and C manually, if they use survey processing software or a service that produces these forms automatically. Survey Reporting Form A, Survey Information and Processing: This is a two-sided form. Part 1 requires the employer to describe the basic methodology used to conduct the survey. Part 1 must be completed for each work site. Parts 2 and 3 are to be completed only by employers that submit their employee questionnaires to the BAAQMD for processing. Use Part 4 to provide comments or additional information. Survey Reporting Form B, Employee Commute Mode: This form reports summary data on employee commute mode from the employee survey forms. A completed copy of this form (both sides) is required for each work site. Employers which submit their employee survey questionnaires to the BAAQMD for processing will receive a completed Survey Reporting Form B. Survey Reporting Form C, Calculation of VER: This form is used to calculate the response rate for the work site, the raw vehicle employee ratio (VER), and the net VER for the work site. A completed copy of this form (both sides) is required for each work site. Employers which submit their employee survey forms to the BAAQMD for processing will receive a completed Survey Reporting Form C. Survey Reporting Form D, Clean Fuel Credits: (Optional) This form is used only to claim credits for employee commute trips in personal vehicles powered by clean fuels (e.g. compressed natural gas, propane, electricity). This form must be submitted by any employer which claims clean fuel credits on Survey Reporting Form C (Part 2, Line K). Survey Reporting Form E, Multi-Site Averaging: (Optional) This form is used only when an employer has more than one site located in the same zone and wants to average VER among those sites. (See Appendix D.) June 1994 Page B-1 Click HERE for graphic. Click HERE for graphic. Click HERE for graphic. Click HERE for graphic. Click HERE for graphic. Click HERE for graphic. Click HERE for graphic. Click HERE for graphic. BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance APPENDIX C - CALCULATING VEHICLE EMPLOYEE RATIO (VER) VER equals the number of vehicle trips summed over the survey week divided by the number of employee-days summed over the survey week, based on employees who start work during the 6:00 a.m. through 10:00 a.m. peak period. (Average vehicle ridership or AVR is the reciprocal of VER.) Employee commute mode is based upon the means of transportation used for the longest distance of the employee's home to work commute trip. The basic steps to determine net VER are as follows: 1. Calculate the total number of employee-days and vehicle trips during the survey week for the peak period employees who responded to the survey. This data is used to compute raw VER. 2. Calculate the survey response rate. 3. Apply the response rate adjustment factors to the raw VER to determine the net VER. Each day that an employee works during the survey week counts as one employee-day. Vehicle trips are the total number of home-to-work vehicle trips during the survey week in private vehicles (cars, vans, pick-ups, motorcycles, etc.). Buses, trains and bicycles do not count as vehicles for purposes of calculating VER. Carpools and vanpools: In calculating vehicle trips per employee, a carpool or vanpool equals one (1) vehicle trip divided by the number of people in the vehicle. For example, a two-person carpool counts as one employee-day and. one-half (0.5) vehicle trip for each employee. If the employees work at different work sites (or different employers), their credits are allocated to each work site: e.g. for a two-person carpool, each work site gets 0.5 vehicle trips. Survey Reporting Form B allows an employer to use default values for carpool and vanpool occupancy. The default values, based on 1990 Census data for the Bay Area and recent surveys, are 2.3 persons per carpool and 10 persons per vanpool. Telecommuting and compressed work week schedules: The VER calculation provides credits for telecommuting and for compressed work week (C schedules. Each day that an employee telecommutes (working at home or at a satellite telecommuting center), or has a CWW day off, counts as one employee-day and zero vehicle trips. For more information on credits for CWW schedules, see Appendix G. Cleanfuel credits: The rule provides credits in the VER calculation for employees who commute in private vehicles powered by clean fuels. To claim clean fuel credits, the employer must submit Survey Reporting Form D. June 1994 Page C-1 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance APPENDIX D - MULTI-SITE AVERAGING The rule provides an option for multi-site averaging in two types of situations: 1. An employer which has multiple work sites located in the same zone; or 2. Two or more employers which occupy the same work site or adjacent work sites in the same zone, subject to approval by the BAAQMD. The following conditions apply: û All work sites must be located within the same zone. û The survey data must be taken from surveys that were performed in the same survey period (i.e. spring or fall). If the survey week varies from site to site, the due date for submitting all reporting forms is the earliest due date that applies at any of the sites. û In calculating a multi-site average, the net VER data for each site must be weighted according to the number of peak period employees at the site. The main reason to perform multi-site averaging is to avoid submitting a trip reduction plan for a work site which fails to achieve the applicable VER objective. VER averaging provides an advantage when an employer has work sites with net VER results both above and below the applicable performance objective and the aggregate VER would achieve the performance objective. The employer may use any combination of work sites in the same zone to demonstrate that the performance objective is achieved on an aggregate basis. To average VER results from multiple sites: If you process your own survey forms, submit Survey Reporting Form E (the multi-site averaging calculation), as well as Survey Reporting Forms A, B, and C for each individual site. If you submit your employee survey forms to the BAAQMD for processing, submit Survey Reporting Form E (Part I only) as well as the employee survey questionnaires and a copy of Survey Reporting Form A for each site. All forms should be submitted at the same time with the questionnaires sorted by work site. Page D-1 June 1994 BAAQMD Transportation Survey Guidance APPENDIX E - RANDOM SAMPLE SURVEY A random sample survey is an option for any work site where 400 or more employees start work during the 6 a.m. through 10 a.m. peak period. Random sample surveys should reduce survey costs and produce an accurate measure of VER. However, because random surveys do not reach all employees, they are less effective than a conventional survey as a marketing tool (e.g. generating requests for carpool/vanpool matchlists). Employers with eligible work sites should weigh the pros and cons of a random sample versus a survey of all peak period employees. The random sample method applies only on an individual work site basis. An employer cannot conduct a random sample survey which covers multiple sites. However, a multi-site employer may use VER data from work sites which conduct random sample surveys to perform multi-site averaging. The random sample option is based on the premise that surveying a random cross-section of employees will provide an accurate VER result for the work site as a whole. Before selecting the sample group, the employer must develop a list of all employees who start work during the 6:00 a.m. through 10:00 a.m. peak period. The number of employees in the sample group depends upon the total number of peak period employees at the work site. The table in Section 13-1-602 of the rule provides the minimum sample size for a valid random sample. The key to performing a successful random sample survey is to: û be sure that the sample group is drawn only from employees who start work during the peak period (see page 6) û select the employees in the sample group in a truly random fashion û get the highest possible response rate among the employees in the sample group. All non-respondents in the sample group must be counted as drive alone commuters for purposes of calculating net VER. The criteria for conducting a random sample survey, including the means to select the sample group, are spelled out in Section 13-1-602 of the rule. The BAAQMD has a simple DOS-based computer program to assist employers in selecting a random sample of employees. You can obtain this program by calling (415) 749-4994. Random number tables, which are available in most standard statistics textbooks, can also be used to select the random sample. June 1994 Page E-1 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance APPENDIX F - ALTERNATIVE SURVEY METHODS This appendix describes two potential alternative methods that an employer could use to generate the data needed to calculate VER. Employers interested in using either method must receive BAAQMD approval in advance. Survey results would be reported on the Survey Reporting Forms in Appendix B. Electronic (Computerized) Survey Many employers have their employees linked in computer networks. For these companies, the employee transportation survey can be performed via an E-mail system. This option could significantly reduce the time needed to distribute and collect surveys, and to perform data entry and data analysis. Most E-mail systems attach an individual address to each employee's computer terminal which can be used to determine which employees respond to the survey. Any electronic survey system must provide an auditable record of both individual survey responses and aggregate data. For such a system to be used in place of a paper survey form, all employees at the work site who start work during the peak period must be linked to the network, or you would need to supplement the electronic survey by distributing a paper survey to any peak period employees without access to the network. Survey results must be submitted on BAAQMD Survey Reporting Forms. Employee Commute Logs Some employers offer employees a monetary incentive or similar reward for each day that they use a commute alternative. These employers typically require employees who use commute alternatives to submit a weekly or monthly record showing the commute mode they used each day. This type of system could be used to calculate VER in lieu of a conventional survey. Alternatively, employee time sheets could be designed to track daily commute mode, even if the employer does not offer monetary incentives for the use of commute alternatives. The following conditions must be met: (1) the log form must provide all the information needed to calculate VER; (2) the time frame used for the VER calculation must be representative of typical commute conditions; and (3) every peak period employee must be included. Any peak period employee who does not submit a log form will be treated as a non-respondent for purposes of calculating VER. If you want to use the "commute log" approach in lieu of a conventional survey, submit a proposal to the BAAQMD which includes a description of your system and an example of the form used to track daily employee commute mode. Page F-1 June 1994 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance APPENDIX G - CREDITS FOR COMPRESSED WORK WEEK SCHEDULES The rule provides credits for commute trips eliminated by compressed work week (C schedules. In calculating VER, the employee is credited with one employee-day and zero vehicle trips for the CWW day off. A compressed work week (CWW) is defined as "a regular full-time work schedule which eliminates at least one round-trip commute trip at least once every two weeks." For purposes of this rule, a "full-time work schedule" is considered to be at least 35 hours per week or 70 hours in a two-week period. The most common types of compressed work week schedules are 4/40 (four 10-hour work days per week), 3/36 (three 12-hour work days per week), and 9/80 (nine work days totaling 80 hours over a two-week period). A schedule whereby an employee works four 9-hour days and gets one-half day off each week (typically Friday afternoon) does not count as a compressed work week schedule for purposes of this rule because it does not eliminate any commute trips. The following policies apply in determining CWW credits: û CWW credits are only available if an employee works at least 35 hours per week, or 70 hours over a two-week period. û An employee who works a 4/40 schedule receives one day of CWW credit per week. Thus, an employee who works four 10-hour days would be counted as five employee-days during the survey week. û An employee who works a 3/36 CWW (i.e., three 12-hour days) receives two days of CWW credit per week. û Under no circumstances can an employee earn more than two days of CWW credit per week for purposes of calculating VER. û An employee who works a 9/80 schedule (i.e. nine regular work days and one CWW day off every two weeks) receives credit only if his/her regularly scheduled CWW day off falls during the survey week. û If all employees who work a 9/80 schedule have their CWW day off during the same week, the situation should be handled as follows: Contact your BAAQMD staff person and explain your CWW schedule. You should conduct the survey during the week when the CWW day off will occur. The number of CWW credits for employees working the 9/80 schedule will be divided by two to provide proper CWW credit in calculating VER. June 1994 Page G-1 BAAQMD Employee Transportation Survey Guidance û If an employee works a CWW schedule that includes a Saturday or Sunday, the employee is eligible for appropriate CWW credits during the survey week. û Employees that work continuous shifts (e.g. fire fighters who are on duty for 72 consecutive hours) are considered to be on a CWW schedule. Examples of how to deal with unusual CWW schedules are available upon request. Consult with BAAQMD staff for instruction on how to handle such situations. Page G-2 June 1994 Bay Area Quality Management District 939 Ellis Street San Francisco, CA 94109 SURVEY GUIDANCE
