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MassDEP Rideshare Program

The Massachusetts Rideshare Regulation requires many businesses and educational facilities across the state to develop plans and set goals for reducing by one-quarter the number of times commuters drive alone to work or school.

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Program Overview & Applicability

Americans love to drive. More cars, minivans and SUVs are driven more miles on our roads than ever before. Bay Staters drive 4 million passenger vehicles some 50 billion miles per year. Not surprisingly, this can add up to gridlock during rush hour - and longer commutes to work or school and home again.

Motor vehicles are also a major source of air pollution. Road traffic accounts for about 40 percent of the pollution that forms ground-level ozone, the main ingredient in smog. Children, people who work or exercise outdoors, those with respiratory diseases, and even the healthiest among us find it harder to breathe on smoggy days.

Through its Rideshare Program, MassDEP promotes transportation options that not only result in cleaner air, but also faster and easier commutes. The program specifically requires the following organizations to develop plans and set goals for reducing employee and student drive-alone commute trips by 25 percent:

  • Businesses with 1,000 or more applicable commuters.
  • Educational institutions with 1,000 or more applicable commuters.
  • Businesses with 250 or more applicable commuters that are also subject to the Massachusetts Air Operating Permit Program (310 CMR 7.00, Appendix C).

See Additional Resources below for the full MassDEP Air Pollution Control Regulations (see Section 7.16 for Rideshare) and Guidance on Complying (including a definition of "applicable commuters").

Additional Resources   for Program Overview & Applicability

Open PDF file, 3.14 MB,  310 CMR 7.00: Air Pollution Control Regulation (English, PDF 3.14 MB)
Open PDF file, 338.41 KB,  Guidance on Complying with the Massachusetts Rideshare Regulation (English, PDF 338.41 KB)

What You Need to Do

The Massachusetts Rideshare Regulation (310 CMR 7.16) requires many businesses with 250 or more employees and educational facilities with 1,000 or more students and employees combined to develop plans and set goals for reducing by 25 percent the number of times commuters drive alone to work or school.

As part of this process, your organization needs to:

  • Survey current commute patterns
  • Identify available commuting options
  • Set goals for reducing drive-alone trips
  • Offer options and incentives for reducing drive-alone trips
  • Review how commute patterns change as a result

By reducing drive-alone trips, your organization will help Massachusetts reduce air pollution, traffic congestion, and spending on road construction and repair projects.  

Rideshare can also boost employee job satisfaction, reduce demand for on-site parking facilities, and produce tax advantages for your organization.

Even if your organization is not subject to the Rideshare Regulation, reducing drive-alone trips and promoting transportation alternatives can help everyone in Massachusetts breathe and travel easier.

Collect Commute Data

Collecting accurate and comprehensive data on employee and/or student commuting habits is essential to the success of your facility's commuting options program and will help you track your progress in reducing their drive-alone trips.

The Massachusetts Rideshare Regulation (310 CMR 7.16) requires you to gather this information through a census survey, random survey or direct count of commuters.

See Additional Resources below for Guidance on Collecting Commute Data and forms for reporting survey results to MassDEP.

Additional Resources   for Collect Commute Data

Open PDF file, 382.73 KB,  Guidance on Collecting Commute Data for Rideshare Reporting (English, PDF 382.73 KB)
Open PDF file, 12.18 KB,  Rideshare Employee Commute Survey: Option 1 (English, PDF 12.18 KB)
Open PDF file, 11.92 KB,  Rideshare Employee Commute Survey: Option 2 (English, PDF 11.92 KB)
Open PDF file, 12.23 KB,  Rideshare Student Commute Survey: Option 1 (English, PDF 12.23 KB)
Open PDF file, 11.93 KB,  Rideshare Student Commute Survey: Option 2 (English, PDF 11.93 KB)

Submit Your Annual Report

Rideshare Reports must be submitted to MassDEP by December 31 of each year.

Businesses and educational facilities subject to 310 CMR 7.16 are required to file Rideshare Reports with MassDEP annually.

  • If you're a first-time filer, submit the Rideshare Base Report.
  • File Rideshare Update Reports in subsequent years. Not sure whether to use the Long Form or Short Form? Contact MassDEP.

These reports, provided in Excel spreadsheet format, can be found in Additional Resources below.

The Base and Long-Form Update spreadsheets calculate drive-alone commute trip (DACT) reductions automatically based on the information you enter in the appropriate Summary Commute Data tab of the spreadsheet.

Email a single PDF of all signed reporting forms, attachments and documents by December 31 to: massdep.ridesharereg@mass.gov

Additional Resources   for Submit Your Annual Report

Open XLSX file, 88.71 KB,  Rideshare Base Report (English, XLSX 88.71 KB)
Open XLSX file, 88.9 KB,  Rideshare Update Report Long Form (English, XLSX 88.9 KB)
Open XLSX file, 51.04 KB,  Rideshare Update Report Short Form (English, XLSX 51.04 KB)
Open XLS file, 51 KB,  MassDEP Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions Reduction Calculator (English, XLS 51 KB)

Related Information

Follow the links below to connect with organizations and tools that will help you promote transportation sharing options and reduce drive-alone commute trips.

Additional Resources   for Related Information

Open file,  MassCommute: The Massachusetts Coalition of Transportation Management Associations
Open file,  Calculate Your Commute Cost

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