Diamond Awards

The Diamond Awards honor companies, organizations, and individuals for their outstanding contributions to relieving traffic congestion, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and improving mobility in the San Diego region. Diamond Award-winning organizations promote alternatives to driving alone including vanpooling, carpooling, use of public transit, teleworking, flexible scheduling, walking, biking, or a combination of these. Some organizations also provide incentives, subsidies, or pre-tax deductions to their employees to support their participation in eligible programs.

If you would like assistance in setting up a commuter program at your company, please call 511 and say 'iCommute' and an employer representative will assist you.

Shining Examples

The SANDAG iCommute received several nominations for its 8th annual Diamond Awards recognizing San Diego County businesses that go the extra mile to help reduce traffic congestion.  There were five different nomination categories.

• Program Excellence: For overall program implementation and success
• Innovation: New solutions to employer transportation challenges
• Marketing: Creative outreach effort to employees
• Ongoing Commitment: Program has been sustained for three or more years
• Best New Program: A new submittal for a Diamond Award or a program that has been implemented within the last two years

In addition to the five categories, individuals were also nominated for their exemplary support of a local transportation demand program.

2010 Diamond Award Winners

Program Excellence

Genentech is a biotechnology and pharmaceutical company with 484 employees based in Oceanside. Started in 2005, the company’s commuter program currently includes 18 percent of the staff, with 10 percent of those using transit. Genentech provides a $115 monthly commuter assistance subsidy to employees who take transit. The company also provides a free shuttle service from the College Boulevard Transit Station and Oceanside Transit Center to the Genentech campus. Genentech has created its own customized online commuter tool called gRide. This tool provides ridematching and a commute calendar. The calendar calculates employees’ carbon dioxide emissions, vehicle miles traveled, and money and fuel savings. Employees can even update their commute calendar with an iPhone application.

In 2009, at the Genentech Oceanside office alone, employees:

• Eliminated 6,162 cars from the road
• Reduced vehicle miles traveled by 336,698
• Saved 12,987 gallons of gas and $100,229 on car maintenance
• Reduced 251,955 lbs. of CO2

Innovation

Naval Base San Diego has the largest Department of Defense Transportation Incentive Program/Rideshare Program on the West Coast, with 2,300 employees participating. This innovative program is specifically designed for active duty military personnel and permanent full-time Department of Defense civilian employees. Participants receive their transit subsidy as a fringe benefit, up to $230 per month. The Navy pays for the costs directly so the money is not included in taxable wages and compensation, putting more savings in the pockets of commuters. Naval Base San Diego maintains two Web sites dedicated to its Transportation Incentive Program’s benefits and enrollment.

Sony Electronics has a novel approach to reducing single occupancy vehicles on the roadways and reaching its green goals. As a technology company, Sony Electronics incorporates available technology into its commute program. The company uses its intranet site, called Sony Source, to share information about commute choices and to help create carpools and vanpools. The staff has taken an innovative approach to their vanpool program. They partnered with Enterprise and TerraPass to introduce the ‘carbon-neutral vanpool program’ to pique employees’ interest. By using vanpools to reduce solo occupancy vehicles, along with contributing funds to TerraPass (a carbon offsets company), the Sony vanpool program has zero net emissions. The company’s goal is to grow the program from eight vans to 20 in 2010.

Marketing

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) originally launched a commuter program to address a parking deficit, and now offers financial incentives, free shuttles from main transportation hubs around the region to office locations, and on-site facilities like showers, bike lockers, and bike racks. Marketing tactics used include the Web, hosting events, and sponsorships. The Web site includes dedicated transportation pages featuring information on construction projects in the area, explanations of the commuter incentives offered, and links to various tools (such as a map of bike routes). SAIC also participates in regional events, such as sponsoring a pit stop on Bike to Work Day. In 2009, SAIC hosted an iCommute Rideshare Week fair and employer forum on its campus. Started in 1998, the SAIC commuter program—benefiting from continuous marketing efforts—now has more than 200 staff members participating.

Parsons Brinckerhoff's (PB) marketing efforts have resulted in 48 percent staff participation. PB developed a carpool and transit coordination map. Each of the 45 employees were asked to place a pin on a map in the vicinity of his/her home to indicate where he/she lived in relation to existing transit services and co-workers, making carpool matches possible. PB also has a commute challenge where employees track their daily commute on a large chart in the office, visible to all staff. Winners of the commute challenge receive cookie, ice cream, and pizza parties. As they reach specific targets, the parties become more elaborate.

Ongoing Commitment

VA San Diego Healthcare System started its program in 2001, which now includes 12 percent of the company’s 3,228 employees. In an example of its continuing effort to improve, VA San Diego Healthcare System started a parking lot committee to solve the organization’s parking problems. The main focus of the committee is to market the transit benefit program, get more employees enrolled, and achieve a goal of creating at least two new vanpools per month. VA San Diego also holds annual transit fairs, with the most recent fair resulting in six new vanpools. 

Genentech’s program began in 2005 and continues to grow and expand each year. In one example of its ongoing commitment, Genentech hires a third-party consultant to conduct an annual survey describing commuter habits and analyzing developing commuter trends. This allows the company to better manage and measure the effectiveness of its efforts to reduce single-occupancy vehicle usage. By expanding its free shuttle service, improving its personalized online commuter tool, and creating iPhone applications for its commuting employees, Genentech strives to improve the quality of life and work balance for the company’s staff.

Best New Program

Sharp HealthCare has six different hospitals, 22 clinics, and 14,500 employees, and launched its commuter program at the end of 2008. The organization started by surveying staff. Results showed that there was an interest in a commuter program, especially to save money on gas. To help employees save, Sharp HealthCare provides a 30 percent subsidy for transit passes and offers reserved parking for carpools and vanpools. The company also developed an in-depth intranet Web site dedicated to transportation information, cost analysis, transit schedules for each location, frequently asked questions, and ridematching information.

The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority's (SDCRAA) program started in 2009 to help meet the Airport Authority’s commitments within the Greenhouse Gas Memorandum of Understanding with the State Attorney General. Another goal is to make more parking available. The SDCRAA markets the program with several brochures and posters that encourage all 5,000 airport employees to use public transit. This new program offers free shuttle service from the Old Town Transit Center to the Commuter Terminal at the San Diego International Airport. Trips are strategically scheduled to run in coordination with the COASTER train, and they are consistent with the SDCRAA sustainability policy that promotes increased transit ridership.

Individual Contribution

Debra Gutzmer is the Western Region Facilities Planning Manager for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). She continually uses her energy and passion to convince her company to invest funds and staff time in pursuit of a wide range of transportation endeavors, including sponsoring key commute events and programs. Debra was instrumental during the formation and implementation of SAIC’s program in 1998 and demonstrates that same level of commitment to transportation demand management causes today. She continues to cultivate partnerships with local businesses, transportation companies, SANDAG, and community outreach programs to benefit local transportation efforts. Most recently, Debra worked with SANDAG iCommute staff during Rideshare Week 2009 to host a rideshare fair and an employer forum. She served as one of the keynote speakers promoting sound commute practices.

Clara Ung is a Human Resources Specialist at VA San Diego Healthcare System and has been working as the Field Transportation Manager since 2005. Clara prepares promotional information, including the company’s daily news, updates the transportation Web site, and sets up transit fairs. Other duties include management of the vanpool waiting list, working with the vanpool vendors, and coordinating transit voucher distribution. She also serves on the company’s parking lot committee, where she is responsible for publicity and helping employees with application forms.

Diamond Award Winners 2002-2009

(alphabetical order)