The County Department of Human Resources (DHR) currently encourages County of San Diego employees to reduce the time and distance they drive alone to work by offering incentives such as transit pass reimbursement and preferential parking for employees who participate in a vanpool or carpool. The County also implements its Government Without Walls Program, which helps managers and employees consider different ways to provide services effectively and efficiently by changing where and when County employees work such as telecommuting. In response to the increase in telecommuting due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the County developed a tracking tool to monitor commute reductions from employee telecommuting and alternative work schedules across departments in 2020.

Increased ability for County employees to telecommute resulted in the avoidance of more than 18.2 million vehicle miles in 2023, or 26 percent of the total miles driven if employees had worked from their respective offices. In addition, DHR is expanding its outreach efforts with new informational handouts to increase employee participation in alternative transportation and work schedules.

To reach the target of 20% reduction in County employee commute miles traveled, employees must drive approximately 5.1 million fewer miles in 2030 than they did in 2014. This measure will result in a 7,473 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in 2030. This measure calculates the emissions that will be avoided when employees use transit, ride a bike, or carpool to work instead of commuting by themselves in their car. It will also measure reductions from telecommuting and alternative work schedules, which decrease the number of days a person drives to the office.

The County of San Diego workforce is the engine that powers the vital services and programs that residents depend upon. Increasing the sustainability of employee commute behavior ensures that the County serves the public in an environmentally responsible way. Overall, reducing County employee vehicle miles traveled is part of an overall strategy to reduce vehicle emissions while also achieving improvements in air quality, public health, mobility, and community health.