The Go831 program aims to reduce regional traffic congestion, vehicle miles traveled, and greenhouse gas emissions by supporting commuters to trade their drive-alone trips for those that are less impactful (carpool, vanpool, transit, bike or walk), or skip the trip altogether (telework). The global pandemic drastically changed the way many people commute in the Monterey Bay Area and led to increased teleworking in the region. Mass teleworking accelerated a reduction in traffic in the region, but many businesses/ organizations were not equipped to operate remotely when the first shelter-in-place orders were enacted, and there was a steep learning curve for both employers and employees. A year and a half into the pandemic, workers are getting vaccinated, making it feasible for more employees to return to a physical worksite in 2022. Now, businesses and organizations have a new opportunity to reconstruct how and where employees work.
TAMC staff took this opportunity to create a smart commute training program aimed at providing the information employees and employers need to create smart commute plans at their places of employment. The training program includes a nine-lesson course, with one two-hour lesson each month. Two of these classes are anticipated to be in person, with the rest via videoconference.
The topics covered will be about how to use Go831.org to find and track commutes with car/van/bus/bike pools, transit, telework, walking, biking and electric vehicle use. The syllabus is attached.
The goal of the Go831Ambassador Academy is to create and maintain a group of local business ambassador liaisons. Go831 Ambassadors will learn how to utilize locally available resources to help employees use smart commute methods. The Academy aims to create a peer network of support for those who value smart commute methods locally and increase familiarity and comfort of access to complimentary community programs, representatives and resources.