Archive for the ‘Promotions’ Category

Have you ever been frustrated with car maintenance issues, the price of gas, parking costs, or even ALL of the above? If so, then maybe you should think about taking the Zipcar Low-Car Diet Challenge.

What is the Low-Car Diet?
For one month, Zipcar is asking you to put down your keys and find out what the Zipcar way of life is all about. Folks from all over North American Zipcar cities will rise to the challenge, committing their keys and their consciences to being car free. They’ll be tweeting, taking photos, and logging miles biked, walked, and driven during their Low-Car Diet experience.

What do you have to do?
Aside from committing to parking your personal vehicle for one month and sharing all the details of your experience, Zipcar asks that you attend the opening and closing ceremonies, where you’ll get to meet your fellow Low-Car Dieters. You may also be asked to give interviews to the press or chronicle your experiences in more depth.

What’s in it for you?
Participants will get their first year Zipcar annual and application fee waived, and driving credit (along with a “car-free” survival kit filled with goodies from our sponsors) for the duration of the program.

So what do you say? Are you up for the Low-Car Diet?
Fill out Zipcar’s questionnaire here. 30 participants per city will be chosen. Low-Car Diet will begin September 14 and end on October 12. Good luck!

In a pilot program this fall, 250 drivers with GPS-enabled smartphones will offer empty seats in their vehicles to 750 riders along the SR 520 corridor, in real time and with no prearrangement. The program, made possible by a $400,000 contract from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT),will test the viability and feasibility of flexible carpooling along the congested east-west link.

Flexible carpooling – also called slugging, casual carpooling, and instant carpooling – is a new option for commuters to get to and from where they need to go by sharing the ride with no prearrangement. This type of carpooling is popular and effective on certain corridors in the Bay Area and DC.

Each ride match will be automatically verified using Avego Corporations’s Shared Transportation system, a smartphone app that combines real-time ridematching with fully automated security features, real-time passenger information, and electronic micro-payments between rider and driver based on vehicle miles traveled.  The system creates an incentive for drivers to conduct at least 20 ride matches per month, resulting in 30,000 fewer trips over the 6-month duration of the pilot.

Avego will partner on the program with Nelson\Nygaard and the University of Washington, who will handle marketing and outreach, and pilot program evaluation, respectively.

For more information, including safety features and project goals, check out what WSDOT and Avego have to say about the pilot. You can also check out Avego in action by watching this video:

Do you think real-time ridesharing will be the answer to the community’s congestion? Is this a service you would use? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

Fall Wheel Options is back! Join thousands of others across the state who choose not to drive alone to work at least twice during Wheel Options, October 18-31. Log your commutes at www.WheelOptions.org and you could win the trip to Italy with a Rick Steves Best of Rome 7 Day Tour! Eligible wheel options include carpooling and vanpooling, riding the bus or train, bicycling or walking to work, working from home or simply not commuting because of your compressed work week schedule. There are many fantastic prizes, including weekend getaways and your favorite merchant gift cards. All participants will receive a two-for-one coupon courtesy of Amtrak Cascades. What have you got to lose?

-Melissa

Riding the bus and saving energy go hand in hand! On Wednesday October 7, beginning at 7 a.m., Puget Sound Energy will give away energy-saving compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs to Sound Transit bus riders.

A magician will also be on hand at the transit center to entertain the Wednesday morning commuters. The magician will then ride the 564/565 Sound Transit routes through South King County, giving free CFL bulbs to bus passengers and at the Renton, Kent, and Auburn stations.

If you can’t make it Wednesday morning, or don’t ride the bus, don’t worry!  PSE customers can exchange up to 10 incandescent bulbs for free CFL bulbs at the remaining weekend Rock the Bulb events:

• Oct. 10-11, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.: Auburn Lowe’s (1232 A Street N.E.)
• Oct. 17-18, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.: Puyallup Lowe’s (301 27th Ave S.E.)
• Oct. 24-25, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.: Lacey Lowe’s (5610 Corp Center Lane S.)
• Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.: Olympia Lowe’s (4230 Martin Way East)

-Jordan

King County Metro is giving you old school prices for a new school commute! Start a new 7-passenger King County Metro vanpool and pay just 40 bucks a month per person for the first two months. Gas, insurance and maintenance are all included. Promotion is limited to the first 36 groups who start by December 31, 2009.

Call 206-625-4500 to get started in a vanpool today!

For more information on King County Metro’s vanpool program visit http://metro.kingcounty.gov/commutervans or email vanpool.information@kingcounty.gov.

Find carpool and vanpool matches online at www.rideshareonline.com.

Sound Transit has partnered with the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) to offer this awesome video contest to Puget Sound area transit users, so we wanted to let you know about it!

Why have YOU Dumped the Pump?
• Saving your hard-earned cash?
• Helping to protect our environment?
• Is traffic is stressing you out?

Whatever the reason, you could win a year of free public transportation from Sound Transit by entering APTA’s Dump the Pump video contest. Simply to send a video explaining why you are “Dumping the Pump” and riding public transportation. Here’s how:

1. Create a video with your phone or digital camera and film yourself describing why you’re Dumping the Pump this summer. Get creative!

2. Upload your video to YouTube and make sure to tag your submission with “dump the pump.” APTA will find it and add it to the other videos at the Dump the Pump YouTube channel.

Here’s what you could win:
• Free public transportation from Sound Transit for one year if your video is chosen by APTA as having the most overall impact. Second place winner will receive six months of free transit. Third prize is three months of free transit.
• The first 25 individuals who submit a video entry to the contest will receive a $25 VISA cash card just for competing.

But hurry! APTA’s Dump the Pump contest ends September 18, 2009.

Learn more at Sound Transit’s Dump the Pump site.

See some of the videos that have already been submitted:

-Jordan

In July we debuted our commute inquiry form, making it easier than ever for you to get customized assistance in exploring your transportation options. Even better, each commuter who made an inquiry was entered into our monthly drawing for a $25 gift card.

Congrats to July’s winner, KW, who let us show her how to commute from Kent by bus and carpool. We found two potential carpool partners for her using www.RideshareOnline.com, as well as a nearby park & ride where she can catch a Sound Transit Express bus directly to Bellevue. We even discovered a few local Metro routes just ¼ of a mile walk from her house that serve Kent Station, meaning she can skip the driving altogether by making one easy transfer to the Express bus.

Last month we also planned:

• A trip to SeaTac Airport, which is $5 round trip from downtown Bellevue—compare that to the cost of parking!
• A bicycle commute from Kirkland to The Summit, which offers bike racks and showers for tenants
• A bus + bike commute from the Ivanhoe neighborhood to Surrey Downs

You could be a winner next month. Just complete our commute form and we’ll do the rest. Not only are you entered to win a $25 gift card, but you’ll also get the best ideas on a cost-saving and stress-reducing commute. Now that’s what I call a victory!

-Sarah

Bellevue employees − Fill out a Commuter Connection commute inquiry form to receive a customized list of transportation options that fit your work schedule and commute route! Choose to receive a transit plan, bike route, carpool and vanpool options, or all four!

So what’s this about free money? Anyone who submits a commute inquiry form will be entered into a $25 gift card monthly drawing, it’s that simple. No commitment required!

Here’s how:

• Visit the Commuter Connection store, located in the Rider Services Building at the Bellevue, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through September, to fill out and submit your commute inquiry form.

• Download your commute inquiry form and choose to mail or email the completed form.