On Wednesday, June 15th, Commute Seattle teamed up with our friends at Transportation Choices Coalition to host a panel discussion on the future of Washington State’s Commute Trip Reduction law, which requires certain large employers to provide benefits such as transit passes in order to reduce employee car trips.
In a world where the COVID-19 pandemic has forever shifted the commuting landscape, employers and lawmakers alike are examining how the Commute Trip Reduction program can evolve to better meet the needs of our state. How should Washington’s Commute Trip Reduction program build on their good work for post-pandemic commuting? How can we support commuters not currently covered by the program, and make sure riders who do currently benefit continue to ride transit? We tackled these questions and more in the hour-long discussion, conducted both online and in-person at Expedia Group‘s Seattle campus.
We were joined by panelists representing a wide range of perspectives on transportation demand management (TDM) and transportation policy, including elected leaders, public agency representatives, transportation management agencies (TMAs), and local employers:
- Kelli Refer, Executive Director, Move Redmond
- Ricardo Gotla, TDM Developer at Washington State Department of Transportation
- Slade Bedford, Deputy Director, Gates Foundation
- Representative Jamila Taylor, the 30th Legislative District in WA
- Moderator: Kirk Hovenkotter, Executive Director, Commute Seattle
Special thanks to Expedia Group for hosting the in-person event at their beautiful campus.
Check out the full recording above, and stay tuned for future events from Commute Seattle!