City Says take the Commuter Challenge

The annual, nation-wide communter challenge kicks off May 30th and the city wants residents to take part in the hopes to "see fewer cars on the road during Environment Week." Worthy goal, but the timing is hilariously ironic given that June 1st is the first day for the return of the 30-minute schedule for all transit routes until September.

Anyway, here's the City's press release:

GUELPH, ON, May 25, 2010 – Guelph is taking the Commuter Challenge. The annual competition encourages individuals, employers and cities to register and track the distances they travel by carpool, transit, cycling or walking to work during National Environment Week.

Last year, compared to other communities of its size, Guelph placed third in the challenge and local employers and individual participants prevented more than 3,391 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions.

"People can participate on their own or as part of a team within an organization," says Tim Donegani, Guelph’s Transportation Demand Management Coordinator. "This is a great opportunity to try transit or start a carpool and share the driving with co-workers. Every car that’s not on the road makes a difference, especially given the amount of road work happening in the city."

Since 2001 Guelph Transit has offered free transit on Clean Air Day. The offer will continue on Wednesday, June 2 so everyone can participate again this year.

“We encourage residents to consider public transit as a reliable way to get to and from work and hope Clean Air Day provides the incentive some may be looking for to give it a try,” says Michael Anders, General Manager, Community Connectivity and Transit.

Guelph will be judged based on the percentage of people participating, the distance travelled using more sustainable transportation methods and the carbon emissions prevented during the week.

For more information, or to register for the challenge, individuals and employers can visit guelph.ca/commuterchallenge.