Awards and Designations

Is your Bellevue business committed to reducing congestion by encouraging employees not to drive alone? You now have an opportunity to be recognized for your efforts for offering a comprehensive package of commute benefits to employees. Click here to find out more!

Each year, the Bellevue Downtown Association recognizes companies which take great strides toward making downtown viable, livable, memorable and accessible, through its Place Making Awards. The Commute Champion Award is given to the company that exemplifies a strong commitment to achieving downtown’s mode split goals by making an outstanding commute benefits program an integral part of its corporate culture. With a program that achieved a 50% non-drive alone commute rate, Courtyard by Marriott was recognized as the 2009 Commute Champion.

 

Commuter Challenge, an initiative of enterpriseSeattle, annually recognizes King County businesses that go above and beyond with programs to reduce commute trips among their employees. The following Bellevue companies received recognition at the 18^th annual awards ceremony in 2011:

 

2011 Diamond Ring for Outstanding Leadership

In 2010, Governor Christine Gregoire recognized many Washington companies for their commitment to reducing drive-alone commute travel.  In Bellevue, Corkey Christensen of LUMEDX Corporation won the award for Employee Transportation Coordinator of the year at a voluntary worksite. In addition, the Connect Downtown program, a partnership of the City of Bellevue, King County Metro and the Bellevue Downtown Association’s TransManage, received the Community Champion Award. Read the press release and link to a video about the Connect Dowtown program.

 

ACT, an international non-profit organization formed to support non-drive alone travel, annually recognizes the best programs in its awards competition. In 2008, Microsoft was recognized with the Outstanding Service Award for The Connector, a network of buses and shuttles that provide transportation for employees whose neighborhoods aren’t served by regular public transit agency routes. TransManage, a service of the Bellevue Downtown Association, was named the 2009 Outstanding Transportation Management Association (TMA) by ACT for its success in extending commute programs to companies with fewer than 100 employees through their Commute Advantage program. This national-level award recognizes the TMA that has best used its public/private partnerships to achieve local or regional transportation goals. Read the full press release here.

Best Workplaces for Commuters is a membership program that provides qualified employers with national recognition and a designation for offering outstanding commuter benefits, such as free or low cost bus passes and vanpool fares and strong telework programs. Employers that meet the National Standard of Excellence in commuter benefits—a standard created by the National Center for Transit Research (NCTR) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—can get on the list of Best Workplaces for Commuters and receive recognition, technical assistance, training and other Web-based tools and forums. There is an annual fee of $230 to become a Best Workplaces for Commuters member. Learn about joining here.  

 

Find out which companies are Best Workplaces for Commuters members here.