Atlanta in the summertime is famous for its heat and humidity along with a seasonal display of magnolias, crape myrtles, azaleas — and smog. With record heat, traffic congestion, more people back in the office, and transit changes, it promises to be a long hot drive that’s hard on nerves and lungs.
Employee carpool programs are a great way to meet your workforce’s transportation needs and help reduce congestion and air pollution in the region, all while driving business success. And with the right software, carpool programs are easier than ever to set up and administer, with easy-to-use dashboards that put data at your fingertips.
SUNNY & HOT WITH A HIGH CHANCE OF SMOG
The Atlanta area is experiencing record warmer weather. Summer temperatures have increased about 3 degrees Fahrenheit every decade since 1970. In 2023, metro Atlanta experienced the second-hottest year in a century. Data from the Atlanta Regional Commission predicts that heatwaves will continue to increase in the future. The metro area is expected to see an average of 20 extra days of triple-digit heat by 2050.
Extreme heat is bad enough on its own, but it also makes our air quality worse in two big ways: by contributing to wildfires that add smoke, or soot, to the air and encouraging the development of ground-level ozone pollution, or smog.
The American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air report finds that the region’s air pollution has worsened. Metro Atlanta received an “F” for ozone (smog) this year, sliding 19 spots from 67th worst out of 228 metro areas last year to 48th. The report is based on data from 2021-2023.
Vehicle exhaust is a major source of smog. A spokesperson for the lung association noted in an interview that “Atlantans drive a lot and motor vehicle emissions are a big part of the region’s problems.”
BLEEP BLEEP
Along with the heat, you can expect internal temperatures to rise as more of us head back into the office and straight into gridlock.
In its largest-ever annual report on traffic trends, location technology specialist TomTom finds Atlanta the 10th most congested metro area in the nation in 2024, up more than 9% over 2023. Motorists can expect increased congestion and slower speeds on metro Atlanta roads. The average 6-mile trip in Atlanta’s city center took over 14 minutes in the morning and 18 minutes in the evening. In all, the report finds that drivers spent an extra 48 hours driving in rush hour in 2024 — that’s 3 hours and 21 minutes more than in 2023.
To boot, changes to Xpress services, including route elimination and park and ride closures, will leave some riders needing to find alternative ways to work.
Read more about Xpress bus changes here!
HELPING EMPLOYEES FIND A RIDE MATCH
To help with transportation needs, regional employers have turned to carpool and vanpool programs as ways to provide low-cost, reduced-stress commutes for their workforce.
Analysts found that metro Atlanta residents spend an average of 22% of their incomes on commuting costs — or more than $10K annually. Commuter programs, such as carpools and vanpools, help employees with accessible and reliable transportation options that also saves a significant portion of their paycheck instead of allocating dollars toward gas, car maintenance and parking fees.
While employees may be interested in sharing the ride to work, it can be difficult for both companies and workers to turn that interest into a reality. After all, it takes time and resources to find colleagues who live near each other, connect to them, figure out a route and plan a carpool schedule.
For Atlanta-based Newcomb & Boyd, the convenience and flexibility of MyGCO’s ridematching features, which enable seamless coordination among carpool members and facilitates adjustments, made it the obvious choice for eliminating scheduling complexities.
The MyGCO platform, powered by Georgia Commute Options, takes away many of the roadblocks people face when starting up a carpool program — especially when it’s paired with support from GCO’s team of Worksite Advisors.
Instead of poring over a map to figure out the best route for carpools, MyGCO’s ridematching technology plans the route for them. This takes the guesswork out of route planning and makes it easy for employees to start enjoying their new commute right away. In addition to making carpooling easier, MyGCO also makes it more rewarding, by offering prizes and perks toward rewards.
Read the case study: How Newcomb & Boyd modernized its carpool program
EASE MINDS WITH GUARANTEED RIDE HOME
Employees may want to carpool but worry about how unexpected events such as emergencies, sickness or overtime might impact their work schedules or ability to get home.
That’s why it’s always good to have a backup plan. MyGCO’s Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH) benefit is just that. This program lets employees book Uber rides home or to a designated park and ride at no extra cost, giving them a way home on those days when the unexpected happens.
MyGCO is the platform from Georgia Commute Options that gives employees a one-stop shop for exploring their commuter benefits. In addition to discovering new routes to try and earning rewards from clean commutes, it also gives employees a centralized portal for booking a Guaranteed Ride Home trip.
Georgia Commute Options — a program made possible by the Atlanta Regional Commission and Georgia Department of Transportation — works with employers at no cost to develop commuter programs that move the needle on air quality in the Atlanta region.