Does My Facility Have to Comply with the Maricopa County Travel Reduction Program?

Start with the worksite threshold

Rule P-7 Sections 1(B)(1) and 1(B)(2) establish two location-specific thresholds. The rule defines an employee in Section 2(M) as a person who works at or reports to a single county worksite at least three days per week during any six months of the year. That detail matters for part-time and seasonal staffing near the threshold.

The county handbook further explains the annual-survey population. It includes full-time and part-time employees working three or more days per week, temporary employees employed for six months or more, and Arizona teleworkers who would otherwise commute to the participating worksite. Approved field-worker exclusions and other specific categories require separate attention.

The responsible official is certifying the submittal

Maricopa County's current employer forms require a responsible official to certify the truth, accuracy, and completeness of information submitted under Arizona Revised Statutes Section 49-581 et seq. and Rule P-7. The certification is based on personal knowledge or information and belief formed after reasonable inquiry.

That certification turns the program into more than an annual Human Resources exercise. Employee counts, survey population, response tracking, implemented measures, costs, and retained records should be assembled through a documented compliance process that gives the highest-ranking local official a reasonable basis to sign.

The annual cycle has several connected deadlines

A covered employer conducts an annual employee survey for each worksite. Rule P-7 Section 3(C)(2)(a) gives the employer five weeks after receiving survey data results to submit an approvable travel-reduction plan. Section 3(C)(1)(a) requires implementation and documentation to begin within 30 days after submission, and Section 3(C)(1)(b) requires three plan years of supporting documentation.

Response rate changes the reported result

Rule P-7 Section 3(B)(2) requires either a 60 percent survey response rate or an approved stratified, statistically significant random-response rate. Section 3(B)(2)(c) states that nonrespondents below the required rate are recorded as single-occupancy-vehicle commuters up to the applicable response-rate requirement.

The county handbook calls this the statistical penalty and adds a practical calculation detail: each missing survey is treated as a single-occupancy-vehicle driver commuting 15 miles, five days per week. A low response rate can therefore increase both the reported single-occupancy-vehicle rate and vehicle miles traveled, potentially increasing the measures required in the next plan.

What the Task Force reviews

Program staff and the Travel Reduction Program Task Force review whether the plan is complete, approvable, funded, and supported by measures reasonably capable of reducing single-occupancy-vehicle travel and vehicle miles traveled. Rule P-7 provides 10 working days to modify and resubmit a disapproved plan.

The first survey establishes the baseline. The program generally targets 10 percent reductions for the first through fifth years, followed by 5 percent reductions until the worksite reaches a 60 percent single-occupancy-vehicle rate.

A missed goal is different from noncompliance

Missing a reduction target calls for stronger measures. A second-year miss requires at least two measures, and later misses generally require at least four. Failing to survey, submit an approvable plan, implement commitments, or maintain required records is a compliance problem and can lead from a request for documents to a notice of violation and civil penalties.

The practical response is to diagnose both the commute result and program execution. Improve survey participation, confirm implemented measures, document communications, and choose measures that fit the worksite rather than repeating an ineffective plan.

Facilities in adjacent counties should use the local program

Pinal County operates a parallel mandatory program for major employers and schools with 50 or more employees or driving-age students at a single site within its portion of Area A. Sites elsewhere in Pinal County may participate voluntarily.

In the greater Tucson region, the Pima Association of Governments administers the Travel Reduction Program under local ordinances. Employers with 100 or more full-time-equivalent employees are required to participate. Facilities should use the program and threshold for the jurisdiction where the worksite is located rather than applying Maricopa County Rule P-7 statewide.