What Are the Benefits of Offering Employee Shuttle Services?

Among all the things you might do to improve your business and increase your bottom line, you might never have considered the possibility of offering a shuttle service to your employees. However, there are a number of benefits which will accrue to your business by doing so. In addition to offering a very welcome benefit to your employees and adding to the goodwill they feel toward your company, your business itself will derive a number of benefits that are very tangible and worthwhile. Employee Shuttle Services

Greater productivity

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average commute time for Americans is 51 minutes, but research has shown that any commute exceeding 10 miles can pose a health risk, as well as impacting employee attitudes. Time Magazine has reported that anytime employees are obliged to undertake a commute of longer than 10 minutes, it increases cholesterol and blood sugar levels. By offering a shuttle service to your employees, you will be contributing to better health and fewer sick days. You should also notice an improved attitude from your employees, because they’ll have more time to prepare themselves for the work day, and that will drive an increase in productivity.Employee Shuttle Services

Cost savings

News media giant CNN has reported that the average commuter will spend $2,600 a year in commuting back and forth to work. Residents of the Los Angeles area have the most costly commute with an average of $16 daily, with New York close behind at $14 a day, and Chicago and San Francisco in the same ballpark with $11 a day. Individuals who don’t own their vehicles are obliged to find some other means of transportation, and bus travel has come up as the second most popular mode of commuting. Over the course of a year, commuting by bus is also an expensive proposition, so if you can offer employees a shuttle service, there is no doubt they will be highly appreciative.

Punctuality

By providing an ongoing shuttle service to your employees, you will undoubtedly see an increase in punctuality among your workers. A shuttle service will drop off employees at the same time every day, well before work actually begins, so there’s no danger of arriving late. When it’s important that employees start their day at a certain time and put in a full work day, punctuality can be extremely important to your business.

Tax benefits

The federal tax code permits a ceiling of $130 per month in tax-free transportation benefits for each employee that works for you. These benefits are to be used for van pooling expenses or mass transit transportation, so your shuttle service will qualify for these benefits. All employees and officers of any corporation are therefore eligible to receive these benefits. Under section 132(f) of the federal tax code, you are allowed to use pre-tax funds in order to pay for any kind of parking expenses or commuting to and from work. When you sponsor a shuttle-based service for your employees, it will allow them to take advantage of these deductions and save money over the course of the year.Employee Shuttle Services

Environmentally friendly

These days, a great many more companies are paying attention to their carbon footprint, and their overall impact on the environment. By establishing a shuttle service for your employees, you’ll be reducing the number of vehicles on the road, and encouraging your employees to ride together in fewer vehicles. This will be a great help to the environment in terms of carbon emissions, and in terms of reducing the dependence on fossil fuels. You can even further promote this environmentally friendly attitude by staging periodic Earth Days, where the whole company gets involved in environmental awareness. This accomplishes two major goals in a single action – it helps out the environment in a major way, and it promotes team-building and bonding among your employees.