OUR MISSION

Ithaca’s parking is nearing capacity as thousands of employees and visitors come to Ithaca and new residents join the community every day — and that number continues to increase as the Greater Ithaca area grows. The good news is viable, effective, and cost-efficient strategies exist to manage mobility that employers can use right now, without waiting for infrastructure improvements.

GO ITHACA works with employers of all sizes to help them create and implement custom mobility policies and deals on offer transportation benefits that best serve their culture and needs and take single-driver vehicles off the roads. Those policies in turn help employers boost recruitment and retention and save money that’s otherwise lost to time in traffic or spent on parking.

Business Member Benefits-page-001.jpg

As a GO ITHACA Business Member, your company pledges to offer at least one (1) transportation/commuter benefit to your employees.

Examples of a transportation/commuter benefit include:

  • A full or partial subsidy on a monthly TCAT pass

  • A discounted parking pass for workers who carpool

  • Work from home

  • Flexible working hours or staggered shifts

  • Backup Ride Home membership to those who use efficient transportation modes to commute to work

  • Funding or credits towards walking or biking gear for those who choose to bike/walk to work

  • Parking cash out (giving $$ to employees who forfeit their parking passes)

GOOD NEWS!!! GO ITHACA is here to help make any or all of these transportation benefits affordable for your company to provide to your employees!

Business Members receive:

Transportation Benefits: Our program provides you with transportation service discounts that you can pass along to your employees.

Transportation Benefit Policy Planning: Want to create formal transportation benefit policies for your employee handbook? You have our support! We'll show you how, or we can even create the policy for you.

Employer ToolKit: We've found all the latest and best transportation benefits your company should offer to your employees and placed them all in one nicely crafted document. We'll share them with your business and help you implement them if your business becomes a member.

Employee Commute Analysis: We survey your employees and provide you with a customized plan that will tell you exactly how your employees commute and what they are looking for in terms of commuter benefits. By offerings transportation benefits that employees will actually want and use, you're helping to retain current employees and recruit new ones!

One Year Business Membership to Ithaca Carshare: Start saving on completing work-related errands. Up to 10 employees can be on this account.

Automatic Enrollment to One Year of Backup Ride Home: That's the ride home program you and your employees can use up to 4 times per year in the event of an emergency.

Free access to a Carpooling Network: This will help your employees locate local carpool buddies, thus helping them find an affordable and fun way to commute to and from work.

50% off TCAT monthly passes: A great benefit for you to pass along to employees who rely on the bus to get to work! Or a great incentive to get your employees to the bus to work, thus freeing up parking for hotel guests and downtown visitors.

Monthly Newsletter: Highlights regarding what's happening in area transportation, news about transportation-related events, and promotions.

Business Recognition as a Transportation Benefits Champion!

Plus, your company or your employees can purchase these Additional Benefits:

50% off Carpool parking pass (Seneca or Green garage)

50% off day parking pass in Seneca or Green garage (4 passes month)

And, your employees will be eligible to receive :

  • $50 Ithaca Carshare Credit: For you on their personal account.

  • 511NY Rideshare Carpool Matching: They'll be enrolled in this carpool matching database! They can also use this service for planning occasional trips (not just commutes). For instance, a weekend trip to NYC.

  • Neighborhood Biking and Walking maps: Your employees will enjoy exploring downtown Ithaca on designated safe roads to bike and mile designated walking loops.

  • Tompkins County Bike Map: A map of the best and safest routes for biking.

After 2 months of committing to their pledge, your employees will each receive $50 as an Active Commuter Reward! They can use this reward at The Old Goat Gear Exchange, Outdoor Store, Benjamin Peters, The Cobbler's Cottage, Trader K’s, and Boxy Bikes. Get your bike tuned up, buy a new pair of walking shoes, get some nice bike lights….enjoy being an active commuter!

Also, we are currently developing a Business Grant Program where we will award funding to businesses that create transportation-related events for their employees or for the community and/or who provide transportation-related items for their staff, visitors, community to use. For example, if your business wants to plan a team-building trip for employees using bikes or TCAT, install a new bike rack on-site, or purchase bikes for guests/employees to use, we'd like to help fund those types of purchases. More details to come!