California’s Rideshare Week (Oct. 5-9) is a great time to try an alternate form of transportation such as carpooling, vanpooling, riding the bus, train, bicycling, and walking. All are efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective ways to commute to work.
This year, OCTA is encouraging Orange County employees and residents to climb aboard OC Bus for their rideshare journeys. Formerly known as OCTA Bus, OC Bus features fresh branding on existing and new energy-efficient buses coming to OC between now and 2017. As always, the service provides a safe, clean, and efficient ride with 77 routes and nearly 62,000 bus stops.
To introduce OC Bus, OCTA rolled out ads, posters, ride guides and a website that explains how easy it is to ride while encouraging new riders with a free pass. We recently shared the campaign at a half-day seminar with employee transportation coordinators (ETCs) from Orange County employers. They received promotional rideshare materials as well as information on Perk Pass, our discounted bus pass available only through employers. With this annual pass, employees can take unlimited OCTA fixed-route bus trips for only $1.25 per trip, a savings of 75 cents per trip.
OCTA offers the annual ETC event for Orange County employers who choose an Employee Commute Rideshare Program (ECRP) to comply with requirements to reduce mobile source emissions generated from employee commutes. Coordinators are required to attend a two-hour marketing class and present a marketing certificate along with the rideshare plan they submit to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), the agency that oversees the program.