Essential Express

ESSENTIAL EXPRESS™

Long-haul transit options for frontline and returning workers

The return-to-office doesn't have to be a return to the old commute.

Our region's Essential Workers have been and remain at the frontlines working to make sure we are healthy and safe during the pandemic.

With the high cost of living the San Francisco Bay Area, some of these workers are commuting from great distances where they've been able to find housing yet have limited access to affordable, convenient, reliable transportation to get to and from their jobs.

Many essential workers choose to drive solo in their cars on long commutes. These "super-commuters" spend between 2 to 6 hours a day driving - time that could be spent with loved ones, resting and relaxing when they're not being our super-heroes.

Their commute is our commute.

For many of us, where we live and where we work are not in the same city or county.

For many of us, there are not convenient long-haul transit options.

How many times pre-COVID19 did you find yourself in traffic next to a tech shuttle bus? In peak commute hours they were full going one way, empty going the other direction. How many of us wondered what it would take to be able to hop on a empty bus going our way?

Essential Express™ is a transformative program to provide long-haul transit for frontline and returning workers. Based on our successful Essential Worker Commute Shuttle Pilot during shelter-in-place where essential workers were able to travel for free from eight origin cities to four destination cities with a reputable transit service provider, this model comes at a time when many employers are at a loss of how to anticipate the needs of a hybrid workplace.

One of several opportunities in our Manzanita Transit program, the Essential Express™ is available to private, public and nonprofit employers who join our network of subregional transit consortiums and their workers benefit from the local solutions we craft together.

Discover a new normal that you look forward to.

Employers

Are you an employer that isn't sure how to address a hybrid work schedule when it comes to transportation perks and parking?

Help your team navigate the return-to-office through a collective impact model that supports frontline heroes with economies of scale that helps us all get to a

new normal we want.

Essential & Returning

If you are an essential or returning worker commuting by car to work,

let us know what origin & destination would make a difference for you.

Essential Express™ taps into economies of scale for employers to sponsor routes with reputable licensed transit service providers that work for lots of different job types and worker needs within the region's "commute shed".

If your employer is part of our transit

co-op, your seat may be partially or fully subsidized!

Tech Buses

We work with licensed and reputable transportation service providers who deploy their vehicles and drivers.

We require that the providers we collaborate with be committed to providing transportation that complies with all COVID-19 protocols along with procedures that ensure a safe and secure ride for all riders.

DISCLAIMER: The content of this website, and any materials produced or provided by Manzanita Works, a fiscally sponsored project of Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, is for informational and educational purposes only. The information is provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied. The information provided does not constitute legal advice, and is not intended to provide public health recommendations. Manzanita Works is not licensed or qualified to provide such advice. Users are advised to consult with their own counsel before taking any action. This website may contain external links or references to other resources. Manzanita Works makes no representation whatsoever regarding the content of any other resources referenced herein, nor the statement of any third parties whose comments may be linked on this website.