Contact: Jonah Weinberg, 650-508-6238

Once a Week Challenge Encourages Transit Use

SamTrans and the Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance will kick off a four week program to encourage local businesses to promote transit to their employees, starting Thursday, Oct. 12 at 10:30 a.m., at the County Government Center in Redwood City.

SamTrans board member and County Supervisor Jerry Hill will kick off the transit challenge, asking businesses to enroll in the “Try Transit Once a Week” program. “We have excellent transit opportunities in San Mateo County,” said Hill. “If we could get everyone who works in this county to take public transit just one day a week, it would go a long way toward reducing traffic and improving our environment.”

The program will officially begin on Oct. 23, to give businesses and staff an opportunity to sign up. Enrollees will get free SamTrans or Caltrain tickets, allowing them to ride once a week through Nov. 17. Participants in the program could win prizes ranging from transit passes to gift certificates and even an iPod.

This transit challenge arose from the American Public Transportation Association’s annual “Communities in Motion” campaign, as well as Supervisor Hill’s recommendation in June to the county board to encourage the once-a-week program with county employees.

Leading by example, SamTrans employees kicked off their Once a Week campaign Oct. 9. Posters and information about the SamTrans program will be posted in the lobby of the San Carlos headquarters. Awards will be given to the participants who rode transit the most times and who rode the longest cumulative distance.

“We are hoping other businesses seize upon this opportunity to encourage transit use,” said Hill. “This costs them nothing and yet it has such a big return when you think about the reduction in traffic and all the pollutants that will not be released into the air.”

For more information about transit challenge, or to enroll, contact the Alliance at 650-588-8170 or via email at alliance@commute.org.

Visit the Alliance website here.
Download the registration form in PDF format here. (PDF, 543 KB)

10/11/06 (rev) - jbw