GLENDALE : Commuter Concierge Plan Developed

A plan to deliver laundry, shoe repair and other services to local offices may help keep commuters from using midday errands as an excuse to not take a bus, train or car-pool to work.

In an effort to reduce traffic and smog levels in Glendale to meet requirements of the Clean Air Act, the Glendale Transportation Management Assn. has devised a commuter concierge plan.

In the first phase of the plan, officials will survey the transportation group’s 20,000 members and Glendale Chamber of Commerce affiliates about errands they run during the day that require a car.

The association will then identify vendors who deliver services that meet the respondents’ most popular errands and put vendors into a directory. Information on these retailers, including prices, will also be available by fax.

The plan is the first of its kind in Southern California and joins other incentives provided by businesses, such as bus pass subsidies and car-pool matching services, to get employees out of their cars, said Jeanne Olwin, executive director of the Glendale Transportation Management Assn.

These programs were developed by large businesses in response to mandates from the South Coast Air Quality Management District requiring organizations to reduce the number of employees who drive to work each day.

The commuter concierge program--administered through a grant from the California Department of Transportation--is considered an experimental effort by Caltrans officials who hope to expand the plan to other cities, Olwin said.

Chamber of Commerce officials said the grant will let the transportation association give commuters a reason to leave their cars and take a bus or Metrolink.

“Southern Californians have depended on their cars for generations--we hope we can demonstrate with this grant that it’s not necessary to use our cars throughout the day,” said Jerry Milner, Glendale chamber vice president.