Capital Group employees use gas-saving options

Submitted by Chris Elliott, senior recruiting manager, The Capital Group Companies.

Glendale resident Becky Smith, who works in the financial industry, is seriously saving money. In fact, she's practically giddy about her newfound savings and the way it's brought her closer to her co-workers.

"We have competitions as to who has the greatest bragging rights over gas savings," Smith said.

Smith and 15 colleagues in the Northwest Valley take an express bus each day to and from the Capital Group Companies' northeast Phoenix location just south of Kierland Commons, an approximate 16-mile trip that takes about 40 minutes each way. She takes advantage of free bus passes offered by the company and estimates that she's saving about $65 each week.

"It's just extra money in my pocket. And frankly I'm happier not having to deal with the traffic," she said.

According to Valley Metro, bus ridership hit the 60 million mark for the year ending in June. Among West Valley cities of Avondale, Glendale, Goodyear, Peoria and Surprise, ridership was up an average of more than 16 percent, a statistic that Smith and her colleagues are helping to sustain.

Enjoying her new "free time" by getting to know her colleagues better, reading books and the newspaper, Smith says the commute takes her about as much time as driving, and an added benefit is her physical health. The bus stop is about three blocks from the office, a walk that will get faster and brisker in cooler months.

Jeanne Askvig, general manager of American Funds Service Company, a division of the Capital Group Companies, estimates that there are 40 to 50 associates using free bus passes to commute from all parts of the Valley, and several others who are using other trip-reduction programs, including carpooling, bicycling and teleworking. The company employs associates from as far west as Maricopa and as far east as Apache Junction.

"With 475 associates coming and going from our office, we're always mindful of how to ease the commuting burden and our environmental impact," Askvig said. "The current economic situation is certainly helping to build the popularity of bus passes and carpooling. And although gas prices seem to be settling down, I think we'll continue to see more people coming together in the name of saving money and in this case, forming stronger relationships with their colleagues."