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Metro's Taxi Guaranteed Ride Home
Click HERE for graphic. The Home Free Guarantee. Simply Stated. Benefits Everyone benefits from Metro's Home Free Guarantee. It's: a low annual cost to the employer a free service to employees a motivator to get employees to leave their cars at home by easing their fear that they'll be stranded without transportation in an emergency an incentive for those who already rideshare, take the bus, bike or walk to keep doing so Costs Figuring out how much it costs is simple. There's no set-up charge and costs are based on your total number of employees. Your initial program fee is $1 per employee. Costs may be adjusted after the first six months and subsequent years after implementing the program based on actual use. First 6 months of enrollment: $1 x number of employees = $ (A) Six month review: Metro will charge an additional $1 per employee for the second six-month period if Metro reimbursements exceed your total original investment (A). If you don't exceed this, you pay no more for the rest of your contracted year. Subsequent years: $1 (or greater) x number of employees = $______ If Metro reimbursements exceed your base charges of the previous year, a sliding scale charge will be applied. additional charge $1 if Metro reimbursements were more than, but not twice the base charge $2 if Metro reimbursements were at least twice, but not three times the base charge on so on incrementally without limit. Details WHO IS ELIGIBLE Any employee who takes the bus, carpools, vanpools, bikes or walks to work the day the taxi ride is needed. WHAT LEVEL OF SERVICE IS AVAILABLE Each employee can take up to eight taxi trips per year. Each taxi trip can be up to 60 miles one way. If the trip exceeds 60 miles, the employee pays the difference directly to the driver. Driver tips are not covered under this program. Tips are the passenger's responsibility. As a general rule, 10-15% tip is customary. WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY Home Free Guarantee can be used for: employee or family illness working late unexpectedly missing normal ride home: e.g. carpool driver needs to leave early because of an emergency other emergency situations which occur during the work day Home Free Guarantee cannot be used for: pre-scheduled appointments trips to the hospital in place of ambulance service business-related travel It is up to you as program administrator to decide if the request meets these guidelines. We will honor your decisions. If you allow an inappropriate use, we'll let you know to help you make future judgments. For help in judging unique situations, call Metro at 684-1621 between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. WHERE CAN THE TAXI GO The trip must begin from work and can end at home or another location (e.g. to a Park & Ride lot or child care provider). Emergency-related interim stops are permitted if they are requested and approved by you when the trip is requested. If the trip includes a ferry ride, the taxi will take the passenger as far as the ferry terminal. Responsibilities Metro's Home Free Guarantee is all set up for you. You just need to implement it at your worksite. METRO'S RESPONSIBILITIES Contract with taxicab companies to provide service. Provide materials to promote the program. Provide materials to administer the program Assist in determining appropriate uses. Pay taxi fare for legitimate services. Conduct program evaluation. EMPLOYER'S RESPONSIBILITIES Employee Transportation Coordinator administers program and designates staff to coordinate rides home for all work shifts. Promote the program and let all employees know how to contact their Home Free Guarantee coordinator when they need a ride home. Approve and call in requests for taxi service. Track the number of taxi trips per employee. Send vouchers to Metro by the fifth of the following month. Allow employees to participate in evaluation if requested. "Guaranteed ride home takes away that final fear people have about leaving their car at home. They know they can get home or to a sick child if they need to. Changing your commute habits is a behavioral change. It's difficult. Guaranteed ride home provides that extra reassurance that people need." Donna J. Clausen Facilities Manager, ETC PATH METRO Procedures Here's what you do when a call comes in... EMPLOYEE Call coordinator when they need a ride home. COORDINATOR Determines if request is appropriate Did person carpool, vanpool, take the bus, walk or bike to work that day? What is the purpose of the trip? Obtains information from the employee. Pick-up time Pick-up location Destination Intermediate stops if needed Confirm they have a photo ID Completes employer section of the voucher. Fill out above information Retain employer copy Requests taxi service from a participating Home Free Guarantee taxicab company. Identify yourself and your employer Tell the dispatcher that this is a Metro Home Free Guarantee service request Give the dispatcher the employee's name and trip information If the employee is working late and is not yet sure when they'll need a ride, tell the dispatcher that you are authorizing "Open Return" service. That means the employee will call the taxicab company when they know the pick-up time. Tell the dispatcher if it's an extreme emergency for priority service Confirms arrangement with employee. Let employee know that taxi service has been arranged Confirm pick-up time and location Arrange for employee to pick up voucher or to deliver voucher to employee If request was for "Open Return" service, make sure the employee knows to call the taxicab company as soon as they know when they need to be picked up TAXICAB Dispatches taxi COMPANY Taxi should arrive within 10 to 30 minutes depending on location and time of day EMPLOYEE Takes taxi ride. Shows taxi driver photo ID Signs voucher and gives copy to the driver Tips driver Returns copy of voucher to coordinator COORDINATOR Sends copy of vouchers to Metro by the fifth of the following month. "Guaranteed ride home, like other programs, takes effort and energy to formalize, but once in place it runs smoothly with minimal administration time." Barbara Anthony Administrative Assistant, ETC The Seattle Times METRO "Home Free" GUARANTEE TAXI GUARANTEED RIDE HOME Your Guaranteed Ride Home. Get an emergency lift home. Congratulations! Your commute to and from work just got a little easier. If you share the ride, walk or bike to work, you're eligible for Metro's Home Free Guarantee Program, which is being offered as part of your company's transportation program. That means if an emergency comes up during work hours--like a family illness, unexpected overtime or a missed ride--you just grab a cab and get home fast. And the best news of all--it's absolutely free. Don't spin your wheels If your don't share a ride to work, this is the perfect time to give it a try. After all, driving alone ar rush hour is stressful, expensive and hard on the environment, too. Joining a vanpool can cut air pollution by 5.4 tons and save 8,000 gallons of gasoline a year. Even riding with one other person reduces air pollution by three quarters of a ton. And now, with Metro's Home Free Guarantee, you don't have to worry about being stuck at work when you need to get home fast. "Guaranteed ride home gives me a sense of freedom. I've used it twice in two years of vanpooling. It's a last resort, but when you're sick, waiting for a ride or taking the bus doesn't make sense. Guaranteed ride home got me home fast." Paula Bachtold Information Systems Puget Power Metro goes the extra mile. Metro's Home Free Guarantee is easy. The only requirement is that you rideshare, walk or bike to work. If you need to get home in an emergency, just contact your Home Free Guarantee coordinator and he or she will call a taxi and issue a voucher for you to give to the driver. You show the driver picture identification, and you're on the road. You can take up to eight trips per year, and the cost of each trip is covered up to 60 miles one way. (You pay the difference if it's over 60 miles.) You are responsible for tipping the taxi driver-- about 15 percent is the rule of thumb. "It helps to know you can use guaranteed ride home if you have to work late, deal with your kid's illness--or your own--or miss your regular vanpool ride. It gives me peace of mind." Betty Lew Analyst US West You're on your way. Your employer's transportation benefits--and Metro's transportation expertise-- make this a great time to try ridesharing. If you share your commute already, call your Home Free Guarantee coordinator if an emergency comes up and let Metro get you 'home free.' If you don't share the ride to work, your coordinator can give you more information on carpooling, vanpooling or taking the bus.
