We ve compiled some of the best web sites for employee transportation coordinators to help you with your rideshare programs.

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1 We're nearing the end of another year, a time to reflect back on some of the great (& even not so great) memories of So we asked ETCs: "In terms of your rideshare program, what are you going to remember most about 2008?" Here s what they had to say. Orange County ETC Meeting Dec. 9 Toy and canned food "drives" More Events Keep your AVR high by avoiding rideshare "drop outs" We ve compiled some of the best web sites for employee transportation coordinators to help you with your rideshare programs. What s your traffic IQ? CommuteSmart.info Take the test at Huell Howser s blog at Southern California Rail Learn the difference between Metrolink and Metro Rail. IRS raises the cap on vanpool and transit fringe benefits Los Angeles County voters approve half-cent sales tax California economy loses $28 billion yearly due to pollution Gas prices go down but OCTA ridership is up CHP offers foul-weather driving tips Get news geared to commuters that you can forward to employees or incorporate into your own rideshare newsletter.

2 We're nearing the end of another year, a time to reflect back on some of the great (& even not so great) memories of So we asked ETCs: "In terms of your rideshare program, what are you going to remember most about 2008?" Here s what they had to say: "What I m going to remember most is how great it was the first time I saw all of our reserved carpool spaces full." Bonnie J. Oakleaf, Automobile Club of Southern California "My best memory was the rideshare event we had in October, my first one here at IKEA. I put up a big map of LA County the one with all the bus and rail routes on it and had people put a stickpin where they lived. Everyone wanted to see what was going on. It was very successful." L. Sue Clemons, IKEA "For me, it was watching as many of our employees began to consider transit for the first time in their lives. And to hear back from them how pleasantly surprised they were. Even now as gas prices drop they choose to stay with transit. In a way the gas crunch was the pivotal force behind their interest...but it was the good experiences that kept them coming back." Rhonda L. Wilkinson, DIRECTV "We were finally able to meet the AVR (first time I believe)." Mary Anne Rubio, OPI Products Inc. "I was very happy that one of our carpooler's won an 'Amazing' prize from the Rideshare Challenge this year! Both he and I were thrilled and I took his picture and posted an announcement through our Intranet for all employees to see." Tami Martinez, Eastern Municipal Water District "...The rise in gas prices for the month of July ADP had 30 associates register in our rideshare program!" Gail Allen, ADP San Dimas "The most memorable moment was the excitement created by Rideshare Week. We gave away $500 to one of our employees, and he was just jazzed." Ray Miranda, Southern California Orthopedic Institute "In 2008, we switched from conducting our survey using paper to conducting our survey electronically. With over 600 employees, this made my job in collecting all the information, gathering up-to-date status reports, and sharing our progress on the survey with our staff so much easier." Angelica Loftin, California Department of Justice "The best part was helping employees save time, money, stress, and wear and tear on their vehicles. The worst part was seeing a potential vanpool slip away because nobody wanted to be the lead driver." Leo A. Maunu, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center "The increase in the number of electric vehicles on city streets and on major freeways and requests coming in to the city for charging stations." Judi Masuda, City of Pasadena "Handing out Metro Reward envelopes and seeing the look on the employee's face when they open the envelope and see that it's a Target gift card. They immediately start telling me that the gift card couldn't have arrived at a better time because they could really use that money to buy detergent, milk, etc., that their family needed. I've heard this a lot this past year - financial times have been hard for a lot of folks." Iris Norsworthy, Kaiser Permanente Photos of bus riders and cyclist Farmers Ins. Group/Filet

3 Here we ve compiled some of the best web sites for employee transportation coordinators to help you with your rideshare programs. Save this list or bookmark your favorite sites. Rideshare Agencies Rideshare help for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, commutesmart.info Metro Commute Services, metro.net Orange County Transportation Authority Commuter Solutions, octa.net/rideshare Riverside County Transportation Commission (Inland Empire Commuter Services), rctc.org/commuter_services San Bernardino Associated Governments (Inland Empire Commuter Services), sanbag.ca.gov/commuter/rideshare Ventura County Transportation Commission, goventura.org Air Districts South Coast Air Quality Management District (Rule 2202), aqmd.gov Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (Rule 211), vcapcd.org Associations & Professional Development Association for Commuter Transportation (national), actweb.org ACT Southern California chapter, act-southernca.org National Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Clearinghouse, post your question to more than 1,000 TDM specialists, nctr.usf.edu/clearinghouse Women s Transportation Seminar, wtsinternational.org Workshops, listing at commutesmart.info/employerservices/training Agencies & Organizations Automobile Club of Southern California (includes gas price info), aaa-calif.com California Air Resources Board, arb.ca.gov Caltrans, dot.ca.gov Department of Motor Vehicles, dmv.ca.gov Commuter Choice Links and information for commuter tax benefits, commuterchoice.com Events Bike to Work Day (May), californiabikecommute.com California Rideshare Week (October), see Rideshare Agencies above Earth Day, April 22, earthday.org National Employee Health & Fitness Day (May), physicalfitness.org National Transportation Week (May), ntweek.org World Environment Day, June 7, unep.org Transit American Public Transportation Association, apta.com Antelope Valley Transit Authority, avta.com Foothill Transit, foothilltransit.org Los Angeles Department of Transportation, ladottransit.com Metro, metro.net Metrolink, metrolinktrains.com OCTA, octa.net Omnitrans, omnitrans.org Riverside Transit Agency, riversidetransit.com Southern California regional transit routing, commutesmart.info VCTC, goventura.org Carpooling Caltrans HOV reports and maps, dot.ca.gov/dist07/resources/hov Carpool ridematching, commutesmart.info/mycommute/findaride Rideshare bulletin board (temporary rides), commutesmart.info/rideexchange Vanpooling Enterprise Vanpool, vanpool.com VPSI Commuter Vanpool, vpsiinc.com Metro Vanpool Program Seat Finder (LA County), gometrovanpool.net/seatfinder Vanpool Seat Finder (Southern California), commutesmart.info/mycommute/findaride Telecommuting American Telecommuting Association, yourata.com Telework Advisory Group of WorldatWork, workingfromanywhere.org Telework Coalition, telcoa.org Bicycling Bike routing, bikemetro.com California Bicycle Coalition, calbike.org League of American Bicyclists, bikeleague.org Rules for bikes on Metro, metro.net/riding%5fmetro/bikes

4 IRS raises the cap on vanpool and transit fringe benefits As of Jan. 1, 2009, employers will be able to offer their commuters transit and vanpool benefits tax-free up to $120 up from the current $110 cap (per IRS rule 132(f)). The monthly limitation for qualified parking will be $230. For details, see irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp pdf Los Angeles County voters approve half-cent sales tax On Nov. 4, voters approved Measure R, a half-cent sales tax in Los Angeles County that will finance transportation improvement projects everything from fixing potholes to major highway construction. It will take effect July 2009 and is expected to generate $40 billion over 30 years. For more information, including a list of planned projects, go to metro.net. California economy loses $28 billion yearly due to pollution The California economy loses about $28 billion each year due to premature deaths and illnesses linked to poor air quality, according to a recent study by Cal Sate Fullerton. In the South Coast Air Basin, the cost of air pollution is more than $1,250 per person per year, which alone would translate into almost $22 billion in savings if federal ozone and fine particle standards were met, the study claims. You can download the full study at aqmd.gov Gas prices go down but OCTA ridership is up Gas prices may have dropped but bus and Metrolink ridership continued to soar in Orange County. The Orange County Transportation Authority recently experienced a milestone with 6.3 million boardings in October the highest in the agency s 36-year history. Metrolink service also saw an increase in ridership with an 11% jump compared to last year. According to an analysis from the American Public Transportation Association, commuters in Orange County can save an average of nearly $650 a month by taking OCTA s bus system or more than $7,500 a year. For more information, go to octa.net CHP offers foul-weather driving tips Winter is around the corner, and that means rain, sleet, high winds and perhaps snow and fog. The California Highway Patrol offers these tips for staying safe on the road in bad weather: Many crashes are caused by driving too fast for current conditions, so slow down. Stay aware of weather and road condition reports through your local media (CommuteSmart.info posts both real-time traffic and weather condition updates). Check to see that your windshield wipers are in good condition and don t forget the law that requires you to have your headlights on any time your windshield wipers are on continuously. If you encounter fog, again, slow down, and drive with your lights on low beam. For more tips, go to chp.ca.gov

5 It sometimes happens: Thanks to your hard work, you've signed on a lot of new ridesharers only to see your average vehicle ridership (AVR) rate stay the same or even drop because so many current ridesharers quit. "The truth is, a certain number of drop-outs is inevitable," says Judy Leon with Orange County Transportation Commission Commuter Solutions. "But there are things you can do to retain as many ridesharers as possible." Here, the experts at CommuteSmart.info offer these tips: 1. Offer rewards and prizes. Set up a points system where they earn rewards based on how often they rideshare or hold regular prize raffles for program participants. 2. Enroll in clubs. Depending on where your work site and/or employees are located, your employees may qualify to join special clubs that offer discounts and gift cards to regular ridesharers details are at commutesmart.info/employerservices/incentives 3. Hold special events for ridesharers only. While some of your outreach will be geared to recruit new riders, occasionally hold a special event just for people that already rideshare. It serves as a reminder you appreciate all they do plus while they re gathered in one place, you can talk about any program updates. 4. Offer perks. Those little "extras" like preferential parking and days off with pay for ridesharers have a big impact on encouraging people to continue. 5. Give recognition. Hand out awards, such as "Carpooler of the Month" or awards based on greenhouse gases or miles reduced. If possible, present them in front of senior management so staff knows that their bosses will hear about their contributions to the company. 6. Help fill seats. When one person quits carpooling, you lose two carpoolers if the partner doesn't find someone else. Make sure staff knows that you'll help them find a new carpool partner if they need one and same goes for vanpools, which can sometimes fold if too many empty seats drive fares up. 7. Don't let a temporary break become permanent. Be especially watchful during peak "drop out" times. Holidays, back to school time, office relocations any time that employees' regular schedules are uprooted there's a risk that they'll revert to driving alone. Refer carpoolers and vanpoolers to the Ride Exchange at CommuteSmart.info where they can post temporary vacancies or find a seat if their regular carpool partner is traveling or on vacation. 8. Stay informed when staffers move. Coordinate with human resources to make sure you hear about any changes in home location. That way, you can match ridesharers up with a new arrangement if their old one no longer works. 9. Remind ridesharers of the benefits. Once ridesharing becomes routine, it s easy to forget how much better it is than driving alone. Send out regular reminders about the benefits, including less stress, gas savings, and so on. 10. Tell them you re grateful. Never underestimate the power of the words "thank you."

6 Many people think they re the same thing, but they re not each serves a unique need for commuters. Here, we compare and contrast these two Southern California rail lines: Metro Rail Metrolink Metro Rail services Los Angeles County and includes the Metro Red, Blue, Green, Purple Orange, Gold and upcoming Expo lines. Metrolink is regional rail service serving Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura and north San Diego counties. Operated by: Metro Operated by: The Southern California Regional Rail Authority Metro Rail runs on electrical lines attached to each car. Metro Rail lines traverse city streets, highways and include subway, making frequent stops to accommodate shorter distance commuters as well as reaching as far as the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, South Bay, Long Beach and points inbetween. Fares: Metro Rail fares are $1.25 one-way (per line with an additional fee required to transfer between Metro Rail lines), $5 for an unlimited day pass, or are included as part of the Metro monthly transit pass that also includes bus. Metro fares do not transfer to Metrolink, but certain forms of Metro fare (such as EZ pass) can allow for unlimited travel on bus. Ticket types: One-way fare, Metro Day Pass, TAP electronic fare card, EZ monthly transit pass that provides service on Metro Bus as well as other participating providers Trains run regularly 4 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, with more frequent service during weekday peak hours; Metro also offers a 12 minute map showing lines that run every 12 minutes. Specials: Metro riders can get discounts at participating venues when they show a Metro ticket or pass ( destination discounts listed at metro.net). Metrolink runs locomotive trains on existing tracks, traveling at speeds up to 90 miles per hour. The double-decked rail cars, which each carry more than 300 people, are designed to accommodate longer-distance commuters and include amenities like bathrooms and tables where riders can put their laptops. Fares: Metrolink fares are calculated with a distance-based formula the shorter the distance, the less the fare. For example, a regular, weekday one-way ticket from Sylmar to Glendale is $6.50; to go all the way from Sylmar to Oceanside would be $ In Los Angeles County, Metrolink ticket holders can transfer at no charge to Metro bus and rail, as well as 25 transit providers participating in EZ Pass. Ticket types: one-way, round-trip, 10-trip, monthly pass Metrolink operates on a schedule primarily geared to handle commuter traffic; Metrolink typically does not operate on major holidays. Specials: There is discounted weekend service on some lines and special trains to events such as the LA County Fair. Ventura County Fair and Poppy Festival. Contact: COMMUTE, metro.net Contact: LINK, metrolinktrains.com

7 EVENTS Orange County ETC Network Meeting and Breakfast: Developing Your Green Business Strategy-Rideshare Week Wrap-Up and Telecommute Presentation at Original Mike's in Santa Ana is Dec. 9, 8:30-11:30 a.m. For details, contact Judy Leon at OCTA at , Free Rides on Metro and OCTA Rides on Metro Rail and buses will be free Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Dec. 25), and New Year s Eve, Dec. 31 from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Jan. 1); Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) will also offer free rides New Year's Eve (contact OCTA for specific hours). For details, call COMMUTE Festival of Lights & Shopping Riverside Transit Agency express bus to Festival of Lights runs Dec. 6, 13 and 20 for $4 round-trip, and a free trolley to area shopping centers runs Dec and Dec Call or go to riversidetransit.com Toy and canned food "drives" continue this month, including: Antelope Valley "Stuff a Bus," , avta.com Metrolink Toy Express, LINK, metrolinktrains.com Norwalk Transit "Stuff a Bus," , norwalk.ca.us Omnitrans Spark of Love Toy Drive, omnitrans.org Santa Monica Big Blue Bus food drive, , bigbluebus.com NETWORK MEETINGS Coachella Valley ETC Network meets bi-annually; call IECS4HELP. Glendale TMA meets regularly; call Orange County Network meets regularly; call or commuterconnection@octa.net Pasadena TMA meets Dec. 9; call John Miranda at Riverside County ETC Network meets tri-annually; call IECS4HELP. San Bernardino County ETC Network meets tri-annually; call IECS4HELP. Santa Monica ETC Network meets regularly; call South Bay/Westside TMA meets monthly; contact Christina Corrales at , christina_corrales@equityoffice.com Torrance Transportation Network meets regularly; call Kim Fuentes at Warner Center TMO meets monthly; call TRAINING Metro Commute Services requires employers to attend a briefing 60 days prior to their AQMD submittal date. Upcoming briefings are Jan. 14, 9:30-11:30 a.m. and Feb. 11, 1-3 p.m. For more information or to reserve a space, blanchardd@metro.net South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) offers one-day ETC training for $ Upcoming session is Dec. 4 at AQMD offices in Diamond Bar. Contact Lisa Van Sornsen, vansornsen@aqmd.gov or the AQMD's training program at etctraining@aqmd.gov or visit AQMD aqmd.gov COMMUTESMART NEWS Editor/Writer: Jill Smolinski Art Director: Harlan West For subscription information or to change your COMMUTESMART NEWS address, contact your representative at the rideshare office nearest you. Metro Commute Services One Gateway Plaza MS Los Angeles, CA Business: OCTA s Commuter Solutions 550 S. Main St., Orange, CA Mailing address: PO Box Orange, CA Business: Ventura County Transportation Commission 950 County Square Dr., Ste. 207, Ventura, CA Business: , ext. 119 Inland Empire Commuter Services Office location: 7355 Magnolia Ave. Riverside, CA Mailing address: PO Box Riverside, CA Business: IECS4HELP ( ) Commuter Infomation COMMUTE ( ) commutesmart.info HWDS /08 Photo of Metro rider above, Farmers Ins. Group/Filet