Choosing to Ditch the Car Commute: What Helps Office Workers Decide

RMI implemented a parking cash-out program at its Boulder Commons North office, allowing employees to choose between a parking spot or cash to support alternative commuting. During a three-month pilot, 64% of employees opted for the cash-out, with 60% of those switching from single-occupancy vehicles to biking, walking, or busing. This shift is estimated to avoid 950 single-occupancy vehicle miles and 415 kg of carbon emissions weekly. The program leverages a 'green-lease' structure that decouples parking costs from rent, demonstrating that transportation demand management can provide cost savings for employers and developers even in smaller urban settings.

• During a three-month pilot program at the Boulder Commons North Building, 64 percent of RMI employees chose to cash out their parking benefit in favor of alternative commute options, while 4 percent chose to drive electric vehicles, leaving 32 percent using personal gas-powered vehicles.
• Of the employees who opted not to drive, 60 percent transitioned from single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) commutes to biking, walking, or busing, resulting in a weekly reduction of 950 SOV miles and 415 kg of carbon emissions.
• The program utilizes a green-lease structure where parking costs are decoupled from rent, allowing tenants to quantify parking costs as a discrete line item and adjust expenses without renegotiating the office lease.
• If the parking cash-out program were scaled to all 150,000 employees in the Boulder area, it is estimated that 1.85 million commuting miles would be removed and 807,000 kg of carbon emissions avoided every week.

APA

RMI (2017). Choosing to Ditch the Car Commute: What Helps Office Workers Decide. https://rmi.org/resources/choosing-ditch-car-commute-helps-office-workers-decide/

Chicago

RMI. Choosing to Ditch the Car Commute: What Helps Office Workers Decide. 2017. https://rmi.org/resources/choosing-ditch-car-commute-helps-office-workers-decide/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Choosing to Ditch the Car Commute: What Helps Office Workers Decide |date=9 October 2017 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/choosing-ditch-car-commute-helps-office-workers-decide/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2017choosing, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Choosing to Ditch the Car Commute: What Helps Office Workers Decide}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2017}, month = oct, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/choosing-ditch-car-commute-helps-office-workers-decide/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }