Alexandria’s Commuter Revolution

Dear Commuters,

Thank you for attending the Commuter Revolution Reception at the Morrison House. I would like to share some photos with you from the evening. The rest of the photos will be posted soon.

Participating Companies with Mayor Euille

Snapshots of the Evening

Mayor Euille

The Commuter Revolution Team

Thank you!

Congratulations to Ricardo W. from Grant Thornton who won our $500 Grand Prize!

Again, congratulations to all challenge participants and sponsors.  It was an incredible month and we truly appreciate all of the hard work you’ve done!

–The Commuter Revolution

Hello Commuters,

For the last four weeks, you took alternative transportation to and from work. Along the way, we’ve received commute stories, pictures, and even videos from you. This morning we received one more photo! And in the spirit of green commuting, here it is:

Submitted by Jennifer F. from WEF: “Geese going to work on VRE 2.”

And now, let’s announce the Week 4 winners:

$25 gift card to Micha’s goes to Walter G. from AECOM                                              $50 gift card to Columbia Firehouse Restaurant goes to Jacob D. from Grant Thornton                                                                                                                                                  $100 gift card to Torpedo Factory goes to Rikki M from St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School

Also, we had a few extra prizes and the following people were chosen randomly to receive them:

$25 gift card to La Tasca Restaurant goes to Bud G. from St. Stephen’s and Saint Agnes School                                                                                                                                       $35 gift card to Hurray for Books goes to Sean W. from Federal Management Partners                                                                                                                                                  $50 gift card for business cards from Chelsea Copy and Printing goes to Monica H. from American Physical Therapy Association

Congratulations to everyone who won! Thank you for participating and tracking your trips!

Hello Commuters,

It’s time again to give away some prizes! You just finished your third week of the Commuter Challenge. Thank you for tracking your trips and here are Week 3 winners:

$25 Old Town Theater gift card to Sarah D., APTA

$50 Nationals gift card to Devin M., AECOM

$ 100 Kennedy Center gift card to Alexandria P., GT

“I have to admit that I drive a large truck everyday to work and for the month of April so far I have not. I have committed to biking for the whole month of April and will continue a couple days a week after that.

I must say that the Commuter Revolution has given me the energy and the spirit to not only GO GREEN but to also have some quality time to myself to reflect on the day as I ride home as well as get in shape.”

- Chris C. from CAI

Our fantastic prizes for the FINAL week are:

$100 to The Torpedo Factory for 5 days of green commutes

$50 to Columbia Firehouse Restaurant for 4 days of green commutes

$25 toMisha’s Coffee for 3 days of green commutes

Happy commuting!

I don’t know if everyone got a chance to see it or not but last Wednesday, tucked away on page 4 of the Washington Post Express, we ran an ad to thank all of the businesses that are participating in the Commuter Revolution!  We wanted to make sure that the rest of the DC region got to see all of the amazing work that everyone is doing.  If you didn’t see it in print, we wanted to make sure everyone got to see it here on the website… Check it out:

I just got this video from Jessica O. who works at the Community Associations Institute.  She relayed this story to us:

So, Wally and I are carpooling in to work this morning and we just happen to run into our co-worker Chris who lives in Alexandria and has chosen to bike to work for the ENTIRE month of April in support of the Commuter Revolution.  We circled back to catch him on video.  The funny part is that as we pass him and tell him he’s on video he yells out “Timesheets, timesheets, timesheets” because he is responsible for processing payroll and they are due today.  Wally is usually one of the last ones to turn his in so Chris got an early start by yelling “Timesheets, timesheets, timesheets”.  Wally and I got here first and greeted Chris with “Timesheets, timesheets, timesheets”.  We thought you might want to use this on the website.

Hello Commuters,

Thank you for submitting images for the photo contest. Please vote for your favorite picture below. Voting ends on Friday, April 30.

Please Click Here to Vote

Submitted by Jessica O:

“This is a picture Wally and I (we carpool to and from work from Woodbridge daily) took of our co-worker Chris who for the month of April elected to bike to work.  Chris biked in to work on Wednesday the 21st but it rained in the afternoon so he asked me for a ride home.”

Submitted by Stephen G:

“…this is a photo of sustainable housing I took on my jog into work.”

Submitted by Katherine W:

“Sign.”

Submitted by Valerie B:

“…the photo you got of me on my bike was taken by my daughter who has been riding to work/school with me. Every morning we “fight” the bushes on one particular sidewalk where the bushes are overgrown.  It’s funny to watch us try to avoid the “bush monster” as we drive by. We have had great fun riding our bikes and have even named each hill.  What fun Commuter Revolution has been!”

The following story was sent to me by Brittany B. at WEF.

“I took the metro this morning because the weather was supposed to be nice. I arrived at work at my normal time. My coworker who lives in the same area I do in Arlington came in about a half hour after me looking frazzled. She asked, ‘Did you not hit that traffic?! GW was dead-stopped!’ She had sat in traffic an extra half hour.

I was very relieved to have taken the metro!”

Right on, Brittany. You clearly won this round! Thanks for sharing.

It’s time to spice up the challenge and give away more prizes. Hence, we are launching the Commuter Revolution Photo Contest!

DETAILS:  Submit a photo to Marina at budimirm@urbantrans.com showcasing a funny, ironic, interesting, or crazy moment on your commute to or from work by Friday, April 23.

It can be an image of anything from a ridiculous street sign to a free-flowing HOV lane. Voting begins on Monday, April 26 and everyone is encouraged to vote for their favorite picture.  The winner will be announced on the last day of the challenge, Friday, April 30.

PRIZES: First place will receive a $80 gift card to PAZAZZ Salon and Spa. Second place will receive a $30 gift card to Austin Grill.

This is definitely a great chance to engage in friendly competition with your colleagues.

We look forward to seeing your snapshots!

Hello Everyone,

You have completed the first week of Alexandria’s Commuter Revolution and we are already seeing a positive impact from your collective effort. We pooled all data from participating companies and some interesting stats have emerged:

1. The most popular mode of transportation is public transit.

2.  6,973 tons of CO2 reduced! Very impressive.

3. $3,126.62 saved by not driving alone.

4. 10,223 miles reduced.

5. 359 gallons of gas saved.

You might remember that there was talk about prizes along the way. Well, we have some winners!

$100 to Wheel Nuts Bike Shop: Terry G. from Grant Thornton,
$50 to Mom’s Organic Market: Nancy C. from Water Envir. Fed.,
$25 to The Dairy Godmother: Cassie G. from AECOM, and
A 1-month membership to SNAP Fitness: Jeremy K. from Federal Management Partners.

And one more for good measure: Congrats to Stephen G. from AECOM for being the 100^th person who registered! Stephen has won a $50 gift card to La Tasca Restaurant. All prizes will be mailed to your company’s HR department.

Open call: We are looking for commuters to contribute to this blog through photos, posts, comments, etc. If you would like to share anything at all about your commute, please post it or send your thoughts to Marina at  budimirm@urbantrans.com.

Happy commuting!