Section 486.02. Definitions.

  The definitions contained in ch. NR 400 apply to the terms used in this chapter. In addition, the following definitions apply to the terms used in this chapter:

(1)  "Affected area"means Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Washington and Waukesha counties.

(2)  "Affected employee" means an employee who reports on a regular schedule to a worksite of 100 or more employees during the peak travel period.

(3)  "Affected employer" means any person, firm, business, educational institution, the state, a political subdivision of the state, the federal government, nonprofit agency or corporation, or other entity which employs a weekly average of 100 or more employees during one ozone season at a worksite within the affected area.

(4)  "Alternative means of commuting" means travel between an employee's place of residence and primary worksite other than in a vehicle occupied by one person. Alternative means of commuting include but are not limited to the use of public transit, carpools, vanpools, buspools, bicycling, walking, telecommuting and compressed work schedules which are designed to reduce the number of days per week an employee must travel to work.

(5)  "Average passenger occupancy" means the number of affected employees reporting to a worksite during the peak travel period divided by the number of vehicles in which those employees report as determined by the survey information described under s. NR 486.06 (3) .

(6)  "Base average vehicle occupancy rate" means the number of employees reporting to all employers in the affected area during the peak travel period divided by the number of vehicles in which those employees report, as determined in 1992 from travel survey results submitted by the department and approved by the U.S. environmental protection agency. The base average vehicle occupancy rate for the affected area is 1.12.

(7)  "Buspool" means a contracted bus service, usually administered by employers or employees, and typically involving limited pickup and destination stops, guaranteed seats, and advance reservations and ticket issuance.

(8)  "Carpool" means a group of 2 to 4 persons commuting to and from work in a vehicle.

(9)  "Clean fuel vehicle" means a vehicle that operates on liquid petroleum gas, methanol, compressed natural gas or electricity or which has been certified by the department as a clean fuel vehicle meeting low emission, ultra low emission or zero emission vehicle standards.

(10)  "Commuter transportation incentive or disincentive" means the financial benefits, amenities or other strategies employers develop in their employee commute options compliance plans which encourage or facilitate employees to use alternative means of commuting and which discourage single occupancy vehicle travel. Commuter transportation incentives include but are not limited to the compliance plan options described in s. NR 486.06 (2) (h) .

(11)  "Compliance plan" means the employee commute options program plan required under this chapter and described in s. NR 486.06 .

(12)  "Compressed work schedule" means a work schedule which reduces the number of days an employee is required to travel to a worksite. Examples of a compressed work schedule include but are not limited to: 4 10-hour work days per week; 3 12-hour work days per week; and 8 9-hour work days plus one 8-hour work day in a 2 week period.

(13)  "Employee" means any person who is employed by an affected employer and who reports to a worksite that is owned or operated by that employer. The term"employee" includes full-time and part-time employees, and temporary employees not substituting for absentee permanent employees, who work at least 440 hours during the ozone season, but does not include volunteers.

(14)  "Employee transportation coordinator" means a person who has completed department approved training on employee commute options and who has primary responsibility for developing and coordinating the alternative means of commuting strategies in an affected employer's compliance plan.

(15)  "Guaranteed ride home" means transportation provided by the employer for employees who rideshare when the employee experiences unforeseen overtime, emergency, illness or other situations which prevent the employee from meeting the employee's alternative means of commuting schedule.

(16)  "Peak travel period" means the time from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday to Friday.

(17)  "Public transit" means transportation by bus, shared-ride taxicab, rail, or other conveyance, either publicly or privately owned, that provides the public with general or special service on a regular and continuing basis and is a funded program under s. 85.20 , Stats.

(18)  "Target average passenger occupancy rate" means the average passenger occupancy rate which affected employers shall meet. It is the base average vehicle occupancy rate multiplied by 1.25. The target average passenger occupancy rate for the affected area is 1.4 passengers per vehicle.

(19)  "Telecommuting" means an employee working at the employee's residence using electronic communication or other means to perform job functions which would otherwise be performed at the worksite.

(20)  "Transportation allowance" means a financial fringe benefit provided by the employer which is used by an employee to purchase transportation services for commuting to the worksite.

(21)  "Vanpool" means a group of 5 or more persons commuting to and from work in a vehicle designed to carry not more than 15 adult passengers.

(22)  "Worksite" means a place of employment or base of operation of an employee within the affected area. Where places of employment or bases of operation of employees are adjacent or separated only by a private or public roadway or other private or public right-of-way, and where those places of employment or bases of operation are owned or operated by the same employer or by employers under common control as described in s. NR 486.03 (1) , those places of employment or bases of operation shall be considered a single worksite.

History: Cr. Register, September, 1993, No. 453 , eff. 10-1-93; am. (2) to (5), (9) to (11), (13), (14), (16) and (22), Register, December, 1994,No. 468 , eff. 1-1-95; correction in (10) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register, November, 1999, No. 527 .