Low fuel
Few Cape Fear companies are offering incentives to change commuting habits

By Ken Little

Some of the area's major employers are looking at ways to ease the burden on workers as the price of gasoline continues its upward climb.

Others offer no incentives to try alternative means of transportation like the bus, car pooling or biking to work.

The University of North Carolina Wilmington recently established a committee to come up with new policies and ways to promote alternatives to driving.

"We got this group together to explore ways that may assist individuals to get to work. Certainly, the impact on individual employees is real and we hope we can help them to identify ways to reduce that impact," said Charles Maimone, UNCW vice president for business affairs.

Among the ideas under consideration are more flexible work schedules and the use of telecommuting. The committee will also recommend further promotion of an existing car pool incentive program.

UNCW and several other area employers already participate in Cape Fear Breeze, a program overseen by the city of Wilmington that provides information about transportation alternatives.

The city is trying to give its employees options, while coping with the rising cost of fuel expenses for its fleet of more than 200 cars and trucks used by police and other departments, spokeswoman Malissa Talbert said.

"It is to provide a benefit to employees and provide an environmentally friendly option to employers," she said.

"It's important to us, too. We're starting to take a pretty hard look at the price of gas." Despite prices past $4 per gallon, studies show that most local workers still drive to work. Ridership on WAVE Transit buses has actually declined in recent months, agency Director Albert Eby said.

Revamped bus routes may be one of the reasons ridership is down, Eby acknowledged that riding the bus has some disadvantages.

"Our system is not going to get you there quicker than a car. You've got to put up with the inconvenience (of waiting)," he said.

'Major lifestyle change'
A survey conducted for WAVE last year by UNCW asked local residents how high the price of gas would have to go before they considered riding the bus or car pooling to work. Many cited $3.50 per gallon.

Eby said few local businesses have contacted WAVE about ways to make it more attractive for employees to take the bus.

"I don't know if they're waiting for us to reach out to them," Eby said. "Our big problem is we don't have the staff size to go out there and pound the pavement."

One participant in the Cape Fear Breeze program is General Electric, which has about 3,000 employees in the area, most of whom work at the sprawling Castle Hayne site. GE provides a matching service with Cape Fear Breeze for employees who want to carpool. As part of revamped bus routes introduced on March 31, WAVE added a stop at the Castle Hayne plant. GE spokeswoman Karen Ellison said in an e-mail that ridership levels on the new route are currently being assessed.

Other initiatives are in the works at GE. "We are currently finalizing plans to launch a program to encourage carpooling by employees. We intend to continue our partnerships with local programs like the Cape Fear Breeze, and to develop our own incentive programs," Ellison said.

GE estimates that between 5 and 8 percent of the Castle Hayne employees will participate in the programs.

Carpooling encouraged
Wal-Mart has five locations in New Hanover and Brunswick counties, and over 1,100 employees at its stores in the Wilmington area.

The largest concentration of employees who ride the bus to work are those living closest to the Wilmington stores, company spokesman Harper Cornell said in an e-mail. "Some stores within the market encourage associates to car pool and have designated an area for associates to sign up and car pool together," Cornell said.

There is no formal partnership between Wal-Mart and WAVE, "but we work closely with the organization," Cornell said. "Just recently, we worked with WAVE to relocate two bus stops closer to two Wal-Mart stores in Wilmington per the request of WAVE."

Some difficulties exist. "Right now, from conversations and feedback from associates, the biggest challenge is the bus schedule," Cornell said.

Corning, Inc., which operates an optical fiber plant in Wilmington, has no official company-wide alternative transportation program.

"In Wilmington, the plant leadership actively encourages employees to consider car pooling and use of the regional bus system," Corning spokesman Daniel Collins said. A WAVE bus stop was recently added outside the Corning plant on North College Road, he added.

New Hanover Regional Medical Center and its satellite operations throughout the area is one of the region's largest employers, with about 4,500 employees. A special committee is currently studying transportation alternatives for employees, health care system spokeswoman Carolyn Fisher said.

"We have things in the works but nothing's really confirmed. We're pursuing a few different avenues," Fisher said. The committee is in contact with Cape Fear Breeze, she said.

PPD, Inc., has more than 1,000 employees at its worldwide headquarters in downtown Wilmington. "We're not doing anything, really, in the way of alternative means of transportation related to gas prices," company spokeswoman Sue Ann Pentecost said.

Local support
One dedicated backer of the Cape Fear Breeze program is UNCW employee Mark Franklin.

As a college employee, Franklin rides for free to work from his home in downtown Wilmington. Franklin, 45, donated his car to charity 18 months ago. He depends on the bus as the primary means of transportation to his job at Randall Library.

The recent changes in bus service prompted Franklin to make a concession to address transportation needs at night and on the weekend. He bought a moped that gets 100 miles to the gallon.

"I think we're at the tipping point where people are considering dropping the Hummer off. I think there is going to be a lot of trouble if we don't start buckling down," Franklin said.

For more information about Cape Fear Breeze, call 341-4665 or visit www.capefearbreeze.com.