For example: A person who drives 20 miles to work each day in a car that gets 25 miles per gallon will spend more than $1,200 per year just on gas. Add to that the cost of owning, maintaining and insuring a car and the annual price of commuting approaches $6,000.

Are you taking a salary cut just to get to work? You don't have to.

Employees who car pool, walk, bike, take mass transit or skip the commute altogether and work from home can save a lot of cash. Employers who encourage or subsidize these alternatives often enjoy a happier and more productive work force - and extra room in their parking lots.

From her home in Glendale, Lashell Johnson rides her bike to downtown Salt Lake City and then takes TRAX to her job at ARUP Laboratories in Research Park three or four days a week. She enjoys the exercise, riding part-way with her bicycle-commuter husband - and her employer pays for her transit pass.

"I have seven kids," two of whom are teenage drivers, Johnson says. "I don't want to spend a lot of money on gas or using TRAX."

ARUP buys an Eco Pass, an annual transit pass good for all UTA buses and light rail, for each of its 1,800 employees. The program requires that employers purchase a pass for all staff members, and gives companies a discounted price of $35 to $165 per person, depending on the level of UTA service available in the area. By contrast, buying a regular transit pass costs $47 per month, or $564 per year. Although ARUP offers the passes to employees for free, employers can also charge their workers for part or all of the cost.

Von Madsen, assistant vice president of human resources at ARUP, says providing a mass transit option to employees means the company can hire people who might not otherwise be able to make the journey to Research Park. About 40 percent of the company's employees use some form of alternative transportation to get to work each day.

Randy Pullen, a machinist at Triumph Gear Systems, started driving a UTA van pool from Bountiful to his job in Park City after he wore out his Toyota pickup in just four years of commuting through Parley's Canyon. Although the Internal Revenue Service estimates the cost of operating a car at 48.5 cents per mile, riding in the van pool only costs 4 cents per person per mile.

Triumph deducts $22 per paycheck before taxes from each rider in Pullen's van. The IRS allows employers to make up to $105 per month in pre-tax deductions for transportation, lowering taxes for both employees and employers. Triumph also offers paid time off and cash incentives to employees who car pool with their own cars, at a maximum of one paid day off or $180 per year.

"It's a benefit we offer to our employees to keep them happy [and] to help alleviate the cost of commuting," says Tracie Dunn, human resources coordinator. "More than half of our employees live outside of the Park City area."

Some workers opt out of the commute altogether. At 1-800 CONTACTS in Draper, 50 of the company's 600 employees telecommute, taking calls from home as customer service agents. Most of the telecommuters are mothers and enjoy being home with their kids in addition to saving money at the pump.

"We find that the people who telecommute usually stay with the organization longer, have a lot more satisfaction and they get to work in their pajamas - that's always a bonus," says Seth Picket, who works in human resources at 1-800 CONTACTS.

Alexis Evers manages the company's telecommuters from her home. Before she started telecommuting, she spent $40 on gas every week. She estimates that not driving to work has cut her gas costs by two-thirds.

"I find that I'm able to get more done just because I don't have all of the other distractions" that were in the office, Evers says.

Employers who allow employees to work from home can expect productivity gains of 10 to 20 percent, says Pat Katepoo, founder of Hawaii-based WorkSolutions.com, which helps people negotiate flexible work arrangements.

"Now that gas is going up so dramatically, I'm seeing a spike in [interest in] telecommuting," Katepoo says. People are wondering, "Why am I driving to a desk to do the same things I can do at a desk in the next room?"

rwinters@sltrib.com

Carpool: Set up a car pool with co-workers who live nearby. Can't find anyone? Use Utah Transit Authority's car pool matching program. Visit http://www.utarideshare.com.

Van pool: Get a van from UTA and share the cost with up to 14 co-workers. It averages out to 4 cents per mile per person. Employers can deduct up to $105 from your paycheck before taxes to pay for a van pool. There's currently a wait list for vans. Call Scott Miklos, 287-2065, to get in line.

Mass transit: Take the bus or light rail to work. Spend the commute reading instead of fighting traffic. For route information, visit http://www.rideuta.com.

Bicycle: If you are able to ride your bike to work, leave the car in the garage a few times a month or more often. You'll save gas money and get an added bonus: Exercise.

Telecommute: Why go into work at all if your job can be done from home? If your employer offers telecommute options, sign up. Even if it is not offered, ask your supervisor for permission to work from home, even for one or two days a week.

Four steps to getting your manager's approval to telecommute

Put your request in writing. A written proposal should detail your work-from-home schedule, which job tasks will be done off-site and how communication with the main office will be maintained.

Don't get personal. Present the business case for telecommuting. The spike in your gas bill and a lengthy commute may be motivating factors for telecommuting, but leave those out of your proposal. Emphasize instead the employer payoffs. Double-digit productivity gains are typical for remote workers. Note that by working from your home office, you will have fewer interruptions and social distractions, allowing greater focus on job tasks.

Propose two days a week of telecommuting. This starting point preserves a reasonable amount of office "face time," yet is sufficient to prove the merits of working off-site. It also is strategic: If your boss objects to your initial request, you will have room to negotiate to one day a week.

Emphasize the trial period. A trial period of three to six months allows your manager to say "yes" to your proposal without committing to a long-term arrangement. Then it's up to you to deliver measurable results to show that an extension is warranted.

- Source: Pat Katepoo, WorkOptions.com