Emeryville Municipal Code Art. 9 Manual Of Procedures

AVR or VER for each affected work site of more than one hundred (100) employees is to be computed in a manner consistent with the following method:

(a) The employer or employment center of one hundred (100) or more employees at the work site conducts an employee transportation survey during a survey week.

(b) AVR is calculated only for those employees who start work or are assigned to the work site during the peak period.

(c) If less than sixty percent (60%) of the survey forms are returned for processing from those employees who start work during the peak period, all survey forms not returned from those employees who start work during the peak period shall be counted as single-occupant vehicles for purposes of calculating AVR or VER.

(d) If sixty percent (60%) or more of the survey forms are returned for processing from those employees who start work during the peak period, one half (1/2) of those survey forms not returned from those employees who start work during the peak period shall be assumed to have the same AVR or VER as that calculated from the responses to the surveys returned, and one half (1/2) shall be counted as single-occupant vehicles for purposes of calculating AVR or VER.

(e) AVR for the work site shall be calculated by dividing the total "employee days" for the survey week by the total "vehicle trip days" for the survey week.

(f) VER for the work site shall be calculated by dividing the total "vehicle trip days" for the survey week by the total "employee days" for the survey week.

(g) Employee days shall be determined as follows:

(i) The total number of employees who start work or are assigned to a work site during the peak period each work day Monday through Friday of the survey week. Each day of the survey week that an employee starts work during the peak period counts as one (1) employee day. For example, an employee who starts work each day Monday through Friday of the survey week between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. counts as five (5) employee days. The following procedures are used in totaling employee days:

1. Employees telecommuting or who are off due to a compressed work week schedule are counted as reporting to the work site in calculating the total employee days.

(ii) The following employees are not included in the employee days total:

1. Employees not working because of vacation, sickness, or other time off;

2. Employees who report to a different work site or an off-site work-related activity;

3. Disabled employees.

(h) Vehicle trip days shall be determined as follows:

(i) The total number of vehicles used by employees who start work or are assigned to the work site each work day Monday through Friday of the survey week. A vehicle trip day is based on the means of transportation used for the greatest distance of an employee's home-to-work commute trip. An employee who starts work during the peak period and arrives at the work site each day of the survey week Monday through Friday in a single-occupant vehicle counts as five (5) vehicle trip days. The following numerical values are used in calculating the total vehicle trip days:

1. Single-occupant vehicle (drive alone) equals one (1);

2. Carpool equals one (1) divided by the number of people in the carpool;

3. Vanpool equals one (1) divided by the number of employees in the vanpool;

4. Motorcycle, moped, motorized scooter, or motor bike equal one (1);

5. Clean fueled vehicles are counted as follows:

i. Electric vehicle equals zero (0),

ii. Compressed natural gas vehicle equals one fourth (0.25),

iii. Propane vehicle equals one half (0.5),

iv. Dual or flexible fueled vehicle equals three fourths (0.75);

6. The following all equal zero (0) vehicle trip days:

i. Public transit (bus, light rail, ferry, Amtrak, BART),

ii. Private buspool or club bus,

iii. Bicycle,

iv. Walking and other nonmotorized transportation modes,

v. Employees telecommuting (only on the days those employees are telecommuting for the entire day),

vi. Employees who work a compressed work week schedule (only on their compressed day(s) off),

vii. Disabled employee vehicles at all times.

(i) Employers or employment centers with multiple work sites within the jurisdiction have the option to average individual work site AVR or VER to demonstrate that the performance objectives are achieved on an aggregate basis for those work sites when this jurisdiction is implementing this chapter. If the employer demonstrates that the performance objectives (Section 5-26.6.1) are achieved using the averaging methodology, then those work sites included in the averaging are not subject to the requirements of Section 5-26.7.10.

(i) The weighted AVR average for the multiple work sites is calculated by (1) adding together the "employee days" for each work site, (2) adding together the "vehicle trip days" for each work site, then (3) dividing the aggregate "employee days" by the aggregate "vehicle trip days" to obtain the weighted AVR average.

(ii) The weighted VER average for the multiple work sites is calculated by dividing the aggregate "vehicle trip days" by the aggregate "employee days."

(iii) The weighted VER average for multiple work sites can also be calculated as the number of peak-period employees multiplied by VER (Site 1) plus the number of peak-period employees multiplied by VER (Site 2) divided by the total peak-period employees (Sites 1 and 2).

(Sec. 2 (part), Ord. 94-007, eff. June 2, 1994)

The method described in this section must be followed when an employer chooses to use a random sample to meet the requirements of Section 5-26.9.1.

(a) Summary:

(i) Section 5-26.7.6(c) provides an option for larger work sites to calculate AVR or VER based upon a random sample of the employee population. The random sample option is available only for work sites where four hundred (400) or more employees start work during the peak period (6:00 a.m. through 10:00 a.m.).

(ii) The size of the random sample depends upon the number of employees who start work during the peak period at the work site. The means to determine the minimum size of the random sample is described in Section 5-26.9.2(b)(ii).

(iii) The sample must be selected as described in Section 5-26.9.2(b)(iv). Once the sample group has been selected, the employer is not permitted to send additional survey forms to employees beyond the original sample group. This will invalidate the results of the survey and void the employer's option to utilize the random sample method.

(iv) A high response rate is critical to ensure that the random sample produces an accurate AVR or VER for the work site. The employer should make a concerted effort to obtain a completed survey from each employee in the sample. All nonrespondents in the sample will be treated as drive-alone commuters (i.e. commuting in a single-occupant vehicle) for purposes of calculating the work site AVR or VER.

(b) Basic Random Sample Selection Methodology.

(i) The employer shall compile a complete list of employees at the work site, in alphabetical order, and assign a consecutive number to each employee. The employer shall exclude from the list employees who are known to regularly start work outside the 6:00 a.m. through 10:00 a.m. peak period.

(ii) The employer shall determine the number of employees to be included in the random sample using the following formula, where n is the sample size and N is the number of employees who start work between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.

A sample of size "n" based on this formula should produce an AVR or VER with a sampling error of at most plus-or-minus 0.05, with a ninety-five percent (95%) probability. The sample size based on this formula is displayed in the table below:

(iii) In no case can the random sample size be less than indicated in the above table. The employer may choose to include a larger number of employees in the survey. A larger sample group should more accurately represent the entire employee population; provided, that the employer obtains a high response rate.

(iv) After the sample size has been determined, the employer has two options for selecting the sample:

1. Use a computer program to select distinct random numbers from the employee list (e.g., two hundred seventy eight (278) distinct random numbers between one (1) and one thousand (1,000), where one thousand (1,000) employees start work during the peak period).

2. Select employees from the list based upon a sampling interval and random starting number.

(v) To determine the sampling interval, the employer shall divide the total population of employees who start work during the 6:00 a.m. through 10:00 a.m. peak period by the sample size and round the result down to the nearest integer.

The methodology described in subsection (b)(iv) of this section will eliminate potential bias that could result from choosing survey participants on the basis of department, rank, income level, home zip code, or other demographic factors, or from excluding certain segments of the employee population.

(c) Selection Process for Subsequent Surveys.

(i) In subsequent surveys, the employer may select the random sample using the method described in subsection (b) of this section or the employer may choose to survey the same employees that were included in the previous random sample. Employees in the previous random sample group who have left the organization shall be replaced in the new sample by employees selected per subsection (b) of this section. The latter approach may enable the employer to more accurately track changes in commute mode from one survey to the next.

(ii) If the number of employees who start work between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. has increased or decreased by more than twenty percent (20%) since the last survey, the employer shall select a completely new random sample group using the methodology described in subsection (b) of this section.

(d) Performance Objective Calculation, Reporting, and Recordkeeping.

(i) AVR or VER must be calculated according to the methodology described in Section 5-26.9.1.

(ii) The employer shall submit to the jurisdiction:

a. The completed survey forms for processing of the results of the survey, according to the schedule in Section 5-26.7.6(f) and (g);

b. A description of the methodology used to select the random sample;

c. A tally showing the number of surveys distributed, the number completed, and the number of nonrespondents.

(iii) The employer shall retain records needed to document adherence to this protocol for a period of at least three (3) years, including the master list used to generate the random sample and the names and numbers selected from that list.

(Sec. 2 (part), Ord. 94-007, eff. June 2, 1994)