Clean Mobility Buffalo is a coalition of organizations and neighborhood leaders working together to enhance transportation options by linking people and places. Their program, Clean Commute for East Side employers, supports employees who travel by public transportation, walking, carpooling, or biking to work by making it easier for residents to access work, school, and other destinations. The program aims to remove transportation barriers that impact job retention and create new employment prospects, while also reducing pollution. It provides individuals with various transportation choices for commuting to businesses, universities, hospitals, and other organizations on Buffalo’s East Side.

Energy technology company Viridi was the first to introduce Clean Commute to its employees. Canisius University, Erie County Medical Center, Harmac Medical Products Inc., Kaleida Health, and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center will also adopt the program.

The Clean Commute program includes:

  • Commuter Information Hubs
  • On-site transit and biking amenities (e.g., transit schedule displays, bike racks, etc.) and free or reduced-rate transit passes
  • Carpool matching platform and incentives
  • Free ride home in the event of a personal emergency
  • Access to bikes through Reddy Bikeshare memberships, e-bike raffles, e-bike library, and microloans for employees to buy a motorcycle or scooter and repay it through their paycheck over time
  • Free bike and pedestrian safety gear, including helmets and locks, for employees and community members
  • Rewards for biking or walking to work
  • Bike maintenance mobile repair events
  • Commuter education programs, including Bike to Work 101 and bike safety lunch & learn sessions.
  • Pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure improvements, including on-site crosswalks and lighting
  • The Complete Streets focus group collects employee feedback on infrastructure investments
  • Advocating for improved transit services
  • Flexibility in shift schedules to coordinate with transit
  • Maintain GO Buffalo Niagara (transportation management association) membership to sustain momentum in developing an active and sustainable commuter culture

Clean Mobility Buffalo’s partners, the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) and GO Buffalo Niagara, are actively working with local institutions to promote Clean Commute by developing commuter policies and programs. Clean Mobility Buffalo is supported by a $10 million grant from NYSERDA’s New York Clean Transportation Prizes program to help improve transportation options that are efficient, affordable, and accessible across Buffalo’s East Side.