MTR 309, Parking Management Works in Minneapolis

Issue 309

March 19, 2001

Parking Management Works in Minneapolis

A recent report to the US EPA by transportation management professionals describes seven Minneapolis-St. Paul employers including American Express who implemented parking management strategies discussed in the Tri-State Transportation Campaign brochure. As a group, these businesses and government offices increased the number of employees commuting to work via transit by 47%. A few examples are described below:

The University of St. Thomas began offering its staff a $100 monthly payment to forego parking (subsidized at $137.50 per month). Twenty three percent of eligible employees gave up their parking space and took a shuttle, bus, or carpool or biked or walked, to work.

American Express Financial Advisors gave employees discounted "Metropass" bus passes for $25 a month. Aggressive promotion of the program to existing and new employees increased bus ridership from 47% of employees to 68%.

Hennepin County offered employees an additional 40% discount on bus passes, using money from payroll tax savings from their federal pre-tax transit (TransitChek or Deduct-A-Ride) and parking benefits program. The total cost for bus passes fell from $50/month to $18, inducing 650 of 11,000 eligible employees to switch to riding the bus. Read the full report at www.mplstmo.org.