To reduce single-occupant vehicles and overall traffic through commute alternatives the Transportation Authority has funded organizations that share this mission including the Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance, city of Menlo Park, San Francisco International Airport and the Bicycle Advisory Committee.

Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance

The Transportation Authority has channeled the majority of this program budget to the Alliance. Approximately one-third of the Alliance’s annual budget is funded directly by Measure A.

Formed through a merger of the Multi-City and Inter-City Transportation Management agencies, the Alliance provides a coordinated program for 15 cities: Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, Colma, Daly City, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Half Moon Bay, Millbrae, Pacifica, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo and South San Francisco.

Through an extensive employer and community outreach the Alliance offers a variety of programs to address the needs and concerns of commuters. Programs are often tailored to meet the needs of specific employers and its employees. The focus is on promoting easy-to-implement, no-to-low-cost programs. The Alliance’s programs include:

1. Caltrain and BART Shuttles – The Alliance serves as a broker between cities and interested employers, providing everything from management to marketing, to help create successful shuttle programs. Fourteen shuttles are currently provided between employers and Caltrain/BART stations.
2. Vanpools and Carpools – Vanpooling typically appeals to longer-distance commuters (more than 20 miles one-way), as it generally becomes more cost-effective at that distance. More than one in five county commuters lives farther than 20 miles from their worksite. In addition, 12 percent of San Mateo County commuters carpool to work. The Alliance helps employers reduce parking congestion while increasing recruitment and retention rates. At the same time it gives employees a way to alleviate the stress and expense of commuting by car through ridesharing rebates and incentives.
3. Emergency Ride Home program – Whether employees carpool, vanpool, bus, bike, or walk to work, the Alliance works with employers to provide a free taxi ride or a 24-hour car rental in the case of a bona fide emergency.
4. Transit incentives - The Alliance’s "Try Transit Program" provides free transit tickets to anyone interested in trying BART, Caltrain, SamTrans or VTA to get to work.
5. Bike Locker Subsidies - The Alliance will order, install and split the cost of new bike racks and lockers with an employer in an effort to encourage employees to ride bikes to work and discourage thieves at the same time. Quality bicycle parking encourages bicycle commuting and reduces the demand for costly automobile parking spaces.
6. Bike and pedestrian safety program – The Alliance offers free one-hour bike and pedestrian safety workshops at jobsites.