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Many
of you have been concerned and confused over
the status of the Punch Card Program
administered by the Georgia Building
Authority (GBA).
I apologize for not getting you
information sooner on whether or not the
program will continue.
Recently,
officials from GBA and the Georgia Regional
Transportation Authority (GRTA) met to see
how we can work together to continue the
program. GBA agreed to continue to honor the
current cards through June 1, 2004 to give
GRTA time to conduct a survey on how
participants use the cards and to gauge
opinion on ways to continue the program in
some form.
However, GBA will not distribute any
new cards or replacement cards.
As
you may know, on Oct. 1, 2003, the State
Employee Commuter Assistance Program (SECAP)
was transferred from GBA to GRTA. The GBA
had established the Punch Card Program,
providing a card with three free parking
pass punch-outs a month for state employees
who receive either a transit card or
participate in the vanpool, as an incentive
for state workers to use these alternative
forms of transportation.
With a punch card, SECAP participants
know they could get free parking at least
three times a month if they needed to drive
their cars to their offices on Capitol Hill.
GBA
manages the state parking garages and was
able to pay for the cards by charging higher
rates during the May-September ozone season.
When SECAP transferred to GRTA, that funding
source did not go with it.
GRTA
has no source of funding to pay GBA for free
parking for SECAP participants.
In
the next few weeks, you will receive a
survey form to receive your opinion on
whether the program should continue and in
what form.
Please take the time to respond to
the survey to let us know what you think
about the Punch Card Program.
In
the meantime, if you have any questions
about this or the vanpool and transit pass
services, please contact us by e-mail
vanpool@grta.org
or by
calling the SECAP Hotline at (404) 463-3048.
Thank
you for helping us to improve congestion and
air quality in metropolitan Atlanta.
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