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Commuter Solutions
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December 14, 2007 |
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Commuter
Solutions
In This Issue
“The climate crisis is
not a political issue; it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of
humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to
a higher level.” ~ Al Gore, 2007 Nobel Peace Prize
Winner LINKS Emergency
Ride Home Employer Information Emergency
Ride Home Employee Registration
Commuter Solutions will be holding our
ETC Quarterly Luncheon at the LTD Administration Office in Glenwood on Tuesday,
January 29. Please mark your calendar and watch for your invitation!
We
encourage you to print and post the following flyers and posters at your
workplace to inform your employees of transportation options and regional
road projects: Commuter
Solutions P.O. Box 7070 Commutersolutions@ltd.org www.commutersolutions.ltd.org Connie
Bloom Williams Marcia Maffei Lisa VanWinkle
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LTD Ridership Eclipses 10 million! For the first time in Lane Transit
District’s history, over 10 million annual passenger boardings have been
recorded—10,027,298 boardings to be exact! In September 2007, LTD buses recorded
802,059 boardings, the highest September total ever! Over the past three years, LTD’s annual
boardings have increased approximately 25 percent! A few reasons for this
robust ridership growth include expansion of LTD’s Group Bus Pass Programs
(more and more businesses are providing passes to their employees) and the
Student Transit Pass Program that includes all middle and high school
students, rising fuel prices, and the LTD EmX service, which continues to
attract riders. In late September, the one millionth passenger boarded an EmX
vehicle. On October 1, the single highest ridership day on EmX was
recorded: 5,528 passenger boardings. The bus isn’t the only transportation
alternative that is attracting interest. Vanpooling in the region is
growing, and new local vanpools are forming. Cottage Grove/Creswell to
RiverBend Annex Building on International Way started November 1.
Commuters will enjoy savings in commuting costs while enjoying the company of
their co-workers on their ride to work. Whether it’s taking the bus,
carpooling, vanpooling, walking, or riding your bike, Lane Transit District
and Commuter Solutions are here to help you beat the stress and high cost of
commuting. Call today for information on the variety of transportation
choices available.
We are very pleased to welcome the
newest members of our ETC Network: Karen
DeChellis of EWEB; Peggie Abeyta
of Alternative Work Concepts, Julie
Serres from InnSight Hotel Management Group, Krystal Tullar of Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Marilyn Kemp from Western
Environmental Law Center, Linda McKay
Korth of McKay Investments and the Oakway Mall, and Sherri Sharpe representing Symantec Corporation. Welcome aboard! Everyone Is
a Winner in the Business Commute Challenge The results are in for the eighth
annual Business Commute Challenge (BCC). Sixty-seven businesses competed for
awards for the highest percentage of commuters who biked, walked, carpooled,
or took the bus to work. Twelve businesses earned the title of Commuter
Excellence with 100% participation. Two businesses went above and beyond
for this year’s challenge. Venture
Data, a call center located in downtown Eugene, reported that all 145 employees working had biked,
walked, carpooled, or took the bus for 100% participation. Semperian, located on Country Club
Road, also reported stellar participation numbers with 239 of its 242
employees choosing to participate (99%
participation)! Invitrogen, a
leading provider of novel fluorescent reagents and detection solutions that
advance scientific and biomedical research worldwide, has been a
participating employer in the Emergency Ride Home (ERH) program since October
2006. Commuter Solutions was pleased
to accept ETC Janelle
Halesworth’s invitation to participate in their Environmental Health and
Safety Day held this past October. We
had the opportunity to speak to over 100 employees about the Emergency Ride
Home program, alternative transportation choices, and the new LTD bus stop at
Pritchford and Westec. As a good corporate citizen and
neighbor, Invitrogen is passionate about making a difference in the community.
This year, employees partnered with a local Habitat for Humanity affiliate to
build a home for a low-income family. The home was actually built on land
cleared by employees during Global
Volunteer Day 2004. Lane Community College ETC Gets in the ACT! Susan
Tatar, ETC at Lane Community College, attended the ACT International
Conference, September 9 – 12 in Seattle.
“Not only did I add to my acronym vocabulary, but I also met many
transportation professionals and learned about the work that they do. One of
the highlights was participating in the University Council, which deals with
transportation issues for colleges and universities. Another highlight was the session on
University TDM where I learned what other campuses are doing to reduce
single-occupancy vehicles and make it easier for students to attend
college. Through both of these events,
I was able to meet other college and university staff who are involved and
passionate about reducing greenhouse gases and our carbon footprint by
developing their programs. I left the conference with a great respect for all
the people trying to improve the way we commute and live.”
Ivanna
Shararide ~ Advice to the Travel Worn I would really like to ride the bus or carpool to work, but
I’m worried about not having a car if one of my children should become
ill. Concerned About Being Stranded Dear Concerned, For employees who rideshare to work,
finding a way home in case of emergency can be stressful and time-consuming. That’s where the Emergency Ride Home (ERH)
program comes in! The ERH program provides employees of participating
employers up to four free taxi rides home per year in the case of
emergency. Employees register
for the Emergency Ride Home program with Commuter Solutions and will receive
an ERH ID card. In the event of a personal or family emergency, and when
traveling to work by bus, bike, walking, vanpool, or carpool, see your ERH
administrator, who will call a participating taxi provider and give you a
signed Emergency Ride Home voucher for your free taxi ride. Simply present the voucher to the taxi
driver – the ride is on us. You can even add up to a 10% tip for the driver! Please e-mail Ivanna if
you have a question or concern about your transportation options. |
