Evergreen Commuter Contest begins Oct. 25th

An innovative pilot program aiming to increase carpooling and other alternative forms of travel to The Evergreen State College is being launched next week, and organizers say it could prevent the release of over 33 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere throughout the academic year.

Program participants can use many forms of alternative travel, like bicycling, taking the bus, and walking or jogging.

The Evergreen Commuter Contest is a quarterly incentive program to encourage - and reward - commuters who use alternative modes of transportation. For the program to receive full grant funds, at least 250 faculty, staff, or students must participate for three academic quarters. Grant funds include $21,100 by the Thurston Regional Planning Council, and $9,000 from the Washington State Department of Transportation. Evergreen students wrote the grants.

The program is designed to expand The Evergreen State College's ongoing commitment to sustainability in the transportation choices that the student body, staff, and faculty make in coming to campus every day. As a part of the program, ventilated clothing lockers will be purchased and installed at locations around the campus, additional bike racks have been installed, and a commuter information kiosk will be installed during winter quarter.

The commuter contest highlights Evergreen's commitment to sustainability, and organizers say that an increase in students, staff, and faculty using alternative forms of transportation, it benefits the college and the environment. The Evergreen commute trip reduction team says that when more Evergreen community members use alternative forms of travel, it will circumvent further costly parking lot expansions, particularly as Evergreen's student body is planned to grow to 5,000 over the next ten years.

Fall quarter's contest as a part of the new program begins October 25th, and runs for one week. The goal for the participants is to bike, hike, bus or carpool at least once a week.