Commuter Challenge draws nearly 15,000 participants
The number of commuters pledging to try an alternative to driving alone during this year’s Commuter Challenge – nearly 15,000 – increased 54% over last year’s effort.
Brad Davis, St. Paul, participated for the second straight year. He was inspired by last year’s Challenge to start riding his bike to work at the University of Minnesota. What he discovered is that he can commute on his bike in less time than it takes to drive, park and walk to his office.
“I don’t have to spend any time sitting in traffic, because I can slip over to the side streets and zip right along,” Davis said. “I also really enjoy riding my bike. Even if I’ve had a stressful day at work, by the time I get home, I feel relaxed and happy.”
The Midtown Greenway is a popular bike commuting route through south Minneapolis.
Each year, the Commuter Challenge encourages people to replace drive-alone trips by taking the bus or train, bicycling, carpooling, vanpooling, walking or teleworking over a three-month period. This year, participants were encouraged to extend their challenge by tracking their trips online, where they could see savings in their fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
People sign up online, at worksite commuter fairs and special events
Between April 5 and June 27, 14,952 people pledged to take the challenge. They enrolled online, at regional events such as Living Green Expo and at more than 260 commuter fairs held at employment sites and public events hosted by Metro Transit and the region’s Transportation Management Organizations. Though participants were required to pledge to take only one trip to qualify for the prize drawing, many pledged to try several modes, an average of 2.3 per person.
Andrew Howard, Minneapolis, already walked six blocks to work in downtown before the Challenge. But signing up helped him to consider other ways to cut down on driving.
“It made me reconsider driving by myself and driving short distances when driving was unnecessary,” Howard said. “Since the Challenge, I have carpooled a number of times, which I probably would not be doing otherwise.”
Participants travel more than 1,000,000 miles
According to Metro Transit Market Development Specialist John Siqveland, 23% of participants elected to extend their challenge by tracking trips online.
“During the Challenge, these participants tracked 95,114 trips totaling 1,056,124 miles,” he said. “Based on average fuel economy, if these trips had instead been driven alone, more than 53,000 gallons of fuel would have been burned, producing more than 500 tons of CO2 emissions.”
Everyone who pledged was entered in a drawing for commuter-related prizes ranging from REI gift cards to iPods and umbrellas. Participants who continue to track their trips online will receive electronic newsletters and are eligible for weekly gift card drawings for the remainder of the year.
Of the nearly 15,000 people who joined the Challenge, 62% were doing so for the first time; 54% said that their usual mode of travel to work prior to the Challenge was driving alone. Almost everyone – 98% of participants – said in a follow-up survey that they fulfilled their pledge to try a travel mode other than driving alone to work. More than half – 60% – said they fulfilled their pledge to replace drive-alone trips more than twice per week during the Challenge.
86% of participants said they are now more frequently choosing another mode than driving alone for their work, errands and recreational trips. One in five participants said they are doing so almost every day.