Shift: Employee Commute Benefits
about us
Shift is San Mateo County’s Employee Commuter Benefits Program. We provide flexible resources and incentives to help County employees cut commute costs, reduce commute stress, engage in healthier habits, and minimize their contribution to traffic congestion, local air pollution, and climate change by avoiding the need to drive to work alone.
Over the past 20 years we’ve helped thousands of County employees commute car-free, avoiding millions of pounds of pollutants from being emitted into the air, and millions of miles of vehicle travel on Bay Area roads.
contact us
If you need help figuring out how to best use our programs, planning how to get to work without a car, finding a carpool or vanpool, or if you just have some feedback to give, please reach out!
(628) 258-3147
commute@smcgov.org
highlights
Programs
Shift operates a host of programs that aim to assist employees no matter how they choose to travel.
Commute Cash & the Transit Subsidy
County employees may use Commute OR the Transit Subsidy, but not both.
Commute Cash: County employees who walk, bike, or carpool to work can earn $2 for each day that they do so. That money (up to about $500 per year), is added directly to employee paychecks. Commute to work, log your trips at least once a month, and earn cash rewards!
Instructions for receiving Commute Cash here.
Transit Subsidy: County employees who take the bus, train, ferry, or other mass transit, or who travel by vanpool, paratransit, or bike and scooter share to work can receive up to $150 per month to help cover their costs. That money may be spent on transit related products only.
Our Other Programs
In addition to Commute Cash or the Transit Subsidy, County employees may use as many of the following programs as they’d like.
Employees can receive a free clipper card! To request one, please reach us at commute@smcgov.org, or (628) 258-3147.
Bike lockers are a great way to keep your ride safe and dry while you’re at work. They’re free, and one can be yours for as long as you work for the County.
To request a bike locker please reach us at commute@smcgov.org, or (628) 258-3147.
Bike lockers can be currently found at:
o 800 N. Humboldt St, San Mateo
o County Center Campus, 400 Middlefield Road, Redwood City
o Tower Road Campus (50 Tower Road and 222 Paul Scannell Dr), San Mateo
o 450 Harbor Blvd, Belmont
o 2500 Middlefield Road, Redwood City
o North Courts, 1050 Mission Road, So. San Francisco
Vehicles used for carpooling and vanpooling get better parking spots!
To apply for a priority carpool/vanpool spot, have all drivers fill out this form.
Once all drivers have completed the form, let us know by contacting us at commute@smcgov.org, or (628) 258-3147.
To be eligible, carpools and vanpools must consist of at least two County employees.
The Emergency Ride Home program assists County employees in getting home during or at the end of the workday when an emergency arises, if they didn’t drive alone to work, by reimbursing Taxi/Lyft/Uber expenses.
Eligible reimbursements might include:
- Sudden illness of self or immediate family members or carpool partner.
- Personal or family emergency.
- Dependent care or daycare emergency.
- Supervisor-approved, unscheduled overtime.
- Carpool/vanpool emergency resulting in loss of ride home.
- Bicycle theft or breakdown.
Employees that park at transit stations can pay for parking passes at using pre-tax deductions.
More Resources
Looking for somebody to ride with? Bay Area 511 has a lot of great resources for you. We highly recommend you check out their Merge Service, where you can find other people traveling to and from similar destinations. If that don’t seem appealing, you can always contact us and we’ll see if we have existing carpools going to your facility which might work for you.
Our friends at commute.org run free shuttles throughout the County. Learn more about them here.
Information about County owned EV chargers, including how to get connected, can be found here.
Bay Area 511
511 is your phone and web source for traffic, transit, carpool, vanpool, and bicycling information anywhere in the nine-county Bay Area.
Clipper Card
Clipper Card is a reloadable all-in-one transit fare card. The card can hold transit passes, cash value, parking value, or any combination.
commute.org
Commute.org supports the use of alternatives to driving alone to decrease congestion, improve the environment, and enhance quality of life.