Check it out: the Portland Green Streets initiative (through which locals can get free coffee on the last Friday of every month — if they choose an eco-friendly method of getting to work) has taken off; the passenger-rail bill passed the state legislature (which will allow state officials to get to work on commuter-rail connections between Portland, Freeport, and Brunswick); the League of Young Voters reports that transportation issues top their members' lists of concerns.
Clearly, green commuting is catching on. So, weather permitting, we expect this year’s Commute Another Way Week (CAWW) to be a great success. The annual event is put on by GoMaine, the statewide commuter-services program. Each day of the work week, which starts on Monday, May 12, is focused on a different mode of transport — carpool, public transit, vanpool, biking, or walking. Last year’s event saw 500 employers and 5000 commuters take part.
Not only are CAWW participants in the running for a free T-shirt (wahoo!) and a grand-prize trip to Acadia, but they can try out new transportation modes for free, or at discounted rates, all week (see gomaine.org/cawday for more info).
And file this in your “Awesome Government Programs That Aren’t Well Publicized” folder: Regular alterna-commuters who register with GoMaine are eligible for the Emergency Ride Home Guarantee, which promises a free taxi ride or rental car in the case of a family or work emergency. (So you don’t have to wait for Sally in accounting to finish her work day before taking off, for example.)
Why is all this important? Well, according to Treehugger.com, “American workers spend an average of 47 hours per year commuting through rush hour traffic. This adds up to 3.7 billion hours and 23 billion gallons of gas wasted in traffic each year.” In other words, we’re wasting precious time and resources by making thoughtless commuting choices.
We asked new commuter (and friend of the Phoenix) Maggie Carey, who recently started carpooling to Brunswick, if she’s pro or con when it comes to her commute. Her response was enthusiastic: “Totally pro! At first I was concerned about hating everyone I met, but you know you already have something in common, be it not wanting to spend money on gas (cheapskates!), or caring about the environment. [E]veryone in my pool is amazing. I’ve met some great people, talking is easy.” For Carey, the negligible (and work-aroundable) downsides include not being able to listen to NPR, and having to work a little later than she would if she was driving alone. “But even that’s not bad,” she says cheerfully. Another convert!
Do you have green-commuting stories or tips to share? E-mail them to dfulton@phx.com.
