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Commuter Rewards

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Community Transit's Transportation Demand Management (TDM) specialists are ready to assist with all aspects of your Employee Transportation Program.

Mark Melnyk, TDM Specialist mark.melnyk at commtrans dot org
(425) 348-2304
Coordinator for Bothell, Edmonds and Mountlake Terrace

Debbie Anderson, TDM Specialist debbie.anderson at commtrans dot org
(425) 438-6136
Coordinator for Arlington, Lynnwood, Marysville, Monroe, Mukilteo, and unincorporated Snohomish County

Commuting Smart Has Its
Benefits and Rewards

Smart Commuter Rewards is an incentive program that helps worksites motivate employees to reduce their drive-alone trips and vehicle miles traveled.

Benefit: Smart commute choices
keep business moving

Traffic congestion wastes time and money by delaying people, products and services. You help solve this problem when you choose a smart alternative to driving alone. Your efforts reduce traffic, help the environment and, more importantly, keep business moving.

Rewards: Win up to $250 and more

Smart Commuter Rewards can help you become a commuting genius. When you find alternatives to driving alone, such as carpooling, vanpooling, riding the bus, walking or bicycling, you're showing your brilliance. And to reward you for being so clever, we offer Smart Commuter Rewards participants the chance to win up to $250 per quarter. Enroll in Smart Commuter Rewards, log your trips and instantly raise your commuter IQ!

Smart Commuter Rewards is an incentive program to help worksites reach their goals to reduce drive-alone trips and vehicle miles traveled by their employees. This program is funded through a partnership with WSDOT, local governments, and businesses.

Quarterly Rewards

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Prize Level Prize* Days per Quarter
Smart Commuter of the Quarter
$250 Reward (one winner)
  • Photo on bus exterior ad, worksite posters and Community Transit website
  • Invitation to Smart Commuter Awards Luncheon (held in April)
  • Nominated for Smart Commuter of the Year
 48+
(average of four
days a week)
Genius Level
$100 Rewards (five winners)
 48+
Brilliant Level
$50 Rewards (10 winners)
 36-47
(average of three
days a week)
Clever Level
$25 Rewards (20 winners)
 24-35
(average of two
days a week)

* Rewards can be redeemed in the form of a gas card or transportation voucher. So when you win, you can choose your own way to show off your Smart Commuter IQ!

Guaranteed Smart Commuter Rewards

No winner at your worksite in any of the Smart Commuter Rewards categories? No problem. If your eligible employer has at least five Smart Commuters logging trips on RideshareOnline.com, there will be a second chance drawing for a $25 Reward to guarantee a winner at your worksite.

Second chance drawing will be held only if the worksite does not have a winner in the Clever, Brilliant, Genius or Smart Commuter of the Quarter levels. Participants must have logged at least 24 days of commute alternatives in the quarter to be eligible for the prize drawing.

How to Participate

How to Participate   Rewards   Eligibility   FAQs   Sign In
 

Step 1: Register at www.RideshareOnline.com with your work-issued email address. If you’re already registered with a personal email address, you may change that email address to your work-issued email, or create a new account with your work-issued email address. You must use a work-issued email address to qualify for Smart Commuter Rewards. If your worksite doesn’t issue email addresses, please contact your Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC).

Step 2: Associate yourself with your worksite’s network on RideshareOnline.com. All eligible employers are listed in RideshareOnline.com. If you’re not sure which worksite to list or how to find the correct network, contact your ETC for more information. You must be associated with your worksite’s network to qualify for Smart Commuter Rewards.

Step 3: If you need help finding a drive-alone alternative that suits your lifestyle and work schedule, contact your ETC or one of Community Transit’s TDM Specialists to help you plan your trip, answer questions and provide information on options like taking the bus, carpooling, vanpooling, bicycling and walking.

Step 4: Start making trips by bus, carpooling, vanpooling, bicycling or walking at least 8 days per month. You can even count teleworking or days you have off due to working a compressed work week!

Step 5: Track your trips online using your personalized RideshareOnline.com calendar. The more days you make smarter trips, the bigger prizes you can win!

Smart Commuter Rewards Participation Eligibility

1. You must be employed by and commute to a worksite in Snohomish County or City of Bothell that receives Commute Trip Reduction services from Community Transit. See eligible worksite list.

2. You must register at www.RideshareOnline.com using your work-issued email address. If your worksite doesn’t issue email addresses, please contact your Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC).

3. You must join your worksite network on www.RideshareOnline.com to qualify for Smart Commuter Rewards. If you’re not sure how to find or join your network, please contact your ETC or one of Community Transit’s TDM Specialists.

4. If you are a current Curb the Congestion participant, and from an eligible worksite, you may continue logging your commute alternative days in the Curb the Congestion calendar instead of using the RideshareOnline calendar. You will be entered in the Smart Commuter quarterly drawing at the same Reward levels and with the same qualifications. Personal trips will not be counted toward your totals; only your commute days are counted toward Smart Commuter Rewards.

5. Random drawings are conducted in each category (except Smart Commuter of the Quarter) to determine reward winners. All individuals not winning in their highest level achieved are automatically entered into lower prize levels and become eligible for prizes at those levels (i.e. non-winners in Genius Level are automatically entered into the Brilliant level, etc.).

6. The Smart Commuter of the Quarter is selected from Genius Level participants by the Peer Advisory Board using pre-determined criteria. Genius Level participants will be contacted via email to provide a brief description of their commute and other information to assist the Peer Advisory Board in selecting a winner. Genius Level participants who qualify during multiple quarters may resubmit their original commute description, providing that all the information is still accurate.

Prize Drawing Eligibility

1. To be eligible for a quarterly Smart Commuter Rewards prize drawing, eligible participants must do all of the following:

  • Make a commute trip by bus, carpool, vanpool, bicycling or walking on at least 24 days during the three calendar months that make up the quarter. Teleworking and working a compressed work week also qualify as eligible modes of "commuting."
  • Log your trips on the RideshareOnline.com calendar. Curb the Congestion participants, please see #4 above.
  • Complete your Smart Commuter Rewards calendar online no later than the last business day prior to the day of the quarterly drawing (see prize drawing dates listed below).
     

2. Quarterly data pulls are held 10 days after the end of the quarter, so all trips must be logged by that time to count toward the previous quarter. The data pulls occur on the following dates:

  • 1st Quarter (January, February and March trips): April 10
  • 2nd Quarter (April, May and June trips): July 10
  • 3rd Quarter (July, August and September trips): October 10
  • 4th Quarter (October, November and December trips): January 10
     

3. After data is collected, Smart Commuter of the Quarter qualifiers are notified and given five business days to submit their commute description. Commute descriptions are then provided to the Peer Advisory Board, who selects a winner within five business days. After the Smart Commuter of the Quarter is chosen and notified, the random reward drawing is held and all other winners are notified. See #6 below for more information on notification, reward choice and timeline.

 

4. Employees of Community Transit and their immediate family members are not eligible to win incentive prizes, however all are encouraged to register and log trips on the RideshareOnline.com calendar.



5. Continuation of incentives is dependent on the availability of funds. Community Transit may adjust program or incentive details to ensure program efficiency. Community Transit and RideshareOnline.com are not responsible for technical failures in entry transmission, or lost, late, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, illegible, or postage-due entries. Entry constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) to use prize winners’ names, worksite names, hometowns, and any text submitted for the purposes of promotion on behalf of Smart Commuter Rewards.



6. If you are selected for one of the rewards, a TDM Specialist will contact you via your provided email address to arrange the details of delivering the prize to you. If the TDM Specialist does not hear back from you after the first week, your worksite’s Employee Transportation Coordinator will be asked to follow up with you. If neither the ETC nor the reward winner follows up with the TDM Specialist within ten days from the initial reward notification email, the prize will not be awarded. This time limit is in place so as not to delay reward receipt for all other winners. Your reward will be delivered to you six to eight weeks after initial contact.

 

7. Individuals may win a maximum of four rewards per year, with a maximum reward value of $550. Any individual chosen as a Smart Commuter of the Quarter is not eligible to win that reward in any other quarter during that same year, nor are they eligible to win that reward during the next calendar year. However, they are eligible to win at all other reward levels.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Participate   Rewards   Eligibility   FAQs   Sign In
 
What is the purpose of Smart Commuter Rewards?
Reduce traffic congestion and improve quality of life by promoting transportation by bus, carpool, vanpool, bicycling, walking, teleworking and working a compressed work week.
What is a Reward?
Rewards are the prizes awarded to the winners who may select their prize in the form of a gas card or a transportation voucher that can be applied to the purchase of a transit pass or vanpool fare.
How is this program funded?
Program is funded in partnership with WSDOT, local governments, and businesses.
Who are the eligible worksites?
Eligible worksites are worksites that have partnered with Community Transit to receive Commute Trip Reduction services. Eligible worksites are located in the following jurisdictions:
  • Arlington
  • Bothell
  • Edmonds
  • Lynnwood
  • Marysville
  • Monroe
  • Mountlake Terrace
  • Mukilteo
  • Unincorporated Snohomish County
I work at an employer not listed as eligible. How do I enter?
Since only worksites that are partnering with Community Transit are eligible for Smart Commuter Rewards, you can:
  • contact Community Transit and we will contact your employer to see if they are interested in partnering with us, or
  • visit your employer’s Human Resources department to see if they would like to add an employee transportation program to your worksite benefits. Click here for more details.
Why is this program only available to partnering employers?
The partnering employers have drive-alone trip reduction goals established by their jurisdiction. Smart Commuter Rewards is an incentive program to help the worksites reach their goals in reducing drive-alone trips and vehicle miles traveled by their employees. 
How will this program work to address traffic congestion?
There is no single way to reduce congestion. Rather, a multi-faceted approach is best. Smart Commuter Rewards is part of the overall solution by increasing awareness about transportation choices, encouraging behavior change, and eliminating some of the barriers that keep people from trying an alternative to driving alone.
What is the purpose of the RideshareOnline.com calendar?
Community Transit uses the tracking calendars to:
  • confirm participant eligibility for program incentives
  • determine the number of vehicle trips removed for each worksite
  • measure increases in bus ridership, carpooling, vanpooling, bicycling and walking, teleworking and compressed work week.

The act of logging trips also helps you:
  • notice opportunities for making more of your trips by bus, carpooling, vanpooling, bicycling or walking, teleworking or working a compressed work week
  • see the money you save and the good you do for your environment. 
How will my personal information be used?
Your personal information is confidential and is only used by Community Transit to send you requested materials and incentives. Community Transit does not sell, distribute, or otherwise disseminate your information to any third party. Information given by participants, both contact information and commuting information, is kept confidential, unless authorized by you for the purposes of finding a carpool, vanpool or bicycling/walking buddies. Entry constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) to use prize winners’ names, worksite names, hometowns, and any text submitted for the purposes of promotion on behalf of Smart Commuter Rewards.
How do I receive my prize if I am a winner?
If you are selected for one of the prizes, a TDM Specialist will contact you via your provided email address to arrange the details of delivering the prize to you. If the TDM Specialist does not hear back from you after the first week, your worksite Employee Transportation Coordinator will be asked to follow up with you. You will have ten days from the initial reward notification in which to reply with your choice of reward. After this time, the TDM Specialist will choose the reward on your behalf, and arrange for it to be sent to you care of your worksite. This time limit is in place so as not to delay reward receipt for all other winners. Your reward will be delivered to you six to eight weeks after initial contact.
Are there any tax consequences for being a prize winner?
Community Transit will comply with the IRS reporting requirements for prize winners. According to  IRS instructions, a Form 1099-MISC is required for any person receiving more than $600 in prizes and awards. For those prizes where there is an issue of what the actual worth of the prize is, the IRS regulations defining the fair market value of a prize will determine whether or not a 1099-MISC is filed. Recipients of prizes qualifying for a 1099-MISC must agree to provide the information necessary for the 1099-MISC in order to receive their prize; they should expect to receive their forms in time to file their appropriate tax returns. For prizes worth less than $600, it is the recipient’s responsibility to comply with all relevant IRS income reporting guidelines.
What if I drive a hybrid vehicle?
If there is more than one person in the car for the commute, then the hybrid vehicle may count as a carpool. Driving alone in a hybrid vehicle may reduce fuel usage and emissions, but does not reduce traffic congestion. Therefore, Community Transit does not recognize hybrid use alone for prize drawing eligibility.
Why are motorcycles not included as an alternative mode?
The primary goal of the program is to remove drive-alone trips, by promoting alternatives such as bus, carpool, vanpool, bicycling and walking, and even teleworking and working a compressed work week. A motorcycle qualifies as a carpool only if more than one person is riding the same cycle.
What if I use a scooter?
Power-assisted bicycles qualify as a bicycle in this program. Motorized scooters of any type, whether meeting license requirements or not, count towards the program only when more than one person is sharing the commute, for the same reasons as listed above for motorcycles.
Are there other types of foot-powered commuting that are eligible under the “walking” category?
Yes, as long as it is a method of transportation where the foot is in contact with the ground, it is eligible in the “walking” category. This would therefore include skateboards, jogging, rollerblading and non-motorized scooters. Trips made by wheelchair are also eligible in the "walking" category, as long as the trip replaces a drive-alone vehicle trip. 
 
How do I record trips in the online calendar?
Go to the RideshareOnline.com Calendar Demonstration for a complete video demonstration of how to use your online calendar.
Resources

In addition to personalized commute assistance from a Community Transit Specialist, the following resources can help you improve your trips.

Bus
Carpool and Vanpool
  • RideshareOnline.com: Find a carpool or vanpool for your daily commute or for regional events.
Bicycling and Walking
General
  • Puget Sound Traffic Cameras: Traffic cameras for state roadways, plus information on freeway congestion, commute times, construction and closures, road conditions.