• August 28th, 2023
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PNC's parking perk pilot program has concluded, morphing as planned into new parking perks for Pittsburgh employees – with potential to be deployed in other parts of the bank's national footprint next. PNC has not disclosed how many employees participated in the pilot program (which worked with a handful of departments at downtown locations), nor how many it expects to utilize the program, but they say that employees can now opt-in at any time.

"It is a company priority to have employees returning to the office, and we hope the new discounted parking program will make it even easier for employees to gather and collaborate together in person at our downtown Pittsburgh offices," PNC said in a statement.

As one of the city's biggest employers with about 12,000 local staffers, what PNC does could have something of a ripple impact in the region according to the Pittsburgh Business Times senior reporter Patty Tascarella. Its return-to-the-office strategy is being closely watched by other companies struggling with the same issues.

After more than three years of work-from-home flexibility during the pandemic, PNC sent Pittsburgh employees a memo in March outlining economic and safety initiatives taken to encourage them to return to the office – including its six major buildings and branches downtown – as they look for ways to sweeten the return.

The most unique component of the plan was working with ALCO Parking to provide parking at a discounted rate for PNC employees at a North Shore lot at Acrisure Stadium with free shuttle service during morning and evening commute times. On average, PNC estimated that it costs $8 per day to park on the North Side, so it is giving employees a spot for $5, translating to a $3 discount, plus the free shuttle.

Lou Cesteello, PNC's regional president in the area, told Business Times, "We've heard in the past people were a little hesitant to pick up additional expenses by coming in and parking in town, so we've arranged the discount to encourage them to utilize that. We don't have a date where we're going to mandate people back, but we're talking to our manager, asking them to be present... We do not say how many days employees have to be at the office. But quite a large percentage of our employees never left the office, so to speak."

The memo also detailed PNC's efforts to significantly increase the presence of police officers and PNC's security team downtown, while engaging with Pittsburgh's Department of Public Safety to open a new permanent center that will include a police sub-station on Wood Street directly across from PNC's corporate headquarters.

Source: Pittsburgh Business Times