Shakers

Over at Sightline Daily, Christine Grant discusses “Ten lessons from the great cycling cities” in her blog post Two Wheels and High Heels. After winning a fellowship, she traveled around the world’s most bike-friendly cities for six months, and returned home to Cascadia with a full basket of bike lessons.

What jumped out to us at Commute Solutions was her third point: “It’s safer than a sofa.” She writes: “Copenhagen’s Public Health Department calculates that even when accident costs are factored in, every mile of cycling translates to net health benefits worth US$1.30.” By choosing an active form of transportation, cyclists decrease both their direct costs of health care, as well as the costs that society pays. That figure of $1.30/mile leapt off the page, because our own True Cost of Driving Calculator” comes up with a true cost figure of $1.38/mile to drive a car. What a coincidence that you  could (figuratively) be $2.68 in the black for every mile you cycle instead of drive!

The Monterey Bay Area’s annual promotion to increase awareness about the benefits and expand the use of transportation modes such as carpooling, vanpooling, bus and bicycle riding, walking, and teleworking is now in high gear. Throughout October, which is Rideshare Month, participants are engaging their partners, colleagues and competitors in friendly challenges to win prizes and to do their part towards fostering cleaner air, healthier lifestyles, smoother flowing traffic and freeing up funds previously used for commuting to spend on other things. Be a player — count you and your organization in! Individuals, workplaces, colleges and non-profit organizations can all participate. Simply use sustainable transportation modes as much as possible during October and report your commute trips on the Rideshare Month campaign website to become eligible for prizes. Rideshare Month 2011 is a joint effort among the following organizations:  Commute Alternatives in Monterey County, San Benito County Rideshare and the RTC’s Commute Solutions service in Santa Cruz County.

Rain or shine, the 13th Annual Fall Bike to Work Day in Santa Cruz County will be in full swing on Thursday, October 6th from 6:30 am – 9:30 am. Two wheelers can stop in at any of 16 community breakfast sites across the county and enjoy free breakfast and coffee, massages and acupuncture, bike maintenance, and commuter resources. Schools are especially strong participants in the Fall Bike event to encourage students to start the year off with good transportation habits. See the Bike 2 Work website for details.  The RTC is a major funder of this semi-annual event supporting bicycling throughout Santa Cruz County.

We were delighted to hear Commute Solutions mentioned on KUSP’s Land Use Report this morning on our way in to the office (while aboard the 71 bus, of course). In the report, Gary Patton noted that one of the best transportation solutions is to use our existing roadways more efficiently, and talked about Commute Solutions’ goal to conserve the transportation resources in our county much like we’ve learned to conserve electricity and water.

If this is your first time visiting us, or if you haven’t seen our new website yet, check out Commute Solutions services for both commuters and employers. For personalized help exploring your transportation options, or if you’re ready to start commuting more sustainably, but need a little reassurance or support, call our Commute Solutions HelpDesk at (831) 429-POOL or send us an email.

To listen to this episode of the Land Use Report, here is a direct link.