Genesis Energy: 1 million kilometres travelled using Fareshare

Case study summary

• Customer: Genesis Energy
• Industry: electricity generation and retail
• Number of staff: 550 at head office

Challenge: A sustainability-centered move to a new 6 Green Star-rated office with almost no parking. Genesis’ old head office had ample free parking, so 67% of staff were using a private vehicle for their commute. They were concerned about how they would get to and from their new office.

Solution: With Fareshare, the employer subsidises the cost of employee public transport. Managed by Auckland Transport, this incentive encourages staff to switch to public transport for their daily commute.

Results:

• 68% now use public transport or an active mode (like walking or cycling) for their daily commute.
• Since starting Fareshare, Genesis staff have travelled 1 million kilometres on public transport.
• 73% of Genesis staff surveyed said Fareshare encouraged them to use public transport more often.

Genesis’ Fareshare journey

In 2020, Genesis was planning a move from an office with 205 free parking spaces to one with only 18 spaces, for pool cars. The move to a brand-new Wynyard Quarter office with a 6 Green Star rating was motivated by sustainability, so helping staff find more environmentally friendly ways to travel to work was part of the plan.

Before starting Fareshare, 67% of Genesis staff commuted in ways that contributed to congestion and carbon pollution. Travel modes included petrol or diesel car, motorbike or moped, and taxi or rideshare.

Genesis have found that offering Fareshare as an employee benefit drives consistently high staff use of sustainable modes for their daily commute.

Timeline

Genesis have been a Fareshare customer since October 2020, when they moved to their new office.

Before the move, AT’s Travelwise team helped educate staff on public transport options that would get them to their new location. Staff also had the opportunity to try bus and train travel for free through an initiative called Give it a Go.

After the success of Give it a Go, Genesis started a 6-month trial of Fareshare, which soon became a permanent employee benefit and sustainability contributor. Genesis initially subsidised 25% of staff weekday travel. In February 2023, they increased their subsidy to 50%.

You can choose to subsidise 25%, 50% or 75% of AT travel from either Monday to Friday or Monday to Sunday.

Uptake and cost

Fareshare costs Genesis an average of $15 to $20 a month per registered employee. In 2024, half of Genesis’ Auckland-based staff are using the 50% subsidy.

Detailed results   

Over the past 3.5 years, Genesis staff have contributed 114,500 boardings to total patronage numbers and have travelled over 1 million kilometres on AT’s bus, train and ferry network.

Between October 2020 and April 2024, Genesis staff saved 127 tonnes of carbon emissions (tCO2e) by taking public transport, compared to driving a standard-sized petrol vehicle. To remove the same amount of carbon from our atmosphere over the course of one year, you’d have to plant 27,292 Tītoki (New Zealand oak) trees.

After starting Fareshare in 2020, 71% of staff reported using public transport, EV or an active mode to travel to and from work. Before Fareshare, this number was only 33%.

When surveyed in 2022 and 2023, the majority of staff said they continued to use sustainable modes for their daily commute. In 2022, 56% had used public transport or active modes for their commute on the day of the survey compared to 70% in 2023.

Carbon emissions data

The petrol vehicle emissions factor is a weighted average based on a single-occupancy, standard-sized motor vehicle.

Of Genesis bus patronage data, 5% had an unknown engine type. We used a weighted average of electric and diesel buses in the network for the carbon emissions factor.

Distances travelled are calculated like for like for car versus public transport. This may vary on a trip-by-trip basis.

Carbon factors used are sourced from the Ministry for the Environment and are accurate as of April 2024.

Fareshare’s cultural impact

George Higgins-Smith, fleet manager at Genesis, shares his observations.

Fareshare helped Genesis with their move to Wynyard Quarter

At our Greenlane office, we had 205 parking spaces. With only 18 spaces at our new Viaduct location, all reserved for pool cars, we had to help staff get there without their car. Fareshare encouraged our staff to investigate using public transport, the transport network being accessible from our office location.

We have no personal parking spaces at our new Wynyard Quarter office. There are 2 parking spaces where staff with EVs can come and charge for half a day, but it’s really emphasised that public transport is the way to get in.

Genesis sees Fareshare as long-term decision

We’ve decided to keep Fareshare going and even put more into it, going from 25% to 50% subsidy. It’s been well-received by staff, and any new starters appreciate the subsidy as well.

Staff engagement has been really good. It’s become a culture for us to take public transport. When we transitioned all our subsidy-enrolled staff onto the new Fareshare platform, everyone was keen to ensure they were onboarded and kept the subsidy for their commute.

For staff outside Auckland, we have since rolled out Bee Card in the Waikato region, so most of our staff now get a public transport subsidy. Our Christchurch team is very small so it’s not a focus for us at this stage, but we now have subsidised public transport throughout the whole North Island, which is great.

About Genesis

New Zealand’s largest electricity, natural gas and bottled gas (LPG) retailer, Genesis supplies energy to more than 650,000 customer connections across the country. By managing their impact on the environment and the communities they’re part of, Genesis are working to help move Aotearoa to a low-carbon future.