ECO Surveys for DEQ

The Employee Commute Options (ECO) rules (Oregon Administrative Rules 340-242-0200 through 0290), require that employers survey their employees to demonstrate progress toward a 10% commute trip reduction goal. ECO applies to employers within the Portland Air Quality Maintenance Area (AQMA) with more than 100 employees at a work site. 

The survey provides the employer and DEQ with the following:

An auto trip rate which is the number of commute vehicles arriving at a work site divided by the number of employees that report to the work site;

Ideas for incentives to encourage employees who drive alone to choose another commute method.

SMART provides survey processing at no cost to employers affected by the ECO rules who are working to develop and/or maintain transportation plans. It offers both an on-line survey for employers whose employees have access to computers and a paper survey for those who do not. SMART tabulates the results and sends a report to the employer to submit to DEQ.

75% Response Rate

The ECO rules require at least a 75% employee response rate for compliance. The goal is to measure actual trips with a high degree of accuracy. Inaccurate survey results can produce an inaccurate trip reduction target. This can result in a more stringent than necessary trip reduction target for an employer, or a less stringent trip reduction target and less emission reduction than expected and needed for the Ozone Air Quality Maintenance Plan.

If an employer does not achieve the 75 % response rate, the shortfall is assigned as "drive alone" trips.