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San Francisco and regional agencies coordinate on commuter-benefits enforcement as new regional rule takes effect
Summary
City staff and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District outlined how San Francisco's commuter-benefits ordinance (applies to employers with 20+ employees) will interact with a new regional regulation (applies to employers with 50+ Bay Area employees). The region's implementation includes outreach, a September compliance window and a tiered enforcement approach beginning with warning letters and fines up to $500.
City staff and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District briefed the Commission on the Environment on July 22 about local and regional commuter-benefits programs and upcoming compliance steps.
Robert Hayden (San Francisco Department of the Environment) reviewed the San Francisco Commuter Benefits Ordinance, adopted in 2009, which applies to employers with 20 or more employees and aims to reduce single-occupancy vehicle trips by requiring employers to offer one of three options: a pre-tax transit benefit (up to $130/month), an employer transit subsidy, or an employer-provided shuttle. Hayden said reporting is required and the city has used education, outreach and, more recently, warning letters to bring employers into compliance.
Dave Birch of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District described a new regional program modeled on San Francisco's ordinance and implemented through a regulation adopted under state authority (described in the presentation as "Senate Bill 1339," enacted in 2012). The regional regulation applies to employers with 50 or more Bay Area employees and adds a fourth, "alternative commuter benefit" option for areas with limited transit (including incentives for bicycling, telecommuting and carpooling). Birch said the district and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission are running an outreach period ahead of a September compliance deadline and plan to use warning letters followed by escalating citations and fines (up to $500) where necessary.
Commissioners discussed how reporting will be handled for employers covered by both programs. Hayden and Birch said they are coordinating so that employers with locations in the city will know whether to report to the city or the regional system (the district will report via the 511.org system) and emphasized efforts to minimize confusion. Hayden said the local warning-letter process often brings noncompliant employers into compliance without resorting to penalties.
Hayden and Birch also presented preliminary measurements of program reach: more than 90,000 employees use pre-tax commuter benefits under San Francisco's program, and staff estimated greenhouse-gas savings could be on the order of 286,000 metric tons per year (using transportation authority formulas and aggregate commute distance assumptions).
