News Release
September 13, 2023
The City of Toronto has been recognized as Canada’s first ‘Best Workplace for Commuters’ for supporting and encouraging employees to commute to work in sustainable ways – by transit, cycling, walking, carpooling – and also by offering hybrid work.
Awarded by Best Workplaces for Commuters (BWC), a North American organization that recognizes and supports workplaces providing exceptional commuter support, this designation applies to 16 of the City’s largest office workplaces covering more than 16,000 employees. City programs and services that provide commuter support include:
- The Smart Commute program through which the City implements annual campaigns, offers an online carpool ride-matching tool, emergency ride home program and webinars, workshops and resources to help employees explore sustainable commuting options.
- A hybrid work program.
- The use of City fleet vehicles to perform job duties, where required.
Sustainable commuting is a key component of the City’s TransformTO Net Zero Strategy which set an ambitious target to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2040. Vehicles generate 33 per cent of the emissions in Toronto, primarily from the burning of gasoline and diesel in passenger vehicles.
Smart Commute is a regional program supported and implemented by municipalities in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area. The program provides workplaces with a range of programs and services that make it easier for commuters to take transit, carpool or walk rather than drive to work. The City delivers the Smart Commute program in Toronto working with leading organizations across the city to support sustainable commuting.
The BWC program – delivered by pointA – offers designated organizations access to a range of support services to assess and promote non-driving commuting of employees including organizational assessments and implementation toolkits, web-based tools and webinars, staff training and information exchange. More information can be found on the BWC website.
More information about the Smart Commute Program is available on the Smart Commute Toronto website.
Toronto-based organizations interested in participating in the City’s Smart Commute program can email: scommute@toronto.ca.
In addition to encouraging sustainable commuting with City employees, the City is working to make travel by public transit, walking and cycling safer and more inviting which helps ease traffic congestion on streets, creates a cleaner environment and promotes physical activity. Some examples include the study and installation of transit priority solutions that improve transit reliability, Vision Zero actions that are improving road safety and the expansion of bikeways across the city.
Quotes:
“The City of Toronto is proud to be recognized as the first municipality and workplace in Canada to achieve the designation of Best Workplace for Commuters. Our support of sustainable commuting helps our employees experience a better, less stressful commute and supports our TransformTO Net Zero Strategy by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and congestion from a major source: transportation.”
– Mayor Olivia Chow
“The City of Toronto is one of the top employers in the nation supporting sustainable commuting by employees. They provide the support employees need to get to work in sustainable ways and be at their best before, during, and after their workday.”
– Julie Bond, BWC Program Director, Best Workplaces for Commuters
Toronto is home to more than three million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation and climate action, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit the City’s website or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.