Globally Renowned University Streamlines Parking and Transit Program Administration with WageWorks

UC Berkeley uses the WageWorks Commuter Benefits program to drive down bureaucracy and dramatically boost participant satisfaction. University of California, Berkeley, or UC Berkeley as it’s known to most, is the oldest of the UC campuses and serves as the flagship of California’s public university system.

Suffice to say, this is a University with the highest standards imaginable. It also has a very busy student, staff, and faculty body of more than 45,000 located around the San Francisco Bay Area extending beyond a 50- mile radius from its Berkeley, CA campus. University administrators are committed to ensuring they have access to premier commuter and parking benefits that enable them to get to and from, and park on campus with a minimum of administrative fuss.

"UC Berkeley offers comprehensive parking and transit services to the entire campus," explains Noel Pinto, Director of Parking & Transportation, UC Berkeley. "We manage more than 7,000 parking spaces across our facilities, as well as ensure that our people are easily able to access the campus via the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) commuter train system and other transit agencies. Ensuring a smooth and consistent transportation system is critical to the campus’ ability to function effectively. Our goal is to provide the best customer experience possible, enhance services, and contribute to making the lives of our staff and students easier." To that end, Pinto sought out WageWorks’ best-in-class public transit and parking benefits programs designed to save time and money for employers, as well as their commuters. Pinto was spurred to investigate WageWorks based on an earlier experience with the company.

"I was previously exposed to WageWorks when I was employed by the City and County of San Francisco, and I loved the company’s services," says Pinto. "As a consumer, I got the pre-tax benefit, I had my BART tickets mailed to me, and I enjoyed the convenience of having funds auto-deducted from my pay. It was amazingly useful. So, when I came to UC Berkeley and realized that our parking and transportation unit was investing in and reselling thousands of BART tickets every year at no cost to our users, I figured there must be a better way of doing things. The University was out of pocket $100,000 a month—money that could be sitting in a bank collecting interest for the University’s benefit. Also, I didn’t think we needed to be in the business of managing and controlling such a huge inventory of BART tickets. It didn’t feel like an optimal use of my staff’s time. So, I very quickly invited WageWorks to submit a Commuter program proposal that could make things easier for everyone here."

WageWorks Delivers Unparalleled Transit and Parking Flexibility
WageWorks’ flexibility, account service and implementation expertise, and wide variety of supported commuting options were among the key reasons why UC Berkeley chose WageWorks as its transit and parking management vendor. The fact that WageWorks also enabled the University to manage its pre-tax parking program, encompassing both campus-based parking lots and off-campus lots was also part of the key selection criteria. In addition, Pinto was pleased that WageWorks was also able to handle tickets and reimbursement for employees that use AC Transit, a key public transit authority serving neighboring Western Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

"The fact that WageWorks’ commuter programs go way beyond pre-tax benefits and direct facility parking support made a significant difference in going with the company. WageWorks supports parking lots outside of the UC system, which means we can extend pre-tax benefits to those who buy permits elsewhere for non-UC lots," says Pinto. "We also love the fact that WageWorks supports the San Francisco Bay Area ferry system, Amtrak, and a wide variety of transit systems across the Bay Area—elements that competitors didn’t have in their programs. "The staff that work for Parking & Transportation could not be happier or more relieved because of WageWorks," says Pinto. "Before WageWorks, they had to spend a lot of time every month going through manual, paper-based renewal processes, and then had to transfer that information to payroll. Next, payroll would have to manually implement the deductions. With WageWorks, neither team is burdened with those responsibilities any longer. As a result, we have been able to deploy staff more effectively to other important tasks instead of having to focus on commuter renewals and reimbursements. In addition, the number of calls we would get prior to a new semester about things like missing tickets, accounts not working correctly, and general account enquiries have been minimized."

UC Berkeley’s Parking & Transportation staff is also very pleased with the comprehensive, responsive employer support from initial implementation to ongoing system maintenance WageWorks provides.

"Our WageWorks customer service team is very easy to work with and wonderfully responsive," says Pinto. "The amount of time our account representative spent with us was unbelievable. She did a deep dive to understand the background of what needed to be done, the intricacies of integrating with our payroll department, and most importantly, ensuring the university’s stringent privacy policies are adhered to. WageWorks is a true partner that came into this relationship with their ears open to our ideas, and responded in the most positive and proactive way possible."

Participants Give High Marks for Self-Service Capabilities
The response to WageWorks from UC Berkeley’s staff and faculty has been tremendous. They are impressed by WageWorks’ support for the widest variety of bus, light rail, regional rail, streetcar, vanpool, trolley, subway, and ferry options. The fact that WageWorks provides online and telephone self-service, and free home delivery of passes, vouchers, and tickets, as well as easy access to funds via electronic, direct-to-provider parking payment options also plays a major role in UC Berkeley’s participant satisfaction.

"First and foremost, our participants love the convenience of being able to manage their own accounts," says Pinto. "They really enjoy the ease and flexibility of the WageWorks platform that enables them to temporarily suspend their accounts without having to come to our offices and take time off work or school. In addition, they really like the online component which means they don’t have to fill out paperwork or wait in lines to enroll or renew their commuter benefits. Having commuter tickets mailed directly to their homes is another tremendous advantage for them. And the bottom line is they get to save a lot of money because they can use pre-tax dollars to fund their accounts.

"Our participants are also pleased because they can call WageWorks from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time and the fact that there’s always someone who can respond in both English and Spanish. There are also a lot of people without access to computers who prefer to speak to human beings on the phone about their account, and WageWorks offers them the highest levels of service too."

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