Drive less, earn a bike: Employers thinking big with TDM programs

When Sonos wanted to move its Santa Barbara headquarters into a new downtown location, the wireless speaker company became very aware of the potential traffic impacts. But rather than do just the minimum of transportation demand management outreach to employees about non-driving options, Sonos went full-on with an ambitious commuter program, called SmartRide, which gave employees the option to ultimately earn themselves a brand-new bicycle.

Sonos’ SmartRide program was more than a new bicycle – the company chose to offer employees two paths. In the “fast cash” option, employees could cash-out of their parking, receiving some of that money instead as a daily bonus for their non-driving commutes. After a certain number of biking commutes, the employee would receive $600 toward a new bicycle at a local bike shop. The “flexible” option keeps driving to on-site parking as an option, has lower cash bonuses for active trips, and requires more trips in order to earn the bicycle credit. A vacation-day raffle, with entries generated through biking trips, was also integrated into the system.