Employee and Student Hybrid Incentives Corporate, academic, and government initatives to increase employee and student use of hybrid vehicles.

Businesses and academic institutions have begun to promote hybrid vehicles in a number of different ways directly to their employees and students.  Here are a number that we have found.  This list differs from our larger hybrid incentive list, as these perks are not available to the general public. 

This is not presented as an exhaustive list, but instead should be seen as examples of different institutional efforts to broaden access to hybrid vehicles.  If you know of any other examples that may be useful, please let us know by sending a note to hybridcenter@ucsusa.org.

Purchase Incentives

American Jewish Committee—Offers its employees in New York and 32 offices across the U.S. bonus payments of $2,500 or $1,500 to purchase or lease fuel-efficient, environmentally- friendly vehicles.  Qualifying cars for the program include the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Honda Insight, Ford Escape Hybrid, Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Mazda Tribute Hybrid, Mazda 3, Saturn Ion, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Ford Focus Compact Car and Ford Focus Wagon.

Bank of America—Offers $3,000 toward the purchase of a hybrid vehicle to all employees who work at least 20 hours per week.

Clif Bar—Offers $5,000 towards the purchase of a hybrid or biodiesel (B100) vehicle to any employee as a part of its Cool Commute incentive program.

Google—Offers $5,000 to toward the purchase, $2,500 toward the lease of a vehicle that obtains a partial zero emission vehicle (PZEV) emissions rating and at least 45mpg to any employee.

Hyperion—Offers $5,000 toward the purchase of a vehicle that gets at least 45 miles per gallon (mpg) to any employee.

My Organic Market—The Virginia/Maryland area organic grocery store chain provides full-time employees of two years or more with a bonus for buying a hybrid vehicle or fuel efficient car that gets an EPA-estimated combined 45mpg or more.  The bonus, paid in equal installments over three years, is 15 percent of the purchase price of the vehicle, not exceeding $3,000.

Patagonia—Offers $2,000 toward the purchase of a hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle to any employee.

Timberland—Offers $3,000 toward the purchase of a hybrid vehicle to any employee who has worked there for 2 years or more.

Topic Entertainment—Offers $2,000 toward the purchase of a hybrid vehicle to any employee.

Yorkshire Building Society (UK)—As part of its ‘Think Green’ corporate policy, employees leasing hybrids are given a discount.

Parking Incentives

Montclair State University—Parking is offered at a 50 percent reduction for those registering a hybrid vehicle, and at no cost for those driving a zero emission vehicle (ZEV).

University of Miami—hybrid-driving students, professors and staff can shave off 50 percent of their parking permit price, which can run up to $402 per year.

Shared Use

Dartmouth University & Oberlin College—Added hybrid vehicles to student rental programs.

FlexCar—The private car-share service is adding 25 new hybrids its Portland, Oregon fleet through an agreement with the city government.  The city of Portland is getting rid of their motor pool and will use FlexCar instead.

Qualcomm—As part of its program to reduce the number of cars on the road, Qualcomm offers its workers a shuttle service that uses three hybrid vehicles.

Fleets

Many corporate, academic, and government agencies are also adding hybrid vehicles to their motor pools for employee use. The federal government has made hybrids an even more enticing option to public fleet operators. The Comprehensive Energy Bill passed in 2005 will now qualify hybrids purchased for public fleets for federal credits under Energy Policy Act regulations.