Local commuters want options. Reflecting on their routes to work before, during, and after the pandemic, thousands of Omaha-Council Bluffs metro employees told us they want the flexibility and support to reduce their drive-alone car trips in favor of a combination of modes including public transit, walking, cycling, driving, and working from home. 

In partnership with the Greater Omaha Chamber and Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA), Verdis Group surveyed more than 4,000 employees from more than 20 organizations in diverse industries between November 2020 and June 2021. The surveys represent an employee population of nearly 16,000 people in Omaha and Council Bluffs. 

The survey results, detailed in the ConnectGo Getting To Work Report, present an exciting opportunity: surveyed employers could shift 17% of pre-pandemic drive-alone trips to active commuting and working from home with supportive programming. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and acceptance of a hybrid work from home culture, 9% of drive-alone trips could be avoided by working from home. 

“Realizing the 17% gap in pre-pandemic to future active commuting trips and working from home at just the organizations surveyed would result in 5,390 fewer one-way trips to worksites each day.“

ConnectGo Getting To Work Report, published August 19, 2021

By offering supportive programming, employers have an opportunity to benefit their community in the following ways: 

• Reduce parking demand by 2,700 fewer parking stalls needed in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area 
• Eliminate over 5,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year, the equivalent of 611 homes’ annual electricity use 
• Reduce traffic congestion on our roadways by nearly 5,400 fewer car trips each day 
• Improve recruitment and retention of employees, especially those for whom access to a car is a barrier to getting to work 
• Improved air quality with fewer vehicle tailpipe emissions 

Click here to visit ConnectGo’s website and download the report. If you are a reporter and want to speak to a Verdis Group expert about the findings, reach out at shelby@verdisgroup.com.