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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Healthier commuting choices

Cycling, busing, car pooling are all options to explore

Commuters wanting to save money and fuel can consider other options including the bus, carpooling and bicycling.  (Courtesy photo)
Renee Sande Down to Earth NW Correspondent
When you find a way to keep more money in your pocket, and at the same time lighten your carbon footprint and build community, what could be better than that? A great place to start is the gas station, where a large chunk of change flows through every day, and solo commuters represent a big part of this. However, there are some easy ways to save money and gas by simply getting creative with your work schedule and/or looking at many other options for getting from Point A to Point B. First, let’s look at a couple of handy calculators: Fuel Savings and Carbon Savings. Each calculator shows you how much you are spending and how much you can save by considering alternative modes of transportation. Say you drive a medium-sized vehicle that gets 25 miles per gallon. If your daily round trip commute is 24.22 miles and you pay $4 per gallon of gas and $5 for parking each day (five days a week), you will spend $2,442.78 annually. If you opt to ride the bus, at $3.50 a day, you would save $840 in gas and 94 pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the air. Even if you were to ride the bus one day a week, you could still save $168 and 19 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. Here are some other commuting options. Spokane’s Bike Buddy Helping tentative bike commuters in Spokane overcome their fears about biking is something Eileen Hyatt loves. Longtime cycling advocate and certified instructor with the League of American Bicyclists, Hyatt started the decade-old Bike Buddy Program—a volunteer service co-sponsored by the Spokane Bicycle Club and the Bicycle Alliance of Washington—after seeing organized efforts in Seattle. As a cycling mentor, Hyatt helps interested commuters with bicycle safety and finding practical commute routes, even taking them through a leisurely trial run of their commute on the weekend. Hyatt has also helped many experienced riders find the best route from home to office and get better at riding in the rain, the dark, around potholes and other challenging conditions. Buses If you want to combine your cycling commute with a bus route, all STA buses are equipped with a bike rack on the front bumper that can hold two single-seat, two-wheeled, non-motorized bicycles, with the ability to be secured independently of one another. The rider is responsible for loading, securing and removing their bicycle from the bike rack. For instruction on how to do this, watch this instructional video. Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH) Program If you’ve considered leaving your car at home for a commute alternative, but the question, ‘What if an emergency arises at work or feel sick?’ keeps you from leaving your car in the garage, ask your employer or your employer’s Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC), if there is a Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH) program. A GRH program provides transportation for employees who rideshare, take the bus, bike or walk to work, who may need a ride during the day due to an emergency. An employer can either create their own GRH program or contract with Spokane County through the Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) program. (mycommute.org.) Restrictions are generally placed on trip purposes, number of times an employee may use the service and places where they can be transported. Compressed Work Weeks If you don’t want to give up the solitude, convenience and comfort of your own car, consider talking to your employer about a Compressed Work Week, a flexible work schedule allows you to work your scheduled hours but in fewer days, such as four 10-hour days rather than five eight-hour days. Employees who compress their weeks are generally able to avoid peak commute times each day by arriving early and/or staying late. Employers can benefit from extended hours of customer service and production, recruiting appeal and employee retention. Riding the Bus From having your trip planned for you, to purchasing your pass via a vending machine to accessing the internet, Spokane Transit Authority knows you want convenience when taking the bus. • For help planning your best commuting route, STA offers Google Transit Trip Planner. After entering your origin, destination, date and times of when you would like to make your trip, you can see a map of your route, detailed text about your route, and offered options such as ‘fewer transfers’ or ‘less walking time.’ • Bus pass vending machines allow Smart Card holders (a re-loadable bus card, available for purchase at the STA Plaza) to reload their cards and are now available at the STA Plaza, the Five Mile Park & Ride and the Valley Transit Center, with the possibility of more locations to follow. • STA now provides wireless Internet service on articulated (accordion) buses. To use the Wi-Fi, you must have a laptop computer with a wireless network card. No login or network key is required. *Regular bus fare for transportation one way is $.70 for riders with a Reduced Fare Pass, $1.00 for youth, and $1.50 for adults. Get your City Ticket. If you work downtown and want to drive in but save on parking, look into purchasing a City Ticket. For $30 a month, City Ticket gives you a parking spot at the Spokane Arena, from where a Spokane Transit Shuttle will give you a ride into the downtown core, making stops at central locations including The Plaza, City Hall, and River Park Square. Service is as frequent as every five minutes during peak hours. Vanpooling and carpooling Vanpooling is just like carpooling, but with a few more people. Using a Spokane Transit 7, 12 or 15-passenger van, a group of people who live and work in approximately the same areas can commute together, with one or more of the commuters as volunteer drivers. Ideal for commuters with at least a 20-mile roundtrip, the vanpool group travels from home (or prearranged meeting place) to work and back in a single, round trip and pays a low monthly fare based on daily travel distance and number of riders. To find vanpool and carpool partners, visit Spokane County’s Regional Ridematch System at rideshareonline.com, which lists over 1,000 names of commuters in the Spokane area, Eastern Washington, and Northern Idaho looking to share a ride. For current rates, call (509) 326.POOL (7665) or visit here to fill out a form and get started right away.
For more information on STA programs, go to www.spokanetransit.com.