The Future of Commuting

We’ve all seen it – we are all living it. The world is changing in drastic ways and we are left with the intimidating task of reimagining the best path forward. One key area to reimagine is the workplace; where it is and how we get there. “How we get there” is the original reason why Michael Rogers and I founded Beeline Mobility in 2019. Beeline Mobility is the architect, implementer and manager of modern mobility programs. We work with companies and in public/private partnerships to reduce the adverse effects that commuting has on people and planet. That mantra has taken on a whole new life in the age of #COVID-19.

Prior to the pandemic, the United States was experiencing the longest economic expansion in the country's history. The demand for corporate real estate (particularly by Big Tech) in major cities like San Francisco and Seattle was skyrocketing with little sign of slowing. Companies of all sorts opened lavish office spaces nearby one another, creating an almost inexhaustible ecosystem of pre-qualified talent to recruit from. But things are pretty different now, aren’t they?

Today, those massive centralized offices are likely sitting at sub-20% occupancy. I have a feeling it will stay that way for a while.

As a result of the shifting corporate climate, Beeline Mobility is working on some unconventional workplace solutions.

Have I piqued your curiosity? Before I share some of Beeline’s proposed solutions, let’s first do a temperature check of the American workplace:

1.    Prior to the pandemic: Employee commute and parking challenges were a significant barrier for scaling organizations’ recruiting and retention efforts. Companies that could resolve these issues without massive infrastructure overhaul were still spending a lot of money on their office spaces and commute programs to get employees to Point B.

2.    During the pandemic (today): People are working from home. Companies have had to adjust accordingly, oftentimes without any long-term or data-driven plan in place. Some companies had policies, some quickly developed them or hired consultants (like Beeline Mobility…wink wink) to put policies together. Or, they haven’t yet implemented them because they figured they’d be back at the office by now. But here we are on the cusp of October, indulging in all things pumpkin spice. Long story, long story… We are not going back to the typical office anytime soon. Are companies going to feel confident about continuing an 80%+ work from home environment? Is there a solution to this ever-changing climate?

3.    Post-pandemic: If we don’t know when the pandemic will be over, how do we plan for it? Answer: We can’t. Not in the ways we are used to, anyway. Adaptability and agility are key right now. Businesses need good partners that can flex with ever-changing needs.

Changing the ways in which we commute to work is one piece in an even larger possibility that the pandemic has essentially chucked into our laps. If we think bigger picture here, we can change the holistic relationship between work and personal time. We try to facilitate a forward-thinking work environment for our team at Beeline because, how can we sell a value proposition or advise clients if we aren’t living it ourselves? Beeline Mobility wants to revolutionize what working together can actually look like in 2020 and beyond, and we truly believe that working remotely doesn’t hinder productivity, it encourages it.

My first job within the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) industry was with Chariot, a Ford mobility company that offered shuttle services. A valuable takeaway from my time with Chariot was that not every company needs a shuttle program. What the overwhelming majority of companies did need help with was subject-matter expertise related to building complex commute programs that are endorsed by the organization’s leadership, are tailored to the company’s unique data, and are measured and optimized to increase ROI while limiting wasted investments. Beeline Mobility is the architect, implementer and manager of those modern mobility programs.

Now that I’ve given you a feel for what Beeline Mobility does, you should probably hear about why you should care.

The Daily Commute

Picture yourself, or a family member, loved one, or friend, sitting in your 2014 Honda Civic. It’s 5:00am on a dark, cold morning (it’s likely raining if you’re reading from Seattle). The sun isn’t quite up yet, but you’ve got the red glow of brake lights to illuminate your path to work. Don’t worry, though! It will be over soon! Only 90 more minutes Google Maps says. Wait. Now it’s 95 minutes. How did that happen?! At least traffic will be better on the drive home from work, right? Ok, go back to thinking about surfing or that bomb lasagna you’re about to eat for dinner, didn’t mean to stress you out so early into this article. But that scenario is one of the reasons why you should care about Beeline Mobility and the Transportation Demand Management industry.

My background is primarily in venture-backed healthcare SAAS startups in a multitude of sales roles. It was my personal commute experience that inspired a 180-degree lifestyle and career change that led me to Beeline Mobility. Michael and I didn’t expect that when launching Beeline in 2019 that we’d be up against a pandemic as we grew; a major hurdle many small businesses are navigating right now. But one thing we have been able to do as a small team is be incredibly agile: We have irons in the fire for projects like autonomous shuttles and for program management services that help clients reevaluate their existing commute programs that were built for a pre-COVID environment. And we are reconfiguring our business model to fully encompass today’s “commute”. First-last mile services and shuttles are very much in our portfolio, with a priority on working with state, local, and federal stakeholders to increase fair and equitable transit to communities. But, as you are likely currently experiencing, the commute is no longer what it used to be.

Distributed Offices

As many companies are coming to terms with the fact that they will not be bringing employees back to “headquarters” soon, alternative options need to be explored. One of these alternative options Beeline Mobility is actively helping clients and partners explore is the development of a Distributed Offices model. This model might look something like a decentralized headquarters with regional satellite offices strategically placed based on a company’s unique data. Each microsite would ideally be within fifteen minutes of the employees that it has been identified to serve. The goal here is to increase accessibility to the office and decrease commute time. Each employee will receive a tailored commute plan that lays out the most affordable, time efficient, and sustainable commute options for their designated microsite. Imagine 70% of an organization’s headcount working from multiple satellite offices with on-brand identifiers and experiences similar to that of the original headquarters, and employees get there by riding a bike for 10 minutes. Or by taking the bus for 5 minutes. Or by carpooling with others in their area. With this Distributed Offices model, we are not trying to get commuters out of cars and onto shuttles, we are looking to drastically change the status quo.

Adapt or Collapse

A specific approach Beeline has adopted, that seems to be a great survival strategy across all industries, is adaptability. You have to understand what the core business issue is, what you’re trying to solve for, and understand how to pilot it. Now is the perfect time for companies to be doing pilot programs. Coronavirus will always be a factor going forward – meaning, while COVID-19 itself may subside, I do think there will be lasting workplace effects in the sense that all business services are going to need to be very fluid because the client is going to need to be more agile. We have to be prepared to flex with that.

The Future of Transportation

TDM is going through a tough time where public transportation is not going to be viable for the general public for the foreseeable future. Gone are the days where you hug your backpack to your chest and squeeze yourself into that last (non-existent) space on the bus or light rail. Transit agencies and regional stakeholders had been expanding platforms, adding more trains, increasing bus frequency, and launching mobility pilots for the pre-COVID future but, unfortunately, all of that momentum is going to be lost for some time. Beeline wants to be actively involved in restoring faith in these systems. We want to do everything we can to help reestablish that access. For example, Mercer Island opens their light rail just a few years from now. We are working on a first draft concept for an autonomous shuttle program, which could be the first of its kind in Washington State (fulfilling Governor Jay Inslee’s Executive Order for Autonomous Vehicles). The allure of autonomous as first/last mile connectors could help encourage people to get back to public transportation, paired with the vastly elevated cleaning protocols (fogging vehicles and using medical-grade air filtration) that Beeline and the rest of the TDM industry are employing.

We plan to implement and manage these forward-thinking programs for public and private partners, across all socio-economic demographics, both regionally and globally, knowing that many organizations don’t have the staff or subject-matter expertise to design and operate a robust program on their own. Very few organizations will have someone, let alone a team, on staff designated to manage a commute program or to solve problems like limited parking on campus. The overwhelming majority of companies are likely to simply ask someone in HR or Facilities to manage on a minimal basis. We come in and evaluate how much you’re spending on your shuttle / commute program and believe that, over the course of a few years, we can transition your employees off of that demand and move towards more sustainable, cost-effective modes. Instead of paying more for a program year-over-year, we focus on reducing your total shuttle contract value by implementing a comprehensive commute program. We don’t believe that shuttles are the end-all-be-all, rather, a stepping stone: Get people from their individual car to a company shuttle, get people from the shuttle onto a bike to get to the train, or get a fully realized telework policy in place that includes flex schedules, microsites, or whatever aligns with your company’s goals. By reducing your total investment, we also aim to simultaneously reduce the overall carbon footprint for your company.

I don’t know where you were yesterday, but I was at home. Today, I’m at home. And, tomorrow, I will most likely still be here working from home. Personally, and as a total side note- I love it. My point being that things are likely going to be this way for a while, and we will see a permanent impact on commuting behavior as a result. If you haven’t already figured this out, I can be a bit of a talker, so, please, call me and let’s chat about the future of the workplace. Or, share your thoughts in a comment and let’s all reimagine together.

About The Author

Bobby Lauterjung is Co-Founder and Executive Director at Beeline Mobility where he leads a team of commute program architects specializing in the data-driven design, implementation, and management of modern mobility programs. Previously, Bobby worked at Ford Smart Mobility company, Chariot, where he was a dedicated Program Manager operating shuttles for one of the Big 5 tech companies. Today, Bobby and his team are working to increase accessibility to modern mobility programs for corporations and communities alike by using forward-thinking technologies such as autonomous shuttles. Bobby has been a member of ACT for almost 2 years and is dedicated to making a positive impact on behalf of the TDM community. Most recently, Bobby volunteered to lead one of several C-19 task forces responsible for researching and compiling CDC guidelines and best practices. In his spare time, Bobby likes to golf, snowboard, work on home-projects, and garden with his wife Mara and dog BALTO.