DRCOG’s ‘Go-Tober 2024’ employers rack up 205,204 miles of sustainable commuting 

DRCOG’s ‘Go-Tober 2024’ employers rack up 205,204 miles of sustainable commuting 

The Way to Go program at the Denver Regional Council of Governments wrapped the 2024 Go-Tober Company and Commuter Challenge with participation from 78 companies and 914 individuals. Together, participants traveled an estimated 205,204 miles (the equivalent of going around the Earth eight times) by modes other than driving alone, saving approximately 75 tons of carbon from being released into the environment. Read on to find out who won and what the prizes are! 

Congratulations to this year's winners:

  • XL (2,001 employees or more): Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment   

  • L (501-2,000 employees): Denver Museum of Nature and Science   

  • M (101-500 employees): PCL Construction   

  • S (51-100 employees): Shopworks Architecture   

  • XS (1-50 employees): Pet Sustainability Coalition 

Go-Tober rewards employers during October for making it easier for their staff to choose eco-friendly travel options like carpooling, teleworking, vanpooling, biking, walking or taking transit – all to decrease the Denver region’s traffic congestion and carbon emissions. 

“We had amazing participation for this year’s Go-Tober Challenge,” said Nisha Mokshagundam, Way to Go Program Manager. “We had more than 20,000 trips tracked on MyWayToGo.org, with biking and telework the top two ways to improve our air quality and tackle traffic congestion. It just goes to show the enthusiasm and commitment our Denver area companies have to encourage eco-friendly commuting for their employees.”   

Prizes for employers & employees

Organizations signed up and earned points each time their employees logged non-solo driving trips on MyWayToGo.org or the CommuteTracker app. Then, each participating employer was ranked on the online leaderboard. The top business in each size category will be featured in an ad on the Denver Business Journal website in November.

Weekly prizes for individuals who tracked trips included complimentary tickets to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Denver Zoo, Bustang ride vouchers, a Topo Designs bag, a Po Campo trunk bag, a coffee package from Purple Door Coffee, and REI water bottles. One grand prize winner was selected to win six complimentary tickets to Meow Wolf, and all participants who tracked at least one eco-friendly trip received a free audiobook credit courtesy of Libro.fm.  

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Transit Benefits Will Boost Denver Employees’ Morale, Retention Rate 

Transit Benefits Will Boost Denver Employees’ Morale, Retention Rate

Today, employees aren’t just looking for a job that pays. They want a company that values their time and work-life balance. One simple benefit can decrease commute costs, increase their productivity, and show you care about their free time: an RTD EcoPass. 

RTD’s EcoPass program works with your company, whether you want to completely cover an employee’s transit, pay for part of it, or allow them to pay with pre-tax dollars. Transit benefits can save you money, too! For the tax year 2024, you can receive a 50% tax credit on purchasing employee transit passes. 

A reliable way to work

If you’re hoping to fill more desks at the office, a transit pass program can encourage employees to work in-person more often. Transit benefits could even reduce your turnover: in 2018, staffing company Robert Half found that 23% of workers have quit their jobs because of a bad commute. In the same survey, Denver appeared as one of the cities where commutes have worsened most since 2013. Don’t lose your workers to the road rage, especially when a transit benefit is cheaper than hiring! 

By taking transit to work, your employees can regain more of their free time by reducing their commute and relaxing while on the train. With more time to themselves and less road stress, their productivity and job satisfaction will increase.  

Photo by Emmanuel Appiah on Unsplash

Hello, new recruits

By offering a transit pass program, companies show they care about their workers’ lives outside the office. It’s a great talking point for employers to present a modern, welcoming company culture—and it helps toward your environmental initiatives!  

Encouraging the use of transit increases an employee’s connection to their neighborhood and shows that the employer is invested in their local area. A free or discounted transit pass also encourages your employees to explore for a better lunch spot or other fun spaces near the office, building rapport between teams and contributing to a vibrant office culture. Nothing says “you’ll love working here” like a group of smiling workers on their way back from a lunch trip. 

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Keep your benefits competitive

Top local employers like DaVita and the University of Denver already offer EcoPass to their employees. Denver was recently named the top metro area for pay growth, hiring rate, and new hire wages, and offering transit is the extra mile that counts toward recruitment. Help your company stand out from the crowd by offering a transit benefit.  

In a city with hybrid taxis, recyclable cups at the basketball stadium, and the Waste No More ordinance requiring buildings and construction to offer recycling, it’s a given that your employees and recruits will care about their environment. Offering transit passes will show you match their concerns, marking your company as a conscious and connected employer. 

Our team at Transportation Solutions is ready to share your RTD pass options and answer questions about the EcoPass program. Share your company’s info here to help us find the best benefits for you. Even if you’re not the main decision-maker at your place of employment, we can help get a conversation started.  

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Denver Companies Use This to Increase Productivity, Decrease Emissions

Denver Companies Use This to Increase Productivity, Decrease Emissions

Your chance is coming up: the Go-Tober 2024 challenge is almost here! Way to Go’s yearly transit and carpooling challenge helps companies improve employee morale, get more workers in the office, and get in a little free advertising.  

Denver employers of all sizes are encouraged to join the challenge now on the Way to Go website. Benefits include: 

  • Prizes for employees who use transit or carpooling on their commute. 
  • Free media coverage for the top employers in 5 size categories, from 1-50 up to 2,000+. 
  • Higher productivity from engaged employees with more incentives to head to work.  
  • Reduced CO2 emissions in your city and a better climate-conscious reputation.  
Image credit: Adobe Stock

Go-Tober gets your workforce connected

Go-Tober isn’t just getting to work: eco-friendly and active commutes help employees connect to their neighborhood, coworkers, and the city. When biking or taking local transit, employees can exercise more and experience Denver’s beautiful views. By taking the Go-Tober challenge, employers can create a culture of employee satisfaction and work-life balance.  

The #WaytoGoTober Instagram hashtag is full of happy workers: @vtburninator gushed that taking transit “makes my commute easy, reliable, and provides me plenty of time to catch up on work + listen to the Hamilton soundtrack!” 

Carpooling makes for better teamwork, too: by connecting with colleagues who live nearby and depending on each other to get to work, your employees will form stronger relationships inside the office, which increases retention and productivity. 

Any way you slice it, employees benefit from Go-Tober commutes. They’ll be able to track how much time and money they’ve saved when recording trips, plus enter to win prizes! By encouraging employees to participate, companies show they value workers’ satisfaction, health, and local community

Join the green wave in Denver

Inside or out of the environmental industry, Denver and Glendale organizations benefit from going green. Especially in Denver, this year’s #2 city in the U.S. for climate-friendly policies (as measured by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy,) it pays in recruiting and retention to show your environmental side. With 1 in 3 employers bracing for higher turnover in 2024, staying relevant on this issue can make all the difference.  

Denver is one of the few cities in the U.S. with a city agency working solely to combat climate change. Local voters banded together in 2020 to create an Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency by increasing their sales tax. That voter base is made up of Denver workers—show you share their concerns by incentivizing a clean commute. 

These benefits are just the cherry on top of free media coverage for the 5 winning companies. Go–Tober is here to help your employee morale, and don’t worry—we’ve got all the logistics sorted out. Sign up for the challenge now to start getting all the info! 

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