Guaranteed Ride Home Details

How does it work?

After the Commute Smart Northwest Office receives the signed Agreement and deposit, they establish an account for the employer that works like a bank account. A participating employer makes a "deposit" into their account to cover anticipated rides by employees for a one-year period.

As employees use the program, "withdrawals" are made from the account to pay for the rides. Employers make additional "deposits," as necessary. Spokane County manages all employer accounts and sends quarterly statements to the GRH Coordinator.

Who is eligible?

Any employee who rides the bus, carpools, vanpools, bikes or walks to work on the day the emergency ride is needed is eligible for a free guaranteed ride home.

What is an emergency?

A guaranteed ride home trip may be taken by an eligible employee in the event of the following emergencies:

• Employee or family illness
• Working late unexpectedly
• Missing normal ride home (e.g. carpool driver leaves work early due to emergency)
• Other emergency situations occurring during the work day

A guaranteed ride home trip may not be taken for:

• Pre-scheduled appointments
• Business-related travel

Where can the GRH go?

The guaranteed ride home trip must begin from work and can end at home or another location (e.g. child care or park & ride lot). Emergency-related interim stops are permitted if they are pre-approved by the GRH Program Coordinator.

What are the limits?

There are no limits on the number and/or length of guaranteed ride home trips taken by eligible employees. If desired, an employer may use their discretion to set limits for the program at the worksite. Driver tips are not covered.

Responsibilities

Commute Smart NW's Guaranteed Ride Home Program provides peace of mind for employees and employers. The program is easy to use and even easier to administer. The following are responsibilities of Commute Smart NW and participating employers.

Commute Smart NW's Responsibilities:

• Lyft for Business or Advanced Transporation to provide service.
• Provide materials to promote the program.
• Provide materials and training to administer the program.
• Pay either Lyft or Advanced Transporation for legitimate service and recover costs from employer in event of program abuse.
• Generate and distribute quarterly activity reports to participating employers.
• Assess an 8% fee on all trips. 

Participating Employer's Responsibilities:

• Identify a GRH Program Coordinator and at least one Back-up coordinator for each affected worksite.
• Approve and arrange trip requests, using Pre-trip Checklist form.
• Promote the program to all employees at least once a year.
• Let all employees know how to contact their GRH Program Coordinator when they need a ride home.
• Deposit $200, $300, $400 or $500 into employer's GRH account. Make additional deposits, as necessary.
• Send the Pre-trip Checklist to Commute Smart NW after a trip is taken.

Procedures

Commute Smart NWs Guaranteed Ride Home Program has been designed to be convenient and easy to use. When an employee needs a ride home, an immediate response from the GRH Program Coordinator or Back-up Coordinator is critical. Here's what happens when a call comes in:

Employee: Calls GRH Program Coordinator when they need a ride home.

Coordinator: Determines if request is appropriate and approves/disapproves the trip.  Coordinator obtains trip information from employee using Pre-trip Checklist form and schedules a ride via Lyft for Business online or calls Advanced Transportation to arrange a ride.  After trip is scheduled, the coordinator will confirm trip arrangements with employee.

Coordinator: Sends a copy of the Pre-Trip Checklists to Commute Smart Northwest for recordkeeping