Champlain Honored for Workplace Commitment to Commuters

Champlain College offers shuttle service to commuters.

Burlington, VT -- Eight employers in Chittenden County, including Champlain College, are being honored with the national designation of Best Workplaces for Commuters by the National Center for Transit Research (NCTR). The awards were presented on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at Champlain College's new Center for Communication & Creative Media building.

The local employers honored are:

  • Champlain College
  • Chittenden Area Transportation Management Association (CATMA)
  • Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission
  • City of Burlington
  • Global Foundries
  • Seventh Generation
  • University of Vermont
  • University of Vermont Medical Center

The "Best Workplaces for Commuters" designation acknowledges employers who have excelled at implementing environmentally friendly commuter programs, including subsidized transit passes, ride matching services and a Guaranteed Ride Home Program. "Offering commuter benefits is a win-win situation for employees who change their commuting habits, save time, money and stress and for employers who gain a competitive edge in employee recruiting and retention", said Julie Bond, NCTR's national program manager for Best Workplaces for Commuters.

"It is very exciting to formally congratulate our members and employers, who offer an attractive suite of commuter benefits and transportation options to their employees," says Sandy Thibault, CATMA's executive director. CATMA was formed in 1992 by Champlain College, University of Vermont and University of Vermont Medical Center with a mission to jointly plan and manage safe, convenient and economical transportation and parking to better coordinate land use and reduce environmental impacts. Thibault adds, "It is also a pleasure to welcome our new business members, who join our founding institutions, in leading and improving transportation choices for commuters in Burlington and Chittenden County through collaborative efforts."

Best Workplaces for Commuters (www.bestworkplaces.org), is a voluntary partnership program designed to promote energy conservation by reducing traffic congestion and related air pollution. The NCTR is located at the University of South Florida, an internationally recognized resource for transportation policy and education.The program was initiated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and United States Department of Transportation in 2002. The program challenges employers across the country to meet the National Standard of Excellence.


Founded in 1878, Champlain College is a small, not-for-profit, private college in Burlington, Vermont, with additional campuses in Montreal, Canada, and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain offers a traditional undergraduate experience from its beautiful campus overlooking Lake Champlain and over 90 residential undergraduate and online undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates. Champlain's distinctive career-driven approach to higher education embodies the notion that true learning occurs when information and experience come together to create knowledge. Champlain College is included in the Princeton Review's The Best 384 Colleges: 2019 Edition. For the fourth year in a row, Champlain was named a "Most Innovative School" in the North by U.S. News & World Report's 2019 "America's Best Colleges,” and a “Best Value School” and is ranked in the top 100 “Regional Universities of the North” and in the top 25 for “Best Undergraduate Teaching.” Champlain is also featured in the Fiske Guide to Colleges for 2019 as one of the "best and most interesting schools" in the United States, Canada and Great Britain and is a 2019 College of Distinction. For more information, visit champlain.edu.