During gas shortages and rationing in the 1970s, TI began operating on-site shuttles and employee vanpools to cut costs and meet employee needs at our U.S.-based corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas. As the company grew, we stepped up our efforts, initiating a formal Dallas-based Employee Trip Reduction program in 1996, where roughly one-third of our employees were working. The program continues to grow and employees worldwide are encouraged to use alternative transportation.

Because so many of TI’s employees live, work and commute within the urban area around our Dallas headquarters, TI provides employees with annual mass transit passes to reduce the number of cars on the road. Our Employee Trip Reduction program provides subsidized vanpools, a database for initiating carpools, on-site concierge service and dining, bicycle facilities, telecommuting and flexible work options. This encourages employees to reduce travel, reduce stress, increase productivity and promote alternative, cleaner transportation.

Today, our Dallas-based Employee Trip Reduction keeps an estimated 7,800 vehicles off the road during the summer months and averts an estimated 21 tons of NOx emissions, which are a precursor to ozone formation.

Similar programs exist at TI sites around the world. At facilities with large employee populations in the U.S., such as Manchester, N.H., and Tucson, Ariz., Commute Solutions coordinators assist with employee trip reduction and awareness activities. Globally, we provide buses and jeeps to transport employees to work in the Philippines; in France, we host a Web site to educate employees on commuting options in the area, with an EcoCalculator to help employees calculate the annual costs of their transportation choices.

These innovative programs and commitment to improving quality of life for the communities around our site communities earned TI the distinct honor of being named one of the U.S. EPA’s top 20 “Best Workplaces for Commuters.”