Business Use

MoDOT has now CLOSED I-64 from Ballas Rd. to I-170 In Both Directions. This is a Total Highway Closure, not just lane restrictions.

How Bad will traffic get?

Who will be affected?

What can you do to get your employees to work and to retain them? (Many area employees are already searching for new jobs closer to home!)

What can you do to keep customers coming to your retail business?

The 2008 closure of Interstate 64/40 from Ballas Rd. to I-170 has many concerned about the inevitable traffic jams and congestion throughout the St. Louis area. Even those who do not travel on I-64 are likely to experience delays on their commute, as portions of the highway are shutdown for two years and more than 100,000 automobile trips may be diverted to other routes, further clogging already crowded roads. No one really knows how bad traffic will get as commuters will continue to try and find different ways to get around town.

The St. Louis region needs a plan – and Metro is positioned to be a major part of the solution. On a typical weekday, Metro takes 45,000 automobiles off the region's highways and streets during peak travel hours. Not everyone is able to use MetroBus or MetroLink every day, but everyone wins each time Metro takes any vehicles off the streets. In addition, automobiles idling in bumper-to-bumper traffic worsens our air quality and already accounts for about one-third of the region's air pollution emissions. The cost of that idling also affects our pocketbooks, with gasoline prices at all-time highs.

Traffic congestion causes more than just delays. It causes frustration, too. And this frustration may negatively impact your job performance. With Metro, you can get to work in a timely manner and get more time to yourself! Time to read. Time to listen to music. Time to talk on the cell phone. Time to decompress. Now is the Time to offer your employees the chance to Try Metro and see how MetroBus and MetroLink can work for them! Consider offering Metro’s PERC at Work Transit Benefit Program.

It COSTS YOU NOTHING to offer PERC at Work, and PERC can even SAVE YOUR ORGANIZATION MONEY! Here’s how it works. Section 132(F) of the Internal Revenue Code allows for favorable tax treatment to businesses that offer Transit to their employees as a benefit. The code allows employers to offer transit on a pre-tax basis to employees, which allows the employer to save money by reducing its payroll tax liability. In addition, an employer can offer a subsidy to its employees who desire to receive a monthly transit pass, and most employers are able to take a dollar-for-dollar business deduction for the expense! Designate someone as an Employee Transit Coordinator, Send out a Survey we have developed, Host a Transit Fair and take employee sign-ups. It is a true Win-Win for the employer and its employees! Plus, Metro will work with you for an easy implementation, so help out your work force and offer PERC at Work.

Metro has excess capacity to be a viable solution for the region. MetroLink can carry nearly 3,600 passengers per hour eastbound at peak capacity and nearly 3,600 passengers per hour westbound at peak capacity. This is similar to four lanes of interstate highway capacity! There is sufficient passenger capacity remaining on MetroLink during the peak period and there is major capacity at off peak times. The MetroBus system can accommodate 25,000 additional passengers during peak hours and the daily capacity of the system could most likely accommodate 100,000 additional boardings over all hours.

Other strategies that may be helpful include flexing work hours, carpooling, and not scheduling meetings during morning or afternoon rush hour.

In addition, Metro has established a program that should help retail businesses encourage patronage during the highway shut-down. With Metro’s Destination Deal$ program, we encourage businesses to voluntarily offer a discount or deal to patrons who flash valid Metro fare. Whether traveling by MetroBus or MetroLink, these customers still got to their destination, but they kept their car off the road! And that’s what you want, customers (still) coming to you despite the highway shutdown and extra traffic on the roads. It costs nothing to participate in Destination Deal$, plus Metro will promote your offer on-line. You may start and end the promotion at any time and you can change up the offer to correspond with your business needs.