Section 486.06. Employee commute options compliance plans and surveys.

 

(1)   Compliance plan submittal.

(a) Affected employers shall complete and submit compliance plans to the department using forms provided by the department.

(b) Separate worksites of the same affected employer which are within 2 miles of each other may submit a combined compliance plan upon prior approval of the department.

(c) Two or more affected employers may submit a combined compliance plan upon prior approval of the department for separate worksites which are located within 2 miles of each other. Each affected employer submitting a combined compliance plan shall comply with sub. (2) (b) .

(2)   Components of a compliance plan. The department's bureau of air management shall provide general guidance to assist employers in understanding the requirements of the employee commute options program, including guidance related to the completion of forms that must be submitted as part of an affected employer's compliance plan. The compliance plans submitted to the department under this chapter shall include the following information:

(a) The name and address of the worksite or worksites, and the names and addresses of the employee transportation coordinator or other personnel who will be responsible for compliance plan development and implementation.

(b) A letter to the department signed by the chief executive officer or the highest ranking official at the worksite certifying the accuracy of the information in the compliance plan and a commitment to implement the alternative means of commuting in the compliance plan approved by the department.

(c) Documentation indicating that the employee transportation coordinator has completed a department approved training program and any subsequent training as may have been required by the department.

(d) Documentation of the number of employees employed at the worksite or worksites, using forms prescribed by the department.

(e) A calculation of the worksite average passenger occupancy rate using the results of the survey required under sub. (3) .

(f) A profile of worksite employee characteristics as they pertain to the development of the compliance plan using forms prescribed by the department.

(g) A profile of the worksite transportation access characteristics using forms prescribed by the department.

(h) An employer plan for providing alternative means of commuting incentives or single occupancy vehicle commuting disincentives or both to its employees which are sufficient to achieve or maintain the target average passenger occupancy rate by November 15, 1996 or within 2 years of the employer's initial compliance plan submittal if it is due after November 15, 1994. The employer shall include a time schedule for implementing the commuter transportation incentives or disincentives or both which will promote alternative means of commuting by its employees. The schedule may include contingency strategies and trial periods to test alternative means of commuting. The alternative means of commuting strategies shall be in effect throughout the year. Employers may augment the strategies in an approved compliance plan during the ozone season. The alternative means of commuting strategies may include one or more of the following commuter transportation incentives or disincentives or other strategies approved by the department:

1. Establishment of a transportation allowance policy which provides financial incentives for employees to choose alternative means of commuting.

2. A parking fee structure or preferential parking policy or both for employees which encourages alternative means of commuting and discourages single occupancy vehicle trips.

3. Financial or fringe benefit incentives for using buspools, carpools and vanpools and for walking or biking to the worksite.

4. Subsidies for employee use of public transit or buspools.

5. Establishment of employer buspool, carpool and vanpool information and matching programs and coordination with similar public programs.

6. Employer sponsored vehicles for buspool, carpool and vanpool commuting, work related travel and employee personal travel needs.

7. A guaranteed ride home program for employees.

8. Telecommuting and work at home options for employees.

9. Promotion of compressed work schedules for employees.

10. Facility improvements which promote biking and walking to work by employees.

11. Promotion of flexible work schedules which facilitate the use of alternative means of commuting.

12. Promotion of the use of clean fuel vehicles for commuting.

13. Dissemination of general information to employees on the environmental, financial and other benefits of alternative means of commuting.

14. Provision of worksite amenities which promote the use of alternative means of commuting.

15. Assessment by survey or other means of the types of alternative means of commuting incentive and disincentive strategies employees feel would most likely result in attaining and maintaining the target average passenger occupancy rate.

16. Promotion of programs and policies which encourage employees to reside close to their worksite.

(3)   Average passenger occupancy survey requirements. Affected employers shall determine the average passenger occupancy by conducting a survey of affected employees using forms and methods provided or approved by the department. The survey shall be taken over a consecutive 5 day period which begins on Monday and which does not include a holiday, follow a week which includes a Friday holiday, or precede a week which includes a Monday holiday. Surveys which are used to demonstrate compliance with the target average passenger occupancy rate shall be taken during the ozone season. The employer shall tabulate and report the results of the survey to the department for each worksite and include the following information:

(a) The number of affected employees reporting to the worksite during the peak travel period on each day of the Monday through Friday workweek and the number of affected employees absent, having a scheduled day off due to a compressed work schedule, working at home or reporting to an alternative worksite.

(b) The number of affected employees using each mode of travel in commuting to work during the peak travel period, including the use of single occupancy vehicles, public transit, buspooling, carpooling or vanpooling, clean fueled vehicles and other alternative means of commuting. The following guidelines shall apply to the computation of the average passenger occupancy for each survey day:

1. An employee who reports to the worksite alone in a vehicle not considered a clean fuel vehicle shall be counted as one person reporting to the worksite in one vehicle.

2. An employee who reports in a carpool or vanpool shall be counted as reporting to the worksite in a fraction of a vehicle proportionate to the number of people sharing a ride to their worksite.

3. An employee who reports by public transit or buspool shall be counted as one person reporting to the worksite in zero vehicles.

4. An employee telecommuting or working at home and who does not commute to the worksite shall be counted as one person reporting to the worksite in zero vehicles.

5. An employee working full-time on a compressed work schedule shall be counted as one person reporting to the worksite on their compressed weekday off in zero vehicles.

6. An employee who reports to the worksite by walking or riding a nonmotorized bicycle from the employee's residence shall be counted as one person reporting to the worksite in zero vehicles.

7. An employee who transfers to a carpool, vanpool, buspool or public transit vehicle at a transit or rideshare collection point or to a bicycle or to walking shall make the transfer a minimum of 2 miles from the worksite in order to be counted as reporting to the worksite in a carpool, vanpool, buspool or public transit vehicle, or by walking or bicycling. If the transfer point is less than 2 miles from the worksite, the employee shall be counted as reporting to the worksite according to the mode of travel to the transfer point.

8. An employee who reports to the worksite in a clean fuel vehicle shall be counted as one person reporting to the worksite in a fraction of a vehicle according to a formula prescribed by the department.

9. An employee who reports to the worksite in a vehicle that is continuing to another worksite shall be counted as one person reporting to the worksite in accordance with subd. 2.

History: Cr. Register, September, 1993, No. 453 , eff. 10-1-93; am. (1) (b), (c), (2) (intro.), (3) (intro.), (b) (intro.), 7. and 8., Register, December, 1994, No. 468 , eff. 1-1-95.

Note

The forms referred to in this section are available on request from the following address: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Air Management, Employee Commute Options Program, PO Box 7921, Madison WI 53707. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1