No Drive Alternatives
Changing the Way You Travel
Utah State Agencies support the Utah Department of Transportations’ TravelWise initiative. TravelWise is an initiative that invites Utahns to rethink their trip. By driving less and driving smarter, individuals, businesses and communities can ultimately help improve air quality, optimize mobility, improve health and conserve energy in Utah. Whether you choose to walk, bike, telework, take public transit, or skip the trip entirely, you’re helping us improve Utah’s air quality.
Surge Teleworking
On June 3, 2021, pursuant to SB 15 (2021), the Governor’s Office of Planning and
Budget called the first Surge Remote Work Day. Surge Remote Work is implemented when the Division of Air Quality (DAQ) predicts a Mandatory Action Day or when a Special Circumstance Day is called by the Governor.
Special Circumstance Days are defined as days where heavy snowfall or other circumstances pose a risk to employee safety. These are determined by the governor and and the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget.
Mandatory Action Days are defined as poor air days, where the air pollution levels are at a point that is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups. In order for mandatory action days to be surge remote work days, the notice from the Division of Air Quality (DAQ) needs to be issued at least 48 hours in advance. This means if the DAQ issues mandatory action for the following day, it will not be a surge remote work day. The 48 hour advance notice is necessary to allow supervisors and employees time to prepare for surge remote work.
During Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, 49 mandatory action days were called by the DAQ due to exceedingly poor air quality, and one Special Circumstance Day was declared by the Chief of Staff due to snow. There were 10,220 employees eligible for Surge teleworking during FY2022. A total of 276,391 telework shifts were recorded.
Clear the Air Challenge
Each year, the State of Utah agencies participate in the Clear the Air Challenge (CTAC). The Challenge is run by Utah Department of Transportation's TravelWise program, the Utah Clean Air Partnership (UCAIR), and the Salt Lake Chamber.
The State of Utah participated in the 2023 Clear the Air Challenge and was pleased to receive 2nd place in the “Large Team” category. The top performer in the 2023 Challenge was also a State employee from the Utah Division of Fleet Operations.
A total of 30 State agencies participated, with 334 employees taking on the Challenge. This participation is similar to that seen in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic during which many employees teleworked. Teleworking continues to be the most popular mode of alternative transportation during the Challenge, making up 50% of the trips tracked.
There were a total of 9,500 alternative trips taken, totaling 216,807 miles. This equates to 81.3 tons of CO2 being reduced. That’s the same amount of emissions being saved as avoiding 81 road trips between Boston, Massachusetts and Salt Lake.
Utah Learning Portal
The Utah Learning Portal is an online learning management system that eliminates miles driven by State employees to required work-related training. The number of Learning Management Systems (LMS) trainings completed by State employees is tracked by the Coordinator of Resource Stewardship (CRS) and reported on through the CRS dashboard. The LMS completions are used as a reflection of how many virtual training sessions were able to replace in-personal training. Having employee training and education available online helps state agencies reduce miles drive by their employees and therefore decrease the number of emissions from vehicle travel.
In Fiscal Year 2022, the State saved 196,770 trips from being driven.
