gkv Communications CEO gives gift cards for gas to alleviate cost of

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), May 27, 2008 by Liz Farmer

With gas prices at historic highs -- and no end in sight -- one employer is doing what he can to cut the cost of everyone's commute to work.

Roger Gray, the chief executive officer and chairman of gkv Communications, surprised his employees Friday morning with $200 gift cards from BP gas stations.

"Everywhere you turn, you hear about the cost of gasoline being driven by the high cost of oil prices, and it's been going on for a while but nobody's doing anything about it," Gray said from the marketing firm's office at Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

Gray added that many of his employees are just starting their careers and that paying $4 a gallon can be a heavier burden at that age. Every employee except senior management at gkv received a gift card in time for the Memorial Day weekend. The company spent $17,000 on 85 cards, he said.

"We're only a little bit through our year and because of the turmoil in our economy it's hard to project where our profitably will hold [at year's end]," added Gray. "So this is a fairly aggressive move for us."

His move is just one of the tactics employers are using to mitigate the squeeze at the pump for their commuters. According to a survey released last week by the Alexandria, Va.-based Society for Human Resource Management, 14 percent of employers nationwide have offered their employees a gas card for their commute.

"Rising gas prices are cutting into everyone's personal budgets, so employees are taking a closer look at benefits such as compressed work weeks and public transportation discounts to reduce their costs," said Susan R. Meisinger, the society's president and CEO.

Just 2 percent of employers had offered a stipend or a cost-of- living raise in response to rising gas prices, while the most common tactic -- 42 percent of those surveyed -- was to raise the mileage reimbursements, according to the survey.

Many employers are also developing telecommuting plans to allow employees to work from home at least one day a week or offering public transportation discounts.

Although no recent AAA Mid-Atlantic polls address how Marylanders are changing their individual commuting habits, spokeswoman Christine Delise noted that mass transit ridership is up 2 percent nationwide.

MARC commuter train ridership increased by about 3.5 percent last year from 7.3 million in 2006, according to the Maryland Transit Authority, while ridership on MTA buses in Baltimore and its suburbs rose by about 15 percent from 191,600 last July to 222,500 in March.

"That really is an indicator that high gases are having an impact on commuters' wallets and as a result they are looking for a less costly option in Maryland," Delise said.

Gray said he chose to give out gas cards because he felt it was a very direct and simple way to help people where they are continually facing cost increases.

"This is not a public statement, it's not about getting on a podium and saying we need to do something about the cost of gas," Gray said. "This is to let our employees know that we really care about them."