DOT Secretary issues telecommuting challenge

Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater called for less traffic on the interstates and more traffic on the Internet Tuesday when he challenged federal agencies in the Washington metropolitan area to achieve a goal of having 20 percent of their eligible workers telecommute by 2005.

The 20 percent goal was set in a long-range transportation plan offered by the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments.

"By adopting this goal, federal employees in the National Capital Region can set a national standard for more efficient commuting," Slater said.

Telecommuting pilot programs emerged during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and included experiments at the National Institutes of Health and in the Army. The first governmentwide telecommuting pilot test was launched in 1989 and focused on work-at-home arrangements. By September 1990, the Agriculture Department, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Interior Department all had telecommuting programs in place.

Since then, growing problems with traffic congestion, environmental concerns and a greater focus on quality-of-life issues have made telecommuting a popular work alternative. In 1994, President Clinton issued an executive order urging agencies to implement several family-friendly programs in the workplace, including telecommuting.

According to an October 1999 General Services Administration report, about 26,000 federal employees work at home or at off-site offices, such as suburban telecommuting centers. The Treasury, Defense, Health and Human Services, and Labor departments have the most telecommuters.