Businesses are helping their employees deal with rising fuel prices through a variety of measures, according to results of a questionnaire put out by the Rochester Business Alliance.

A total of 181 businesses, representing 30,000 local employees, responded to an e-mail questionnaire as to actions they are taking to offset pumped up fuel prices. Of that group, 50 percent said they had already increased the mileage rate being paid to their workers for on-the-job travel, while another 16 percent said they are considering a higher reimbursement rate.

When asked about those rates, almost half of the respondent said they pay the IRS approved rate of 50.5 cents per mile, with an average rate of 47.2 cents.

Results showed businesses are trying a myriad of solutions to help offset these costs to their businesses as well as their employees. Among the solutions reported:

• Offering a pretax transportation reimbursement account (78 percent)
• Limiting business travel (73 percent)
• Offering telecommuting as an option (73 percent)
• Organizing employee car pools (70 percent)
• Offering flexible scheduling that cuts down on driving, such as 4, 10-hour days (61 percent)
• Offering discounts to employees who use public transportation (50 percent)

One thing the businesses seemed in agreement on: They are reluctant to pass these increased costs on to their customers. Only 38 percent said they have increased prices in the last few months as the result of rising fuel or raw material prices.

The Rochester Business Alliance is the regional chamber of commerce serving more than 2,000 members in the nine-county region.


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