Spoken Wheel: Stories from Snohomish County Bikers

Michael on his way to work

Michael Cawrse is a Stormwater Engineering Technician for the City of Edmonds. He has been riding his bike to work, rain or shine, from his home in Seattle to Edmonds for years. In 2013, he was selected to be Community Transit’s Smart Commuter of the Quarter for his commitment to reducing traffic and emissions by biking and carpooling to work.

Mike shared some of his thoughts on Bike to Work Month:

 

“It’s been great seeing all the bike riders the last few weeks, especially now that Bike to Work and School Month is in full swing. It is a great time to take advantage of the (hopefully) warmer weather to save your gas money and get healthy.

 

And if you pick just one day to ride, make it Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 16. Check your route beforehand and see if there are any Commute Stations (http://www.cascade.org/commute-stations) giving out swag. And if you’re in Edmonds, my co-workers and I will see you at the Commute Station near the ferry terminal!!

 

Lastly, a safety tip to all riders - yell 'On Your Left' when passing other riders or pedestrians."

Where's My Bus: The Conclusion

When last we left Jeff, he and his family waited for hours at the Lynnwood Transit Center in hopes of spotting one of the two buses that had his Smart Commute bus ad. It seemed their adventure was for naught, but this story concludes with a happy ending-- as you can see below. Take it away, Jeff!

"We huddled at bus bay where our route was to arrive and waited.  The drivers were all courteous and kind, but they were wondering why we didn’t get on the bus!  We let them know we were waiting for “Jeff’s bus” and showed them the poster as evidence.  The third bus driver let us know the total route time and figured there were a total of 9 or 10 buses that we may have to wait through to check them all out.  We got through about 5 buses and the kids were getting pretty cold.  We were also running out of daylight for a good quality photo, so we decided to leave. 

Just then—right on our way out of the Transit center--our youngest yelled, “Dad! – There you are!”

My wife quickly parked. We ran over to the driver and let him know he was carrying my poster around on his bus board and that we wanted a photo.  Luckily he was staying put for about 4 minutes and we finally got our long awaited photo opportunity!  

Miraculously, out of 200+ buses running in Snohomish County, we ended up spotting a different bus number on a different route and it happened to be parked at the Lynnwood Transit Center as we were leaving! Thanks to Community Transit and their kind staff who helped make our Christmas picture one of the best ever!" - Jeff Miller

Photo courtesy of Jeff Miler

Photo courtesy of Jeff Miller

Photo courtesy of Jeff Miller

Editor's Note:  Thanks, Jeff, for sharing your bus adventure with us! Our Smart Commuter Rewards Program encourages employees to find alternative ways to get to work besides driving alone. To participate, employees must work at worksites in Snohomish County or City of Bothell receiving Commute Trip Reduction services from Community Transit. Refer to this list of participating worksites to see if you are eligible.

Questions? Contact our Transportation Demand Management Specialists for additional information:

• Stacey Gunnerson, (425) 348-2304
• Debbie Anderson, (425) 438-6136  

Where's My Bus: A Holiday Bus Hunt Adventure

Jeff Miller commutes year-round and tracks his miles through Community Transit's Smart Commuter Rewards Program. He was awarded "Smart Commuter of 2nd Quarter," honors last year for his efforts, which included his likeness on one of our Community Transit bus board ads. The following is Jeff's account of trying to track down "his" bus.

I commute by bike year-round, and I track all my miles on Community Transit's website.  As long as I cycle into work, my company, Esterline Controls and Communication Systems, pays me a monthly incentive to reduce congestion.  Cycling 4.5 miles each way to and from work gives me two good cardio workouts a workday, which is great for me physically and mentally—it’s my personal gym on wheels!  Because Esterline provides indoor bicycle parking and showers, my bike commute is very convenient.  And believe it or not, it’s just about as fast to ride my bike to work as it is to drive a car.  Biking just makes sense for me.     

One day, I received an email from Community Transit saying I was eligible for the Commuter of the Quarter because I cycled so many consecutive days.  I filled out the questionnaire and was surprised to hear back that I had won!  Eventually, a friend of ours who regularly rides Community Transit took a cell phone picture of my poster on the side of a bus she’d ridden and emailed it to us.  Aha!  Evidence that the poster had made the bus!  My wife decided it would make a great family Christmas picture if she and the kids posed with me in the background on the bus. 

I kept a watchful eye as I commuted by bike and searched for ‘My Bus’, but never saw it myself. If it weren’t for our friend’s picture, we wouldn’t have believed it was actually out there!  Finally I called Community Transit's Marketing Department during the holidays and asked if they could track my picture down.   I thankfully got a call from Community Transit with a few bus numbers that had my picture. Now, I had to get a route and a safe place for a picture. 

The people at Community Transit were extremely helpful and within a few days, provided us with a route number that the bus was running.  

“OK kids, we are packing up and heading to the Lynnwood Transit Center for a Bus Hunt!” 

 We huddled at bus bay where our route was to arrive and waited.  The drivers were all courteous and kind, but they were wondering why we didn’t get on the bus!  We let them know we were waiting for “Jeff’s bus” and showed them the poster as evidence.  The third bus driver let us know the total route time and figured there were a total of 9 or 10 buses that we may have to wait through to check them all out.  We got through about 5 buses and the kids were getting pretty cold.  We were also running out of daylight for a good quality photo, so we decided to leave.

Just then—right on our way out of the Transit center--our youngest yelled, “Dad! – There you are!” 

Did Jeff find his bus? Did the Millers get their family Christmas picture? Stay tuned and find out!