MPC Roundtable
Making the Case for Commute Options

Download to calendar

Metropolitan Planning Council

Employees practice using a bus bike rack at Labelmaster, one of the employers that participated in MPC’s Commute Options pilot.

Did you know that of the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, the Chicago region is the only one without a coordinated Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategy? Meanwhile, more people are driving alone to work and fewer are taking transit, and congestion costs our region $7.3 billion a year. Yikes!

In 2011, MPC began a Commute Options pilot, working with local employers to survey their employees about commuting patterns and design programs that provide alternatives to driving alone. MPC recruited 16 Chicago-area employers to participate. Join us for a discussion of how this pilot can make a difference in solving the region’s commute challenges. (The first 75 registrants get free one-day Divvy passes!)

The panel will consider several key questions about the pilot, including what worked and what didn’t, what employers should know when implementing these initiatives and what the future holds for Chicago-area TDM. The panel will include both urban and suburban employers who participated in the pilot, as well as a TDM expert:

• Kate Gantzer-Hayes, Trade Marketing Supervisor for Goose Island Beer Company will discuss the programs implemented at their facilities in Chicago.
• David Kleinwachter, an engineer at Christopher Burke Engineering, headquartered in Rosemont, Ill., will talk about how suburban employers can also promote commuting options at their sites.
• Thomas Cerny, Vice President, Director of TDM Services at URS Corporation will describe how Transportation Demand Management programs works in other U.S. cities, and offer insight about next steps for the Chicago area.

The cost of the roundtable, which includes lunch, is $15 for MPC donors and $30 for all others. Seating is limited, so pre-registration is required.

MPC thanks Globetrotters Engineering for sponsoring this roundtable.

Take part in our Twitter contest for some free Divvy swag!

This is, after all, a transportation demand management event, so we'll be rewarding the first five people to prove they took transit (or Divvy, for the intrepid) to our event with Divvy t-shirts! Here's how it works:

1. On your way over, take a photo of yourself on transit or Divvy (or just a plain old bike).
2. Tweet it @Metroplanners with #CommuteOptions.
3. We'll reply if you're one of our five winners, and you can pick up your swag at the door.

Disclaimer: No cheating. Cheating is mean.