Emergency Ride Home

Emergency Ride Home (ERH) provides a free or low-cost ride home in cases of emergency for employees who use alternative transportation, such as carpooling, vanpooling, public transit, bicycling, and walking.

ERH eases the worry of being stranded at the office if an unexpected situation arises, so commuters can leave their cars at home!

  A Great Benefit To Offer Employees

ERH is one of the easiest and least expensive benefits an employer can offer its employees (most employers pay nothing). It's a great way to show your employees you care!

Employers participating in ERH have the opportunity to earn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's designation as one of the "Bay Area's Best Workplaces for Commuters."

  How does the program work?

An employer must first enroll in the program and sign a program agreement. When an employee emergency arises, the employee obtains permission to take an ERH from their designated on-site contact. Either the employee or on-site contact then arranges for a taxi ride, rental car, or City Carshare vehicle. The employer pays for the ride, or alternatively, the employee pays and is reimbursed by the employer. The employer then submits a ride claim form along with a valid receipt to the program for reimbursement.

  Who Is Eligible?

ERH is available to all employers located in San Francisco. An employee who takes a ride must be a permanent part-time or full-time employee of a registered employer at a San Francisco worksite. The employee must have used an alternative commute mode on the day ERH is used. Acceptable modes include transit (bus, train, ferry), vanpool, carpool (including Casual Carpool), bicycling, and walking.

  When Can You Take An Emergency Ride Home?

Valid reasons for using ERH include:

• Illness or crisis of employee or immediate family member.
  
  
• Employee is unexpectedly required to work late (i.e. employee was not aware of the situation before the start of the workday). Supervisor authorization is required.
  
  
• Carpool or vanpool ride is unavailable due to unexpected changes in the driver's schedule or vehicle breakdown or mishap.
  
  
• Bicycle problem, including flat tire, mechanical failure, vandalism, theft, or unsafe bicycling conditions due to inclement weather.
  
  
  

  Where Can You Go?

All rides must originate at worksites located in San Francisco. The employee can be dropped off at home, a transit stop, or the location of their parked car (e.g. a park-and-ride lot, carpool partner's home, etc.) Emergency-related side trips on the way home are permitted, including picking up a sick child at school or daycare, filling a prescription at a pharmacy, or stopping at an ATM for cash to pay the taxi driver.

  Unexpected Emergencies Only

The program may NOT be used for:

• Personal errands or pre-planned medical appointments.
  
  
• Medical emergencies (i.e. when an ambulance is needed).
  
  
• Business-related travel.
  
  
• Working late that was planned or known prior to the start of a workday or that is not authorized by a supervisor.
  
  
• Natural disasters or civic emergencies (e.g., earthquake, terrorist attack, demonstration, etc.)
  
  
• Transit service breakdown or interruption in service.
  
  
• Transportation to a doctor or hospital resulting from an on-the-job injury. (ERH cannot be used to replace an employer's legal responsibility under workers' compensation regulations.)
  
  
• Non-emergency related side-trips on the way home.
  
  
  

  Transit First

Participants must use transit for part or all of the trip whenever possible (for example, when the employee can take a taxi to the BART station, or from the BART station to home). A taxi, rental car, or City Carshare may ONLY be used if transit service is not practical or available, including one of the following:

• The situation is urgent and time does not allow for transit use;
  
  
• Transit does not serve the destination needed; or
  
  
• Getting to or from the transit stop requires walking in an unsafe area at night.
  
  
  

  What Will The Program Pay For?

The program will reimburse for one-way taxi fare, a 24-hour car rental, up to 24 hours and 200 miles of City Carshare usage, and/or public transit fare. Employees or employers are responsible for the taxi gratuity and fuel for the rental car.

The following limits apply:

• Employees are allowed to take up to four (4) ERH trips per calendar year.
  
  
• Trips will be reimbursed up to a $200 maximum per trip.
  
  
• Each employer will have an allowance of $700 per calendar year for full reimbursement of valid employee trips. After this limit is reached, the program will reimburse employers for 50% of the cost of each valid trip.
  
  

Additional limits may apply.