How employers can help employees commute during Covid?

Blessed Transportation Bus Charters has heard from many companies in Tacoma, Olympia, Spokane, and Seattle who are trying to transport employees during COVID-19. This includes universities from Washington to businesses in Portland. We have compiled a list based on our experience that will help you keep your employees safe and make them feel appreciated.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the COVID-19 epidemic will not end soon. While many people continue to work remotely, others must be present at work. You can still do many things to help your employees if you own a business.

If possible, let people work remotely.

Construction workers and doctors cannot work remotely. However, if you have people who can, they should be allowed to. A single department can work remotely and free up space for those who need to travel.

You can keep your team connected by providing technology such as video conferencing and chat programs to allow them to work remotely. It is also possible to set clear expectations about whether employees will be available for work during non-standard hours or need to be online during specific shifts.

You must ensure that everyone who comes into the workplace is safe.

You must ensure that employees can safely commute to work if required. Consider allowing for plenty of social interaction and paying for extra cleaning and sanitizing. There are many cleaning supplies that you can provide, such as hand soap, disinfectant wipes, and hand sanitizer.

Employees who cannot afford masks or have exhausted their existing ones may be eligible for free masks. It is smart to make masks mandatory, but it may not be practical for all employees.

Safe alternatives to driving alone are available.

It is easy to say, “everyone drives their own car so they’re safe,” but if someone who used public Transportation or carpooled suddenly starts driving on their own, it can lead to congestion and excessive gas consumption. Even more important, employees who don’t own a car or don’t have a driver’s license, or have only one vehicle in their household, are not allowed to drive alone. What is a safe way to commute? Does it not require everyone to own a car? There are many options available to your business.

Transit public

Although public transit is generally a more environmentally friendly option to driving, many people feel uncomfortable about being in close contact with strangers on the bus or train during COVID-19.

While you can make everyone safer by following these workplace safety guidelines, it is worth considering offering employees who depend on public transport an alternative route to get to work until they are vaccinated. This is where shuttles, carpools, and vanpools come in.

Carpooling

Carpooling allows people without a car to travel to work, making it more sustainable than driving all the way. Because your employees are exposed only to a smaller number of people, carpooling is safer than public Transportation.

Carpooling comes with its own set of disadvantages. Carpooling works only if your employees live close together and have vehicles, they are willing to share. Carpools don’t work even if everyone is ready to help. If some of your employee’s commute from downtown and others live nearby, it can cause stress for the entire group.

Vanpooling

Your team members can “vanpool” to share a van. You might offer subsidy to make vanpooling easier or provide preferred parking spaces to people who choose to car-or-vanpool. Partnering with ride-matching groups that assist people in finding vanpools and carpools they can join is also possible.

Many people cannot afford to rent a van even though it is possible to share the cost. Your employees will need to drive the vanpool, which can be stressful for those with licenses.

Shuttles

You can rent a shuttle like the one offered by Blessed Limo. It doesn’t matter the size of the vehicle, it will come with a professional chauffeur. This means that employees won’t be forced to drive their vehicles.

You can also choose the amenities you desire. Reclinable seats? Easy. WiFi? Your employees will be able to check their email and listen to podcasts during their commute. You can also request an ADA compliant shuttle with a wheelchair ramp and wider aisles.

Perhaps most importantly, a shuttle is safer than public transport. You can control where people are placed and whether passengers need to be covered with masks or checked for temperature. Bus Charters will ensure that buses are clean and that all drivers wear masks. If possible, passengers can board from the back.

Here are some tips to make your shuttle work for your business.

You can plan your route. We need to know where passengers are picked up to calculate how many shuttles are required and plan an efficient schedule.
Explain to employees where and when they can meet their shuttle.
We can help you set up a mobile application for shuttle tracking.
Blessed Transportation can help you determine if a shuttle is right for you.
You can plan to keep your employees safer during the pandemic.

While it is an excellent idea for employees to work remotely, this is not feasible for all jobs. Your employees don’t need to take public transport or rent a car to keep working. Everyone can get to work safely using a carpool program or a shuttle service with a professional driver. Blessed Transportation can provide a shuttle service if you need one.