Insurance giant State Farm gave a huge vote of confidence to MARTA when it decided to build a new hub campus, currently under construction, around the Dunwoody transit station. At a recent lunch meeting sponsored by the Perimeter Business Alliance, Juaquin Jordan, State Farm’s Administrative Services Manager, spoke about the reasons behind that decision.
“State Farm believes that access to public transportation is a benefit for our employees and was an important factor in our choosing the Dunwoody location. As you know, this is a transit-oriented development that will connect to the Dunwoody MARTA Station, allowing many employees to take MARTA directly to the building they will work in. When our employees have access to transportation options, we believe it positively contributes to their overall work-life balance. This is a good thing.”
Q: If resources were closer to being unlimited, what initiative could most change commuter behaviors and prompt broader use of alternative transportation options?
"As more employers factor alternative transportation options into their business-development plans, and potential employees see the benefit of having these options available, public perception will begin to change. Employers need to be located where their employees can get to and from work with relative ease. For large employers, the use and acceptance of alternative transportation options is critically important to move large numbers of people with relative ease. Efforts that make access to alternative transportation options more readily available to people regardless of where they live would be beneficial. Also, efforts to raise public awareness of the multiple transportation options available to employees in this area would be very helpful. Forums such as this, news media coverage of transportation factoring into corporate expansion, and each of us in this room telling the story will go a long way to address this issue."
Q: How do you best incentivize your employees to take advantage of the infrastructure you are developing, including a corporate campus literally straddling the MARTA Red Line?
“We are excited about our growth in this region. This kind of growth is good news for Georgia, and would not have been possible without access to quality public transportation. State Farm currently provides a benefit to our associates to encourage the use of public transportation. Our Commuter Benefits Program allows our associates to purchase transit and/or commuter parking spaces with pre-tax dollars. We want our employees to be able to choose the commuting option that makes the most sense for their individual needs and are pleased to provide this benefit to them.”
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