Employees at 70 Eugene businesses took a break from their cars this week and commuted to work via bike, carpool or bus as part of the Eugene Business Commute Challenge.
In its sixth year, the challenge offers participants a chance to win prizes such as gift certificates to local restaurants and tickets to local events if they report the highest number of driven miles saved.
Lane Transit District distributes free day passes to the city to give to participating business upon request. The passes are good for the week of the challenge only.
Businesses reported their results on Wednesday, and there will be a celebration Friday in which winning businesses, judged in different divisions based on their number of employees, will be awarded the various prizes.
“Most cities have transportation programs like this because there isn’t enough money to build enough roads to meet demand,” said Lee Shoemaker, bicycle and alternate modes coordinator for the City of Eugene. “This is a way to reduce demand on the existing road systems.”
In 2004, 1,395 employees at 65 businesses participated in the challenge, said Cindy Clarke, transportation options coordinator for the city of Eugene.
The employees each tallied the number of miles they walked, biked, carpooled or rode the bus, and Clarke said the combined total was 15,494 miles – miles that participants would have otherwise driven.
The program reduces traffic congestion, improves air quality and the health of citizens, and also decreases transportation costs, Shoemaker said.
“A lot of people have fun, and there’s competition trying to win awards,” Shoemaker said. “It’s pretty positive.” The goal of the challenge is to get people to try an alternative mode of transportation for one week and realize that it’s easy to bike or ride the bus on a regular basis, Clarke said.
“We would love to have people do this year-round,” Clarke said.
BRING Recycling Education Coordinator Jo Rodgers said she knew of only one or two employees who didn’t participate in this year’s challenge at the 17-employee company.
“It’s a pretty environmentally conscious group of people,” Rodgers said. “It’s that whole thing of getting a little push.”
The Eugene School District 4J administrative headquarters motivated employees to participate by dividing the 110 employees into two teams.
This has been done in the past, and Confidential Management Assistant Marian Stuart said the district won an award last year for saving the most miles for an agency its size.
Stuart said most district employees usually drive to work alone, although some regularly ride bicycles.
The free LTD day passes distributed as part of the challenge helped employees get used to riding the bus, Stuart said, adding that one employee who lives in Cottage Grove rode the bus to Eugene for the first time.
The event usually takes place during the first week of October because the influx of students returning to the University and local high schools increases traffic congestion and because the weather is usually still pleasant, Shoemaker said.
The Eugene Business Commute Challenge is sponsored by the city of Eugene, LTD, Commuter Solutions at LTD, PeaceHealth and the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. It won an award in 2002 from the Association for Commuter Transportation, an international organization that promotes transportation methods other than cars.

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