The Wendel Forum

In honor of Bike to Work Day, check out Episode 14 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on Green 960 AM radio on May 7, 2011), in which our guests discuss Bay Area transit issues and the impact and implementation of commuter benefits programs with show host Bill Acevedo.

Stuart Baker, Vice President of Business Development at Commuter Check discusses the ins and outs of commuter benefits programs for organizations and their employees. This win-win program allows employees to use pre-tax dollars for many of their transit costs and employers to lower their payroll taxes – who doesn’t love that?

Dr. Jeff Ritterman, a Councilmember in the City of Richmond, California, discusses the commuter ordinance that was recently passed in his city.  He says, “The only reason not to do this is laziness.”  He discusses what’s happening locally, as well as for cities and states around the country.

Kristine Roselius, Supervising Public Information Officer, for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, discuss the District’s Spare the Air program, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.  They have been encouraging people to change their behavior to improve local air quality for a long time and have been able to show results. Not surprising, transportation is the number one source of air pollution in the Bay Area.

What’s their message?  If you don’t already, try using the Bay Area’s public transit options and see how surprisingly easy it is to help improve local air quality.

Thursday, May 12, is Bike to Work Day! 

For local resources, check out these links:

San Francisco Bicycle Coalition: http://www.sfbike.org/?btwd   
Oakland Local: http://oaklandlocal.com/article/oakland-bike-work-day-events-thursday-may-12

Post Links:

Discussion regarding Bay Area Commuter Programs: Episode 14 of The Wendel Forum (25.47 minutes)

Commuter Check: www.commutercheck.com

Spare the Air / Transit planning websites: www.sparetheair.org; www.511.org

Association of Bay Area Governments website (Green Business Program business certification): http://www.greenbiz.ca.gov/

Green 960 AM radio website: www.green960.com

About show host William Acevedo: www.wendel.com/wacevedo