Research Triangle Park, N.C. - The Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) this week will honor Durham County businesses that have excelled in giving their employees an alternative to commuting to and from work in a single-occupied vehicle.

The awards ceremony will be held Friday, July 29th at 8:30 AM at the Millennium Durham Hotel, off Morreene Road at US 15 & 501.

TTA administers the Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) Ordinance enacted by the Durham County Board of Commissioners in 1999. The aim of CTR is to improve the quality of life by reducing traffic congestion, air pollution, and fuel consumption. To achieve these goals, employers develop programs that encourage employees who drive alone to work to consider an alternative mode such as buses, vanpools, carpools, biking, telecommuting or walking.

A 2004-2005 survey of nearly 14,000 employees in Durham and Durham County showed that between 15 and 20 per cent of them are using an alternative mode that has reduced single occupied vehicle travel by more than 400,000 miles a week. The largest number of alternative commuters travel in carpools, followed by telecommuting, public transit, vanpools, biking and walking.

"We are honoring the best,” said John Tallmadge, TTA director of commuter resources. "Businesses in Durham County are taking the lead in implementing exceptional programs which annually benefit their employees and promote alternatives to being behind the wheel. Others are learning from their successes.”

Winners will be announced in the following categories:
   * Innovator Award – Small Company
   * Innovator Award – Medium Company
   * Innovator Award – Large Company
   * Leadership Award – Small Company
   * Leadership Award – Medium Company
   * Leadership Award – Large Company
   * Outstanding Employee Transportation Coordinator

Some employer program elements include ozone awareness campaigns, holding transportation fairs for employees, providing campus shuttles, preferential parking for carpoolers and vanpoolers, bike racks or lockers, clothes lockers, showers and teleconferencing facilities. Employers also encourage the use of TTA’s Emergency Ride Home program, and flexible work schedules. Many participate in SmartCommute, a transportation management association made up of employers in the Research Triangle Park that support commuting alternatives to the automobile.

TTA is a regional public transportation provider, offering a wide variety of transit and vanpool services to North Carolina's greater Triangle Region and outlying counties. Bus service is available to Apex, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Garner, RDU International Airport, Research Triangle Park (RTP) and Raleigh. The Triangle Transit Authority also provides commuter resources and hosts GoTriangle.org, the on-line resource for public transportation information in the Triangle.

TTA plans to implement a 28-mile rail transit system with 12 stations connecting Durham, RTP, Cary and Raleigh, with shuttles linking RDU International Airport and RTP. The rail transit system is expected to be operational in late 2008. For more information, visit www.rideTTA.org or call (919) 549-9999.