Since the passage of the City's Transportation Systems Management (TSM) Ordinance in 1984, requiring all major employers to significantly reduce peak hour traffic in the area, a great deal of progress has been achieved.

The Transportation Task Force, also established by the Ordinance, is composed of a Transportation Coordinator from each company, complex, and organization employing 100 or more people.

Each month this group meets to discuss new and better means of promoting alternative modes of transportation in the area, especially during the peak commute hours. Currently they are involved in collecting a transportation survey from their company's employees.

These surveys will help the coordinators ridematch employees, and to see what kinds of questions and suggestions employees have about the ridesharing program.

Recent random parking lot surveys at Kaiser Aluminum have consistently shown that 30 percent to 35 percent of employees carpool. According to Wally Suchyta from Kaiser, and chairperson to the Task Force, Kaiser has not had to promote TSM.

After receiving support from upper management, Clorox's Coordinator, Joyce Turner, held a series of coffees for employees to explain TSM and the Ordinance requirements. She supplied employees with a map so they could identify their homes with a magic marker. This helped to determine how many of their fellow employees lived nearby.

A questionnaire was supplied for those who wished more assistance or who had further questions. Turner's hope in holding these coffees was to educate employees about carpooling.

Turner is also in the process of establishing a Clorox Bike Task Force.

In the future she plans to establish Preferential Parking for Carpoolers and to hold a Logo Contest for employees.

"TSM will be successful at Clorox," said Turner. "The company wants to comply; not only to prevent traffic congestion, but to help ecology and employee safety as well."

Jim Lawrence of Farmers Insurance Group is another of the many Task Force members who is putting forth an enthusiastic effort toward the success of the Ordinance.

In addition to putting up carpool posters, he has initiated a "carspace drawing". All employees may participate in this drawing competition.

The prize is the use of a parking space near an entrance of a building for one month. Lawrence hopes to introduce people to the luxury of parking close to the building, thus encouraging them to carpool.

Lawrence looks forward to promoting carpooling more. "I hope people will realize how beneficial the TSM program is," he said.

Dillingham Construction's Ruth Oldham, faces a particularly difficult problem in promoting carpooling. Since construction work is a fluctuating market, employees' working days vary, making it difficult to form any long term carpools.

Determined to do the best she can, Oldham has created a bulletin board on which she posts pertinent carpooling information and articles. She lets it be known that she is available and has the information to put interested employees together.

"I realize that TSM is important and I do what is necessary to comply," she said.

Kaiser Sand and Gravel is to be highly praised for its successful flex-time system. Of their employees, 68 percent travel outside of peak commute hours.

To help promote this flex-time and other means of alternative commuting, coordinator, Bob Snyder, submits transportation articles to a ·quarterly company news booklet, The Conveyor.

Also, "we're supplying the information needed to help employees form carpools, etc.," said Snyder.

Safeco Insurance, perhaps the newest company added to the Task Force, is off to an aggressive start in compliance with the TSM Ordinance. "The company is currently sponsoring and subsidizing two vanpools," said Jim Wilson, Company Coordinator.

To see a reproduction of the original article and edition of Pleasanton Pathways, visit: July 22, 1985.