A
September 4, 2013
1:30 – 3:30 pm
NXP Semiconductor
411 East Plumeria Drive*
San Jose, CA 95134
Minutes
Transportation Policy Committee Meeting
Click for original background Agenda & Materials at the http://svlg.org/policyareas/transportation/transportation-committee/transportation-committee-only
(password BARTtoSV)
1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
The Transportation Policy Committee meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m.
Transportation and Housing Committee Members:
Chris Wall, City National Bank (TPC co-chair)
Melissa Zucker, Solaria (TPC co-chair)
Chuck Wilhelm, Enlight
Stan Nakaso, Lockheed Martin
Jennifer Paedon, Lockheed Martin
Denny Yau, San Jose State University
Ron Gonzales, Presencia LLC
Betty Garza, NXP Semiconductor
Danielle Brinker, Yahoo! (via phone)
Tom Harrington, Intuit (via phone, guest for telecommute forum)
Staff:
Jessica Zenk, Senior Director of Transportation
2. TPC Minutes Approval
Motion—M/S Chris Wall / Betty Garza—Carried unanimously.
Approve the minutes of the August 2013 TPC meeting.
3. Member Forum – Telecommuting
Chris Wall introduced the discussion, citing previous TPC meetings where the option of
“not traveling at all” (telecommuting) arose as an important transportation strategy.
Danielle Brinker (Yahoo!) started the discussion with a description of their policies on
telecommuting. Yahoo! currently has a human, friendly and pretty loose program.
Everybody is encouraged to be in the office, but nobody is allowed to work from home
all the time. Mobility is expected, but so are regular visits to the office.
At Yahoo!, the telecommuting policy is not related to a Transportation Demand
Management (TDM) strategy – that is not top of mind for business leaders. It is totally tied
to the culture of the company – where everything is on the table, quick, and visible, and
close contact is very important.
Tom Harrington (Intuit) relayed that Intuit is a very culturally-driven company. The precise
telecommuting arrangement is left up to employees and their managers. It is very heavily
utilized in functional units like finance, legal, etc. It does not work well for product
development.
At Intuit, roughly 13% of the company works from home. This is both a real estate strategy
(reducing the need for and cost of space) as well as a strategy for attracting and
retaining talent. Intuit provides tools and training for employees and managers aid in
successful telecommuting arrangements. These include a survey to uncover if one is a
good candidate for telecommuting and tips/training to increase your success once
telecommuting.
Questions & Discussion
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Chris: In your perspective, is there a use to learning more about tools for virtual
collaboration?
o Danielle: Honestly, it’s not compelling for Yahoo! We have some distrust
about 3rd parties coming in to sell us stuff. Moreover, video conferencing
hasn’t lived up to its billing.
o Tom: Not compelling for Intuit either, primarily because we’ve already
done our homework and continue to keep a “good ear to the ground”
regarding new technology. We’ve made a significant investment in video
conferencing, both the backbone network and actual
displays/equipment. We have mediascape spots with control displays that
allow folks to collaborate remotely. However, I do see a potential
opportunity to take information about low-cost virtual collaboration tools
out to small businesses (although they have different connectivity levels).
o Danielle: Agree with the low cost and mobile options; these are interim
steps.
Chuck: You mentioned real estate and parking as key factors. Tom: True, it is
really real estate that is driving much of our telecommuting policy.
Betty: At NXP, our sales force is home/remote. Within the support and design
teams, that is up to the supervisor and employee. Note that, when one person on
a team telecommutes 100%, it can breed resentment among other team
members.
Stan: The nature of Lockheed Martin and our industry limits the number of people
that can work remotely. When it does happen, it really takes leadership of the
team to manage people in diverse places – and we need tools to get ahold of
each other quickly. There could be educational opportunities / trainings like the
ones at Intuit that could help people telework better.
Melissa: In terms of public policy that could impact telecommuting, more could
be done in that, at many companies, there’s currently little/no incentive to allow
for it. This is where our advocacy could make a difference.
Chris: We could start by quantifying what we (the public) would save in terms of
wear and tear on the roads, traffic congestion, etc. if more people
telecommuted.
Melissa: Tax benefits (like those afforded for transit or parking) could encourage
individual to telecommute.
Tom: There’s also a role here for municipalities, but it’s a tricky one. Many of them
are trying to balance reducing traffic (helped by telecommuting) with supporting
local retail (hurt by telecommuting in cities with major employment base; helped
by telecommuting in bedroom communities).
Jessica: Do companies need to hear from us on this?
o Chris: Perhaps smaller businesses, especially those needing low cost
options
o Jennifer: I don’t know, it’s such a corporate culture issue, it’s very
challenging to influence. People and companies tend to have hard and
fast opinions about whether telecommuting is good or bad.
Melissa: I want to ask Tom about the tools Intuit developed. Are those helping to
bring people around, help them get over fears regarding telecommuting and
choose strategies that work well for them? (Tom: yes)
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Chris: We can make an impact by raising awareness of the potential benefits to
the public and to companies.
Ron: I want to bring up that we’re talking about policies that apply to a small and
fairly privileged portion of the workforce. What about the single mom who works
in the cafeteria – I’m concerned about how to get her to/from home in time for
dinner. We need to understand the needs of low income workers.
Jennifer: I agree with Ron. At Lockheed, our custodial staff just had a shift
change, moving it to 5am to 2:30pm. Now they’re facing much more traffic, and
we’re facing real trouble helping them.
Jessica: Some companies overall TDM program are open to all workers (contract
& employees), while others are not allowed because of the way the benefit is
considered for legal purposes. An excellent study called “Moving to Work” was
recently done on the subject of low and middle income workers in the Bay Area
and their transportation challenges. We will have them come in to discuss soon
(update: scheduled for November 2013).
Denny: I agree with this as well. At SJSU, we don’t offer telecommuting because it
has become a class issue.
4. Transportation Funding Mechanisms – Comments & Feedback
Jessica pointed out that a brief summarizing the TPC conversation regarding
Transportation Funding Mechanisms (from July 2013) is in the packet for the Committee’s
reference. The action item from that discussion (for the Leadership Group to advocate in
the near term for increasing and indexing the gas tax) is going to the Working Council
tomorrow (September 5th). Update: the Working Council approved the TPC
recommendation to support increasing and indexing the gas tax.
5. 2014-2016 TPC Work Plan
The TPC continued a discussion began in July about how to update our 3-year rolling
Work Plan for the coming year. Today is the day to finalize the Committee’s proposal. It
then goes to Working Council for discussion at the October Strategy Conference and,
after changes if needed, for approval at the November meeting. The Work Plan then
goes to the Board of Directors at the December Annual Meeting.
The first item reviewed was the Mission Statement. After discussion/revisions, the
Committee opted for the following Mission Statement moving forward:
Mission
Increase the ease and sustainability of mobility in Silicon Valley to help assure its longterm economic health and quality of life. Specifically, seek to:
 Enhance the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of our transportation system
(reach, modes, interconnectivity);
 Reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions;
 Seek opportunities to advance related organizational goals, such as protecting
open space, advancing transit-oriented development, promoting health and
wellness, and improving the quality of our air and water.
The Committee reviewed the current (2013-2015) priorities and discussed potential 20142016 Priorities. These included additional items that arose in the July discussion, like
maximizing the effectiveness and efficiency of existing assets (including highways, roads
& transit). Based on the discussion, the Committee’s proposed 2013 priorities are:
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BART Silicon Valley Phase 2
Transit & Rail (including Caltrain, BART, ACE and local transit)
Existing Assets (Road/Highway/Transit)
Vehicle Innovation (Greener, More Advanced Vehicle Technology)
Active Transportation (Bikes/Ped) (include Transportation Demand Management)
Airport: Increasing Flights to SJC
The Committee also will pursue supportive land uses, last mile strategies & pricing policies,
and continue Member Forums to share information.
Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 3:30.