Centennial’s business community and its role with public
transportation play a vital part in the future economic development
of the city.
“We want to bring these people from outside your district here
because they are potential customers for your business,” said Steve
Klausing, executive director for the South I-25 Transportation
Management Association.
“They go to lunches, they hang out after work, they shop here
because this is where they’re working,” Klausing was talking about
the TRIP program, which offers employees discounted transportation
passes on the light rail and buses.
The Trip Transit Ridership Incentive program pays 50 percent of
the cost for any type of public transportation pass for employees
commuting to and working in Centennial.
TRIP applies to businesses residing within only the South East
Public Improvement Metropolitan District. SPIMD is a business
district that runs along the I-25 corridor from Belleview to
Lincoln avenues. The district doesn’t include any residential
property.
“We are only supplementing ridership coming into the region so
they can spend money here,” Mayor Randy Pye told city council Aug.
11. “The South East Public Improvement Metropolitan District is
strictly a business district so we’re not taxing any or our
citizens for the enhancements we’re creating through SPIMD,” he
said.
Of all the TRIP users there are roughly 326 coming into
Centennial to work, Klausing said. Only 3 percent are residing in
Centennial and commuting elsewhere.
More than half of the employees coming into Centennial are
coming from Denver or farther away.
“What this tells me is that there is a lot of opportunity to
increase numbers here,” Klausing said. “We need to begin work on
outreach to recruit more employers in Centennial to take advantage
of the program.”
The advantage for businesses is that employees can try the light
rail or commuting at a reduced cost increasing employee retention.
The program uses the light rail, buses and even the call and ride
service.
“If a new employer was looking to relocate to Centennial and was
worried they would lose some of their employees, we can partner
with them subsidizing 50 passes for six months,” Klausing gave as
an example. “It helps employers who have employees living in Parker
or Aurora or even Denver.”
“The reasons Comcast decided to expand their footprint near the
light rail was so their employees could use the light rail,” Mayor
Randy Pye said. “It was really quite encouraging.”
TRIP is funded though about $55,000 from the SPIMD district.
That equates to roughly 1,300 passes per month. Klausing reported
that they have sold out of TRIP passes the last two months.
With 1,300 passes being sold each month, Klausing also said TRIP
users are saving a lot of road miles. The average commuter miles
saved is more than 37,000 per day.
“We are keeping off the highway to the tune of 37,000 miles. If
you calculate that out over the work month, that’s one heck of a
lot of miles saved,” he said. “So this program is hitting the mark
by being economically friendly and by increasing economic
development.”
One of the Transportation Management Association’s primary goals
this year is to increase ridership for employees living on the far
east and west sides of the city, Klausing told council.
“Finding more ways to open this program up to use by more
Centennial employers is one of our highest priorities,” Klausing
said. “We want them to realize their employees living east and west
can take advantage of this.”
For more information on TRIP visit www.triptowork.com.
303-566-4121 | hcook@ccnewspapers.com