Smart Transportation Choices Get Rewarded

Community Transit’s Choice Connection program promotes smart transportation options throughout our community. In 2015 these programs combined removed over 538,696 drive-alone trips for our roads, and 5.8 million pounds of CO2 from the air we breathe.Two innovative incentive programs are offered to help reduce traffic congestion and pollution, and encourage healthy travel options.

• Smart Commuter Rewards is an incentive program that helps large businesses motivate employees to reduce their drive-alone trips to work.
• Curb the Congestion promotes smart transportation options to residents and employees on six of Snohomish County’s most congested corridors.

Each quarter Community Transit recognizes standout participants and employers who are dedicated to smart transportation choices. Congratulations to the Choice Connections award winners for 4th Quarter of 2015:


Smart Commuter of the Quarter, Daniel Dootson

Curb the Congestion Champion of the Quarter

Eric Blanchet of Monroe travels over 58 miles a day by longboard, skateboard and bus every day to his job at Microsoft in Redmond. For over seven years he’s been committed to choosing a healthy commute not only for himself, but the environment as well. He’s often seen riding his longboard around the Microsoft campus, and even helps teach his coworkers how to ride.

 

Smart Commuter of the Quarter

Daniel Dootson of Edmonds has biked 50,000 miles over the past 23 years, rain or shine five days a week to work. As Edmonds Community College’s Visual Media Services Director, he applies this same tenacity to his job. He knows that if he can conquer the elements, he can handle anything that might come his way during the day.

 

Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC) of the Quarter

Sylvia Peacock of Trade Products & Specialty Manufacturing in Lynnwood is consistent in her Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) efforts. She makes the time to provide extra assistance to her employees, many of which don’t have access to a computer. Thanks to her efforts she increased her number of employees tracking their non-drive alone trips by 20%, and helped save over 2,100 pounds of CO2 pollution during in the fourth quarter alone.

 

Employer of the Quarter

The City of Monroe consistently provides outreach and education to their employees on smart transportation choices to work. By the end of the fourth quarter 2015 they had 20% of their employees participating in their worksite transportation program. In partnership with Community Transit, the City of Monroe is working to expand their efforts to promote smart transportation to other residents and employers in the community. These consistent efforts are making an impact, and helping take cars off the road in our communities.

 

The Choice Connections program recognizes individuals and worksites in Snohomish County and the City of Bothell that support Washington State Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) goals. They go above and beyond to use smart transportation alternatives to driving alone, and encourage workers to do so.

 

To learn more about the Choice Connections program and to sign up to start receiving rewards for your smart transportation choices, please visit www.communitytransit/ChoiceConnections.

Smart Transportation Choices Get Rewarded

Smart Commuter of the Quarter, Erin from AT&T

Community Transit’s Choice Connection program promotes smart transportation options throughout our community. Two innovative incentive programs are offered to help reduce traffic congestion and pollution, and encourage healthy travel options:

• Smart Commuter Rewards is an incentive program that helps large businesses motivate employees to reduce their drive-alone trips to work.
• Curb the Congestion promotes smart transportation options to residents and employees on six of Snohomish County’s most congested corridors. 

From January-September these programs combined have already removed over 376,522 drive-alone trips for our roads and 3.5 million pounds of CO2 from the air we breathe. Each quarter Community Transit recognizes standout participants and employers who are dedicated to smart transportation choices and healthy transportation options. Congratulations to the Choice Connections award winners for 3rd Quarter of 2015:

Curb the Congestion Champion of the Quarter

Valauri Stotler of Lynnwood uses bus, carpool, light rail and walking for 99% of all the trips she makes. These trips include commuting to work to the City of Seattle, walking to the store and getting to the airport. Over the past year her smart transportation choices saved over 7,900 drive alone miles, 3,870 pounds of CO2 from the air we breathe and over $1,500 in personal transportation expenses.

Smart Commuter of the Quarter

Erin, a Senior Field Asset Administrator, tracks and reports out AT&T’s network assets. She walks the talk by choosing to walk, vanpool, bike or telecommute to work for over 15 years. Erin is dedicated to a healthy lifestyle and environment, and makes smart transportation choices a priority not only for her commute from Seattle to Bothell, but also for most of her personal trips.

Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC) of the Quarter

Dena Searcy of Comcast Lynnwood is committed to making her worksite transportation program a success. Her diligent efforts to train and educate her employees about their transportation options have made a huge impact. Dena registered 111 employees in their transportation program, far surpassing their original goal of 65. Her efforts helped to save over 7,600 pounds of CO2 pollution during in the third quarter alone.

Employer of the Quarter

Vertafore in Bothell makes smart transportation choices a priority at their workplace. By the end of the third quarter they registered over a third of their employees in RideshareOnline.com; connecting their employees to transportation resources and incentives. Their consistent efforts are making a huge impact, and during the third quarter alone they saved over 32,500 drive alone miles from our roadways.

To learn more about the Choice Connections program and to sign up to start receiving rewards for your smart transportation choices, please visit www.communitytransit/ChoiceConnections.

Community Transit Recognizes Leaders in Smart Transportation Options

Community Transit’s Choice Connections program recognizes worksites in Snohomish County and the City of Bothell who support Washington State Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) goals. They go above and beyond to encourage their employees to use smart transportation options to driving alone.

 

Smart Commuter of the Quarter, Josefina Behymer

Congratulations to the Choice Connections award winners for 1st Quarter 2015:

Smart Commuter of the Quarter
Josefina Behymer is a liaison between internal buyers and engineers at Boeing Canyon Park Commons in Bothell. She is a vital connection to ensure that orders are accurate and streamlined. Josefina displays her commitment to smart transportation choices by taking the ferry and vanpooling for her commute of 88 miles each day. We’d like to recognize Josefina for her devotion to smart transportation choices that help keep the environment healthy for everyone!

Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC) of the Quarter
Woody Whitaker has been the ETC for Allstate for eight years. He provides employees with support and information about their transportation options, and helps them find an attractive commute to fit their lifestyle. Woody takes the time to meet with Allstate’s new employees to explain the company’s subsidy program, as well as commute options to their Bothell worksite. Woody’s continued support of the program has resulted in 25% of the worksite’s employees logging trips in RideshareOnline.com, saving over 78,000 miles and more than $22,800 in fuel during the first quarter of 2015. 

Employer of the Quarter
Electric Mirror made a big commitment to smart transportation when it implemented a subsidy program for their carpools and vanpools. Parking was at a premium at their South Everett worksite, so they took a proactive approach to fix their overcrowded parking lots. Electric Mirror announced the rollout of a subsidy program to their employees in the month of February and began sign ups in March. As a result, 20% of their workforce is now carpooling. During the first quarter of 2015 their efforts removed 1,146 trips and more than 12,000 drive alone miles. 

Choice Connections rewards commuters for choosing smart transportation options and offers the tools and resources needed to get started. When you choose a smart commute, your efforts reduce traffic, save money and time, and help the environment. To learn more about the Choice Connections program, please visit www.community transit/ChoiceConnections.

 

Community Transit Recognizes Smart Transportation Choices

Community Transit’s Choice Connections program recognizes worksites and commuters in Snohomish County and the City of Bothell that go above and beyond to reduce pollution and congestion by promoting healthy transportation choices.

Congratulations to the Choice Connections Award winners for the 2nd Quarter of 2014:

Smart Commuter of the Quarter

Gina Paterson-Bryant from Premera Mountlake Terrace audits processes and systems to better serve Premera’s customers. She carefully considered her impact on the environment, and made a very deliberate decision to give up her car completely in 2005. Gina uses public transportation, carpools and walks for her commute and all of her personal errands as well. She is a personal advocate and resource for her co-workers on how to use transit and go car free!

 

ETC of the Quarter

Kelly Davis from Seattle Genetics in Bothell used her passion as a cyclist to take her worksite program to the next level.  Kelly led Seattle Genetics to receive the Cascade Bicycle Club Silver-level BizCycle Certification denoting Seattle Genetics as an outstanding employer for commuters. Kelly organized her worksite’s Bike to Work Month Campaign and tied it to a fundraiser for Gilda’s Club. Kelly’s team raised $6,000 for cancer support and together biked over 6,000 miles in the month of May. 

Employer of the Quarter

T-Mobile in Bothell developed a major campaign to encourage their employees to register and log their trips in RideshareOnline.com, a commute tracking program. The campaign included a generous number of gift card as an incentive for new users. The campaign added 88 new participants to RideshareOnline.com for a total of 106 actively participating employees. The successful campaign launched T-Mobile to surpass its tracking goal to reach133% of employees logging trips.

Choice Connections reward commuters for choosing a smart alternative to driving alone, and offers the tools and resources needed to get started. When you choose a smart commute, your efforts reduce traffic, save money and time, and help the environment. To learn more about the Choice Connections program, please visit Community Transit Choice Connections.

Community Transit Recognizes Smart Transportation Choices

 

Did you know that over 50% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Washington come from transportation sources?

Community Transit’s Choice Connections program recognizes worksites and commuters in Snohomish County and the City of Bothell that go above and beyond to reduce pollution and congestion by promoting alternatives to driving alone.

The Choice Connections award winners for the 1st Quarter of 2014 were:

Smart Commuter of the Quarter

Mark Fagan, Smart Commuter of the Quarter

Mark Fagan from Esterline-Korry gave up his car as part of a New Year’s resolution and hasn’t looked back. He is able to commute to work via vanpool, Swift and bicycle and is enjoying the positive effects to both his health and wallet. Mark’s personal mission is to use his smart commute to reduce his carbon footprint.

Employee Transportation Coordinator of the Quarter
Jeanne Killgore of The Everett Clinic at Smokey Point has been instrumental in evaluating her worksite Commute Trip Reduction program to successfully remove drive alone trips from our roads. Thanks to her hard work she was successfully able to surpass her worksite survey requirements, which helps to gauge future areas for program growth.

Employer of the Quarter
The City of Lynnwood is dedicated to making it easier for their employees to choose smart transportation options. They offer a monthly incentive for those who choose not to drive alone to work. Their worksite show an impressive savings of over 4,700 pounds of CO2 and over 6,000 vehicle trips reduced from our local roads in the first quarter 2014.
     
Choice Connections is a new program that rewards commuters for choosing a smart alternative to driving alone, and offers the tools and resources needed to get started. When you choose a smart commute, your efforts reduce traffic, save money and time, and help the environment. To learn more about the Choice Connections program please visit Community Transit Choice Connections.

 

Smart Commuters Recognized at 17th Annual Awards Luncheon

On April 10, Community Transit recognized the achievements of employers, Employee Transportation Coordinators and smart commuters from across Snohomish County and Bothell at our 2013 Smart Commuter Awards Luncheon.

This year’s honorees prove that choosing sustainable transportation options not only help individuals save money and stress, but also make our community a better place to live and work for everyone.

Smart Commuter of the Year – Lynette Boulch, Premera Blue Cross

Lynette has been committed to choosing smarter ways to work for over 25 years.  She’s currently a vanpool driver and has recruited numerous new vanpool riders over the years.  When she’s not vanpooling, she takes the bus to work.

Employee Transportation Coordinator of the Year – Karen Lee Kimber, Swedish Edmonds

Karen has been in her role as an Employee Transportation Coordinator for over 20 years and continues to make an impressive mark on her company’s Commute Trip Reduction program.  This year, Karen developed a “HAVEAGR8RIDE” newsletter that gives her employees the cost of driving alone, tips on how to find other commute options and how to determine their carbon footprint.

Employer of the Year – AT&T

AT&T has had a great commute program for many years.  In 2013, AT&T promoted seven different campaigns to educate and encourage employees to choose smart options to driving alone.  The result of the campaigns was phenomenal, including having 47 employees log more than 14,063 bicycle commute miles during an eight week bike competition.  Not only does AT&T’s management support these activities for their employees, they also provide ORCA Passport that provides transit and vanpool fares for their employees.

The 2013 award recipients were all from businesses throughout Snohomish County and Bothell who support Washington State’s Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) goals.  Community Transit receives funding from the state to help these employers reduce drive alone vehicle trips to their worksites by providing services such as the Smart Commuter Awards, advanced training for Employee Transportation Coordinators, a Guaranteed Ride Home program, transportation fairs and resources on commute options to approximately 24,000 employees at 74 worksites.

More details and the list of the winners and nominees are posted on Community Transit’s website.  To learn more about Community Transit’s services for employers, visit www.communitytransit.org/ChoiceConnections.

Free Webinar Helps Businesses Learn How an Employee Commute Program Can Help Their Bottom Line

As traffic congestion and commuting costs continue to rise, the way employees get to work is becoming a larger part of how Snohomish County companies do business. The quality of an employee’s commute experience can have a significant impact on job satisfaction, productivity and quality of life. 

Community Transit is here to help employers meet these challenges with a new program, Choice Connections Business, which provides free services, resources and incentives to help develop a customized employee commute program.

Community Transit will be hosting a free Choice Connections Business webinar for employers in Southwestern Snohomish County and Bothell on Wednesday, March 12 from 2:00p.m. – 3:00p.m. The webinar will highlight cost-effective ways to help employees find better commute options that will help boost productivity and improve morale.

To learn more about Choice Connections Business or to register for this FREE webinar, visit www.communitytransit.org/ChoiceConnectionsBusiness or contact a Community Transit representative at ChoiceConnectionsBusiness@commtrans.org or 425-438-6163.