Since 2014, Steer has partnered with the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) to lead the employer outreach component of its Sustainable Transportation Services (STS) Program. The goal has been consistent: reduce congestion and improve regional air quality by reducing reliance on single-occupancy vehicles, and make sustainable commuting a practical choice for employees and residents across San Diego County.
Over more than a decade, the program has evolved from employer-focused engagement into a wide-reaching initiative that also supports schools, community-based organizations, developers, and military installations. Each stage of growth has responded to new challenges—COVID-19, recession, urban affordability, hybrid work, and changing mobility technologies—ensuring the program remains relevant, adaptive, and impactful.
Approach
From the beginning, Steer built a year-round engagement cycle with multiple touchpoints for employers, using competitions, incentives, data insights and recognition to build momentum. The Diamond Awards program became a key motivator, highlighting employers that demonstrate leadership in sustainable commuting.
As needs shifted, the program expanded:
- Employer Outreach: Partnered with more than 650 organizations across all 18 cities in San Diego County, covering 20 industries and major military bases.
- Bike Anywhere Day: Grew into a regionwide campaign with more than 10,000 visits to pit stops in 2025, complemented by e-bike raffles and virtual activities.
- Bike Education: Delivered 39 employer bike safety classes and 55 school-based “Walk, Ride, and Roll” sessions in the past year alone, reaching nearly 10,000 participants.
- Clean Air Day & Rideshare Campaign Redesign: Reimagined the traditional Rideshare Week to align with California Clean Air Day, driving broader community participation.
- Telework Assistance Program (2020–2022): Helped employers and employees adapt during COVID-19.
- Virtual Engagement: Delivering topical webinars and virtual bike education classes to offer convenient alternatives to in-person events and activities.
- E-Bike Test Rides: Hands-on events to introduce e-bikes to local communities and increase awareness of cycling as a commuting option.
- “Moving Together” Networking Series: Bringing together Employee Transportation Coordinators and local governments to share best practices.
- Family-Friendly Rides: Expanded the reach of sustainable commuting initiatives to include parents and children.
- Try Transit Expansion: Extended in 2024 to provide access to community organizations, developers, and the military, distributed over 700 passes across all participating organizations in the past year—including pilots like City Heights, where SANDAG partnered with local nonprofits to extend the value of free transit passes.
- School Outreach Program: Launched in 2024, engaged 7 schools and 1 school district within the first year, holding events, gathering over 900 survey responses, and involving schools in regional campaigns like Bike Anywhere Day.
Results
The cumulative impact of the program is clear:
- Assisted over 650 employers.
- Supported employers representing more than 440,000 commuters, with participants reducing single-occupancy trips six times faster than the regional average.
- Expanded the Diamond Awards program from 94 employers recognized in 2019 to 135 in 2025.
- Platinum Tier Award recipients alone in 2025 kept more than 31,000 cars off the road, cutting 717,651 vehicle miles traveled and 88,810 tons of CO₂ emissions.
- Restored participation in Bike Anywhere Day to near pre-pandemic highs (10,000+ cyclists in 2025).
- Achieved the highest level of bike education services in program history, nearly doubling activity since 2019.
- Created lasting outcomes through community Try Transit pilots, such as the City Heights initiative and a first-of-its-kind partnership with Bayside Community Center that generated 853 transit rides from just 46 participants in one month.
Relevance
Our long-standing collaboration with SANDAG demonstrates Steer’s ability to design and sustain transportation demand management (TDM) programs at scale. By combining strategy, innovation, and deep local partnerships, Steer has helped SANDAG build a flexible program that can withstand disruption, evolve with workforce needs, and deliver measurable economic, community and environmental benefits.
The SANDAG STS program now stands as a model for how metropolitan planning organizations can work with employers, schools, developers, and communities to create enduring change in travel behavior.
