Lewis & Clark makes top 25 for Portland employers with low-car commuters

Lewis & Clark is among the Portland metro area’s 25 best employers for low-car commuters, according to Portland Afoot’s 2012 ranking of the region’s best commuting benefits. Lewis & Clark received high marks for discounted transit passes and paid employee auto parking.

The survey, conducted by Portland Afoot and the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, was distributed to more than 600 local employers. Respondents were ranked using 10 weighted metrics that measured their friendliness to workers who bike, walk, carpool, telecommute, or ride public transit.

Components included free TriMet passes, discounted vanpools, and the ability to telecommute or work flexible hours. Employers were also rewarded for not subsidizing auto parking and for providing shared vehicles such as Zipcars rather than reimbursing employees for miles driven on the job.

Employers received 10 points if they participated in the BTA’s Bike Commute Challenge, and an extra 5 points if their bike commute rate was above 20 percent. Employers also received points for providing safe and secure bike parking and other facilities for bicycle commuters.

“Lewis & Clark encourages active transportation and public transit as choices for employees to travel to work,” said Sustainability Manager Amy Dvorak. “We appreciate that it takes real commitment from our community members to get here by a mode other than the single occupancy vehicle. We hope to continue to incentivize these efforts by creatively building our programming in this area.”

Portland Afoot is a 10-minute newsmagazine about low-car life in Portland, distributed monthly by direct mail to 1,000 subscribing transit riders, and an editable online guide to low-car life. Learn more at www.portlandafoot.org.

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance is a 501(c)3 membership-based nonprofit working to make bicycling safe, convenient, and accessible in Oregon. Learn more at www.btaoregon.org.