County of Santa Clara
Employee Services Agency
79010 A
DATE:
February 23, 2016
TO:
Board of Supervisors
FROM:
John P. Mills, Deputy County Executive
SUBJECT: Report Back on Rideshare Benefit Program for County Employees
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Under advisement from September 15, 2015 (Item No. 11): Receive report relating to a
Rideshare/Carpool Benefit program for County employees to use for commuting. (Employee
Services Agency)
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
There is no impact to the County General Fund as a result of receiving this report.
CONTRACT HISTORY
Not applicable.
REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION
At the Board of Supervisors’ meeting on September 15, 2015, Agenda Item No. 11,
Supervisor Yeager referred to the Administration to research opportunities to use a thirdparty carpool program to encourage employees to carpool. By encouraging employees to
carpool, the County can help ease regional congestion on the roads, reduce the amount of
parking spaces needed at County facilities, and decrease commute costs to employees. The
Board directed staff to research companies offering services within Santa Clara County, the
costs associated with each provider, and to make a recommendation as to which
department(s) would oversee the program.
Today’s rideshare/carpool programs use innovative technology to match drivers and
passengers. Options include either a closed-network program, where County employees
would only be matched with each other, or a limited open-network, where County employees
may also be matched to rideshare with employees from neighboring businesses with similar
commutes. The Administration researched the following ridesharing companies offering
services within Santa Clara County: RideAmigos, Zimride, Müv, and Scoop. All of the
vendors researched offer closed or limited open-networks that would require users to register
and have their identities verified with a valid County email address. Some carpool vendors
check the driving record of participants who register to drive, and some vendors provide
Board of Supervisors: Mike Wasserman, Cindy Chavez, Dave Cortese, Ken Yeager, S. Joseph Simitian
County Executive: Jeffrey V. Smith
Page 1 of 4
users the ability to rate each other on their carpool experiences. All of the vendors
researched would assist the County in promoting the program, provide user feedback reports
to the County, and all of the vendors researched except for Zimride can provide various
levels of utilization data to County staff for analysis.
Rideshare/Carpool Programs
 RideAmigos is a trip planning application and website for carpooling, vanpooling, public
transit, biking, and walking. Rideshare costs are privately negotiated and exchanged
between users. Users are able to send instant messages and posts to each other to aid with
trip planning.
 Zimride, a subsidiary of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, provides a private website to connect
users with similar commutes. The program allows users to create a simple commuter
profile that is used to match employees with similar commutes. Rideshare costs are
privately negotiated and exchanged between users.
 Müv is an application that connects users, either scheduled or on-demand, who travel in
the same direction. Drivers set the cost to rideshare, and passengers can make secure
mobile payments through the application. The typical rideshare cost is $0.30 per mile
with 80% being paid to the driver and Müv receiving 20%.
 Scoop is an application that first attempts to match riders with their coworkers. If the
application is unable to find a good match between coworkers, it would then match riders
with users from a neighboring business. Passenger costs are calculated at a flat rate by
distance, and secure mobile payments are made through the application. Scoop receives
$1.00 of user cost for each trip. Passengers are also eligible for Scoop’s Guaranteed Ride
Home Program if the driver of their morning commute cancels their ride home from work.
Estimated Rideshare/Carpool Program Costs
Vendor
Costs to the County
RideAmigos $14,000-$17,000 annually.
Cost to Riders
Rideshare costs are privately negotiated
between users.
Zimride
$12,000 annually, plus a one-time Rideshare costs are privately negotiated
startup cost of $2,500 to create a between users.
customized website for County
employees.
Müv
$15,000 annually.
Drivers set rideshare costs. Müv
receives 20% of rider cost for each trip.
Scoop
No annual County cost.
Passenger costs are calculated at a flat
rate by distance. Scoop receives $1 of
rider cost for each trip.
In order to be successful, all of the rideshare options researched would require County staff
resources to actively promote the program to County employees. For example, the County of
Board of Supervisors: Mike Wasserman, Cindy Chavez, Dave Cortese, Ken Yeager, S. Joseph Simitian
County Executive: Jeffrey V. Smith
Agenda Date: February 23, 2016
Page 2 of 4
Alameda employs a full-time Sustainability Project Manager, and, at times, also employs a
full-time intern in the General Services Agency to administer their employee rideshare
benefits program, including program communication and promotion, evaluation and
reporting, and oversight of its contract with the vendor.
If implemented, it is recommended that the Facilities and Fleet Department (FAF) administer
the County’s employee rideshare program. FAF currently administers the County’s Carpool
Program, which includes processing carpool applications, distributing carpool permits, and
monitoring user compliance of carpool program rules. Upon implementation of this
program, FAF may wish to study and reevaluate the allocation of employee general permit
and carpool permit parking spaces available at County facilities.
One of the challenges to an effective carpool program is the unintended consequence related
to the size of the County fleet. An increase in carpool riders may require more assigned and
pool fleet vehicles to accommodate transportation demand as employees conduct business
throughout the County. As noted in the semi-annual fleet report, the size of the County pool
fleet has consistently been reduced.
FAF could work with the vendor to provide utilization reports comparing the number of
active participants to the number of County employees that register for the program,
statistical reports on average commute times and costs, and environmental impact reports on
the levels of emissions being released into the air. The Employee Services Agency could
promote the employee rideshare program to all new hires as part of its current onboarding
process and assist with Countywide communications.
Next Steps
If the Board approves moving forward with a Rideshare vendor, the Facilities and Fleet
Department would include necessary staff, vehicle, and licensing costs in the FY 2017
Recommended Budget. The estimated costs to implement such a program is shown below:
Item
FY 2017 Capital Outlay
FY 2017 (Ongoing) Cost
Rideshare/Carpool Program1
$17,000
Assoc. Mgt. Analyst A/B2
$120,000
Supplies, Education & Outreach3
$12,000
Acquisition of 10 Vehicles4
$360,000
Depreciation of Vehicles,
Maintenance, and Fuel5
Total
$122,800
$360,000
$271,800
1
Assumes high-end of costs; Request for Proposal would need to be issued for competitive procurement
Estimated cost only
3
Object 2 costs are necessary to promote the program and benefits
4
10 vehicles assumes that more than 50 and less than 100 employees would participate in the first year, with 25% requiring a
County vehicle to conduct business while at work
5
Includes Depreciation, Maintenance at 6,000 Annual miles, and estimated Fuel of $5,200.
2
Board of Supervisors: Mike Wasserman, Cindy Chavez, Dave Cortese, Ken Yeager, S. Joseph Simitian
County Executive: Jeffrey V. Smith
Agenda Date: February 23, 2016
Page 3 of 4
CHILD IMPACT
The recommended action will have no/neutral impact on children and youth.
SENIOR IMPACT
The recommended action will have no/neutral impact on seniors.
SUSTAINABILITY IMPLICATIONS
The recommended action will have a positive impact on sustainability by fostering a healthy
environment through a reduction of greenhouse gases and the County’s carbon footprint.
BACKGROUND
The results of an October 2013 commuter survey found that over 80 percent of County
employee survey respondents drove alone to work, and eight percent of County employee
survey respondents carpooled to work. The results of the survey also indicated interest in a
ridesharing program from hundreds of County employees. In seeking to spur higher carpool
rates, the September 15, 2015 referral asked the Administration to research companies that
can provide ridesharing benefits to County employees at a reasonable cost to the County.
Currently, the County of Santa Clara encourages employees to utilize 511.org’s RideMatch
Service, an open network matching commuter program that engages County staff as well as
drivers and riders that do not work for the County. Registered users can find partners for
carpools, vanpools, or bicycling. Users can also track their daily trips and qualify for
rewards during seasonal promotions from 511.org.
CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE ACTION
The Board will not receive the report pertaining to rideshare/carpool benefit programs for
County employees to use for commuting.
STEPS FOLLOWING APPROVAL
The Clerk of the Board of Supervisors will follow the usual procedures for a report of this
type.
Board of Supervisors: Mike Wasserman, Cindy Chavez, Dave Cortese, Ken Yeager, S. Joseph Simitian
County Executive: Jeffrey V. Smith
Agenda Date: February 23, 2016
Page 4 of 4