CloserCommutes.org Mission

CloserCommutes.org is a pro bono collaborative consulting initiative [organized by Trelawny Consulting Group Ltd.] to radically reduce commuting times and distances and other inefficient, unwanted and unfair travel. Our five-year goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one per cent globally, save commuters billions of hours annually and boost corporate productivity, while lowering HR costs, decreasing traffic congestion and pollution, lowering healthcare costs, and strengthening regional economies.

CloseCommute Systems Inc. is a BC-registered corporation resolved as a benefit corporation. [Read about benefit corporations here.]

Progress

Starting in Canada …

CloserCommutes.org is developing a blueprint for a next-gen, fully scalable commute trip reduction (CTR) / travel reduction program (TRP) initiative that will reduce the commuting time and distance of millions of commuters worldwide while supporting mode shift to walking, biking and transit. The initiative will recruit significant action from large employers and major trip generators. The tactics – for commuters and their employers – are simple to understand and implement. The impact will be impressive: we project a 5% to 10% reduction in overall daily vehicular traffic across each urban area.

The benefits:

• For long commuters – more quality time each day, lower stress and improved health, reduced commuting costs, etc.
• For employers – reduced costs for absenteeism, hiring, training and extended health benefits, higher productivity, etc.
• For society and the environment – $100s of millions in regional economic benefits, reduced traffic load, faster commercial deliveries due to reduced congestion, less pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, etc.

CloseCommute Systems is providing the scientific foundation, developing DIY toolkits for employers, and a platform for government agencies to introduce and operate an initiative.

Providing an irrefutable, research-backed business case

Our ground-breaking analysis of employee commuting data for RBC Royal Bank of Canada confirms our approach is realistic, and our projections for traffic reductions are plausible. More than 75% of the bank's employees appear to be commuting longer than is necessary. For at least half of all employees, there is one peer, if not several, doing the same job at a different branch who could immediately swap locations for mutual benefit – not to mention the benefits to the employer and society – at no cost to the bank. Our examination of data for teachers, municipal employees, healthcare workers and other occupations (using our StatCan dataset, see below) confirms the scope is similar across all sectors.

We've assembled an extensive annotated bibliography of peer-reviewed research into the effects of long commuting – it is convincing, and a call for action by everyone.
Download "The Effects of Long Commutes and What To Do About Them – An Annotated Bibliography" as a PDF.

We've commissioned from StatCan custom cross-tabulated data on commuting broken down by occupation, sex, commuting length of time (10-minute intervals), census subdivision, commuting flow patterns, mode of transportation – these are the most complete and detailed data ever produced on Canada's four largest Metro Census Areas. We are providing these data free to transit planners, employers, academics, unions and the public. An early take-away finding: Five out of every six teachers are commuting needlessly far. If we could rectify that colossal waste of time and stress on teachers, imagine how the classroom experience might be improved, especially important during this pandemic.

Web app testing

We launched a prototype web app for long commuters in March of 2017 with the initial test limited to Metro Vancouver's one million daily commuters and Greater Victoria. We confirmed techniques for using APIs to link to Google Maps' massive database in real time, and also learn that we need to involve government agencies to have the amount of publicity required for a successful regional campaign.

We've started gathering media partners, sponsors and endorsers. If you have contacts to suggest or expertise to offer, please email Bruce at closecommute@gmail.com or phone 250-380-0998.

Your home, work and play only a short hop apart …