Companies help workers as pump prices pinch - The Business Review (Albany):

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But the daily commuted is essentially unavoidable, and often long; half of workersw in Jacksonville drive 11 to 30 mileas to getto work. Because of that, some employers are starting to look for ways to help theirt workers limitfuel costs. Last month, on the Friday before Memoria Day, the law firm of announced it was handinbout $300 gas cards to its nonattorne y workers, who number about 100 and make up abou half of its The firm also hands out $100 bills to support staff on Valentine' Day and was rater the best small company to work for in Jacksonvillre in The Business Journal's Best Placex to Work awards in 2007.
"Thi is the first time they addressed the gasissus specifically," said Elizabeth Neeland, a spokeswoman in Constangy'es main office in Atlanta. Most companies can't afford to shower their workers with hundredeof dollars, but they're looking for othefr ways to help out. At , employeesx can ask questions of management and voic concerns at regularlyscheduled meetings, and the risingf cost of fuel is an increasinglyy common theme. "If it isn't the firs question, it's the second question," said Robert Fontaine, head of campus planninvg for Mayo. Mayo has responded by working with the to encouragre carpooling and, eventually, van pooling.
Car pooling doesn't required the involvement of employers orplanningg organizations, but employers can connect co-workers who are unawarse that they live near each and car poolers who registerd with the MPO are eligible for up to four free emergenc cab rides home each The MPO is getting the word out about its car poolinyg and van pooling services, and the interest has spiked this year alongh with gas prices. "I the last month, it's been said Elizabeth DeJesus, commuter servicesx manager forthe MPO.
The MPO is workin with , a national company that leasesa vans for van pools and provides related Typically one member of a van pool is the designated driverf and the lease of the van is inthe driver's The driver collects monthly fees from the passengersx and VPSI covers insurance and maintenance costs. Fontaine said Mayo hopesd to have its van pooling program operating within 60 and the clinic is considering leasing thevans itself.
Another approach to lowering fuel expenses is beiny tried this summer at the law firm of Rogers Towers PA, where support staff have been offeredc the option of working four 10-hour days a Executive Director Pam Bass, who proposed the said about a third of the roughlty 100 support workers, who includde residents as far away as Palm Coast and are taking the firm up on the