Washington employers with exceptional employee transportation programs were honored — including Bothell’s Amgen, Inc. — with the “Governor’s Commute Smart Award” during a recent luncheon of the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Public Transportation Conference and Expo in Kennewick. The awards were presented by Washington Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond.
In all, 25 companies were honored in 13 categories. The awards categories range from the Champion Award, honoring consistent, time-proven leadership in commute trip reduction, to the Site Challenges Award, recognizing employers achieving program success despite limited transit service or highly secure work sites.
One of this year’s Champion Awards was presented to Amgen, Inc. a biotechnology company located in Bothell. Amgen has demonstrated its commitment to helping reduce traffic congestion and air pollution with progressive thinking and offering multiple ways to participate. At the Bothell work site, 37 percent of the employees commute to work using a commute alternative and at their Helix site that number is an impressive 68 percent. Amgen currently has 26 vanpools coming to their work sites from King and Snohomish counties, Vashon Island and Kitsap County. In addition, 80 Amgen staff members use carpools to get to work. Much of their success can be attributed to the support of the site’s leadership.
“Congratulations to this year’s award winners, who have shown their commitment to encouraging employees to reduce drive alone commuting,” said Gov. Chris Gregoire. “These best practices are shining examples to both public and private sector organizations and I am glad they will be shared throughout the state.”
The Governor’s Commute Smart Awards recognize employers who have model programs that encourage positive change in their employees’ commuting habits and reduce drive-alone commuting. Washington’s Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) Task Force (now the CTR Board) started the awards program in 1998. The Washington State Department of Transportation solicited nominations and selected this year’s winners.
