When our co-founder and CEO, Matt Caywood, developed the inspiration for what would become TransitScreen, he simply wanted to be able to compare a few bus and metro options in San Francisco to be able to get to campus on time. Now, nearly a decade later, we’re providing real-time information about every type of urban transportation to commuters around the country – and the world!
Over the past few years, we’ve expanded our software products from apartment lobby-based screens, to a mobile application that gives our customers’ employees, residents and tenants access to transportation wherever they are. We’ve added new transportation choices like scooters, and features like messaging, nearby attractions, and transit service alerts. Throughout it all, we’ve been there helping people get to and from work.
Now we’re introducing our newest product, the cornerstone of a commute management solution for transportation, facilities, HR, and benefits professionals: CommuteWise.
CommuteWise helps employees choose the best door-to-door commuting option. It’s the only product that understands both your company’s commute benefits and how to communicate them with employees in the simplest, easiest possible way.
It’s the perfect tool for helping you manage the return to the office, and for managing commutes throughout the employee lifecycle. You’ll be able to apply company-wide changes to transit and parking benefits, encourage carpool and biking as alternatives to driving alone, and help employees manage flexible work schedules. We’ll be there as your offerings continue to change, creating a fully customized experience for you and your employees.
Combined with the real-time information available through our mobile app, CityMotion, your employees will have less to worry about when it’s time to come back — which means you’ll have less to worry about, too.
Here’s how it works.
Open up CommuteWise! You can include a link to our web app in your onboarding packet, employee benefits portal, company intranet, or emails you’re sending out about reopening. It will use your company’s branding — so imagine your company logo instead of Placeholder below.
Step 1: We’ll ask employees a couple simple questions about their habits — which days they usually commute to the office, where they’re coming from, which office they’re going to, and when they’ll be in the office.
These questions are particularly important for employees who may now only be working a few days a week on an adjusted schedule, or possibly coming in at different hours. What made sense as a commute from 9 – 5 may not make sense when coming in at 11 a.m. and going home at 7 p.m.
Step 2: Magic happens! CommuteWise analyzes time, cost, and information from our thousands of data sources to present employees with a selection of options specific to their commute. These options also take into account your company’s specific benefits and policies, so if you’re offering employees a $100/month subsidy, or pre-tax transit, those will be included.
CommuteWise will sort options the way you (the commute manager) choose, helping steer employees toward options you’d like them to be using. Employees can also sort by cost and time.
Step 3: Sign up! Once they select their preferred commute, CommuteWise explains how to sign up and, if applicable, links directly to benefits providers like Edenred, WageWorks, or Navia. If employees need to take further steps, like registering for a parking pass, it will walk them through those.
Step 4: Keep it going. Once employees download our mobile app, CityMotion, they’ll have access to their full commute plan on the go. This includes automatic MyCommute alerts for their chosen morning and afternoon commute times, ensuring they have all the real-time information they need to get going.
Why CommuteWise?
One of our guiding principles as a company has always been to give people exactly the information they need, when they need it. That’s why TransitScreen has real-time information in building lobbies, before people get to the train platform. And that’s why CityMotion allows you to see this information wherever you are, easily looking ahead to the next step on your commute.
With CommuteWise, you can reach employees before they’ve made any decision about how they’ll be getting to work — when the “fresh start effect” gives you the greatest ability to influence their choices. Unfortunately, the default choice for many people is driving, simply because it’s the lowest effort choice. CommuteWise can help you head off that choice before Day 1.
By providing employees with information upfront about company benefit offerings, particularly in the context of how much money they’ll save, you make it much more likely that they’ll choose transit or vanpool. Why spend $400 to park when you could take transit subsidized by your employer for free?
Why now?
With COVID-19, we’ve all been working from home. That means that upon going back to the office (whenever that may be), companies are going to have to re-onboard every employee.
Between not commuting for three or four months, and a hesitation toward crowded trains or buses, employees are likely to want to drive. For HR and commute management teams looking to avoid this scenario (especially in cities where TDM laws require staying below a certain level of driving, or where the cost of employer-provided parking is prohibitive), CommuteWise helps employees choose the safest, most sustainable option available.
Our full product suite can help you achieve your goals of a safe and sustainable commute. Once your employees are all set up via CommuteWise, they’ll be able to download CityMotion and receive alerts (and messages from you!) about mobility options every morning before work. Whether the problem is service interruptions on the train or temporary office capacity restrictions, they’ll be in-the-know.
If you’re in the process of planning your return-to-work strategy, reach out by clicking “Request Demo” above. We’d love to hear about your return-to-work commute and find ways to be helpful. Your employees will be glad you did.
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