Vanpool Commuter Saved Nearly $2,400 in 2017

Commuting from Lynnwood to Bellevue every day is no easy feat, but Kevin Crader has been doing it for 17 years without driving alone. His efforts save him thousands of dollars every year, and has twice earned him the title of Curb the Congestion Champion of the Quarter. 

Smart Commuter Rewards and Curb the Congestion are two Community Transit programs that target large employers and the most-congested corridors to reduce drive-alone trips. In 2017, these programs combined removed 338,047 drive-alone trips from our roads and prevented 7.2 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the air we breathe.

• 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. 

These innovative transportation demand management programs are offered in addition to Community Transit’s bus, vanpool and paratransit service to help reduce traffic congestion and pollution, and encourage healthy travel options.

Each quarter Community Transit recognizes standout participants who are dedicated to smart transportation choices. Congratulations to the award winners for the 4th Quarter of 2017!

Smart Commuter of the 4th Quarter 2017

Paul Grasser of Poulsbo reduces his commute-related stress by combining teleworking with transportation via ferry, bus and walking to get to his job at Premera in Mountlake Terrace.

Commuting this way has saved him time, money and stress for more than 21 years and he is proud of the example that he is setting for his environmentally conscious daughter. In 2017, Grasser saved 6,158 drive-alone miles, more than $1,500 and prevented 4,031 pounds of CO2 from entering our air.

Watch a video of Grasser telling his own commuting story here.

Each quarter, participants in the Smart Commuter Rewards program who use a commute alternative an average of four days a week are eligible to submit a nomination for Smart Commuter of the Quarter. Four quarterly winners are selected by a group of Employee Transportation Coordinators who volunteer on the Community Transit Peer Advisory Board. That board also selects the Smart Commuter of the Year from the quarterly winners.

Curb the Congestion Champion of the 4th Quarter 2017

An advocate for transportation options, Kevin Crader has taken a bus or vanpool from his home in Lynnwood to his job at CH2M Hill in Bellevue for 17 years, and shares his positive experiences with his coworkers. 

Crader, who was honored as a Curb the Congestion Champion of the Quarter in 2016, says that commuting in this way allows him more time to focus on his family and his personal life, making him happier and less stressed. In 2017 he saved 7,356 drive-alone miles, almost $2,400 and prevented more than 6,000 pounds of CO2 from entering the air we breathe.

Watch Crader explain how he does it -- and why his fellow vanpoolers try not to be late... or maybe they do?

To learn more about how Community Transit’s transportation demand management programs work with individuals and businesses, and to start receiving rewards for your smart transportation choices, please visit www.communitytransit.org/programs/choice-connections.