Every once and awhile, getDowntown does a Commuter Profile. This month, our featured Commuter is Nicole Trinkle of the Whole Brain Group. Read all about her and the a2Chelsea Express below:

“It couldn’t be simpler. I get on at the end of the block. It feels like it takes 5 minutes. And it’s always on time.”

Nicole Trinkle (pronounced Trink-lee) has nothing but good things to say about the new a2Chelsea Express.

The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) started the a2Chelsea Express on May 15, and Nicole was one of the first people to get on the bus. The a2Chelsea Express runs from Chelsea to downtown Ann Arbor twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon during peak commuting times. And it just takes about 20 minutes.

Nicole works for the Whole Brain Group, a software development and accreditation company in downtown Ann Arbor. She grew up in Chelsea, got her degree from Eastern, and now enjoys saving money, catching up on sleep and reading books on the a2Chelsea Express.

Nicole is one of the many people who get on the a2Chelsea Express every morning at the Arctic Coliseum in Chelsea. Some of the other bus riders include a lawyer, a landscape architect and UM employees. And the coolest part is the bus drops Nicole off a block from her work!

But Nicole doesn’t just ride the a2Chelsea Express for conveniences’ sake. It also saves her a huge amount of money. How much? If you include the cost for parking and gas, Nicole figures she’s saving well over $200 a month by taking the bus, even including the $125 a month she pays to ride the bus.

To make the cost of commuting even cheaper, the Whole Brain Group is looking to provide their employees with a sustainable transportation benefit, which other companies such as Inner Circle Media already provide. GetDowntown also let Nicole know about the Commuter Choice Tax Benefit, which allows employers to give their workers up to $115 each month for transit or vanpool commuting costs as a tax-free benefit. To find out more about the Commuter Choice Tax Benefit, go here: http://www.apta.com/research/info/online/paystoride.cfm

In addition to getting some sleep on the bus, Nicole has also read three books during her morning and afternoon trips. Right now, she’s in the middle of The Other Boleyn Girl. In her spare time, Nicole really enjoys painting, scrapbooking and being crafty.

When asked what advice she would give other people who are thinking about riding the bus, Nicole says she’s learned to plan ahead so that she can do things like coordinate rides once she’s at work. So when there’s a networking event, Nicole carpools with co-workers to that event, so she doesn’t have to worry about needing a car. Another cool feature of the a2Chelsea Express is that it offers a Guareented Ride Home, so if Nicole did need to get home or somewhere else in an emergency, she’d be able to get a free cab ride.

Nicole also reminds people that you can take a trial run on the a2Chelsea Express and ride free for a week. So there is no cost just to try it out and see if you like it.

Nicole is just one of the many people who are saving money and helping the environment by riding the a2Chelsea Express. If you live in the Chelsea area, why not join people like Nicole and get on the bus? You can find out more here: http://www.theride.org/A2chelsea.asp

As part of the Mayor’s Green Fair, getDowntown is helping organize a Bike Fest and Green Commute section of the Green Fair.  We will have tons or great activities, including rides on the Seven Person Conference Bike, an AATA Hybrid Bus, a Zipcar, and much much more!

Read all about Bike Fest Here

Read all about Green Commute Here

All I can say is . . . wow.

We just meet the Commuter Challenge goal of logging 200,000 sustainable miles for May.

Driving 200,000 miles is the equivalent to burning 317 barrels of oil!

That’s enough energy to power 12 homes for an entire year!

Again, wow.

FYI, I got this info through this Environmental Impact Calculator

Last week the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority began running the A2 Chelsea Express

This is an awesome service, because they are using Coach Buses, with nice padded seats and the bus goes on the highway, so it doesn’t take that long.

This Commuter Bus service departs the Arctic Coliseum (501 Coliseum Dr.) in Chelsea at 6:14 and 7:11am and arrives in downtown Ann Arbor around 6:30 and 7:30am.  The service leaves downtown Ann Arbor at around 3:50 and 5:19pm and gets back to Chelsea at 4:15 and 5:44pm.  View the schedule here.

The service costs just $125 a month, which is cheaper than paying for gas for the same distance!

And the bus has a guaranteed ride home program, so if you need to get home or somewhere else in a emergency, AATA will pay to get you there.

Don’t believe it’s cheaper?  Take the MDOT Cost Calculator and see for yourself.   I plugged into the calculator that I:

• work full time (21 days a month)
• commute 32 miles roundtrip daily (the distance from Chelsea to A2)
• pay $3.49 a gallon for gas (which is cheap these days)
• my car gets 30 miles to the gallon
• and I am not paying for parking

With just those numbers, the calculator estimates my cost for driving at $367.14 a month!

So consider taking this bus so you can save money on gas and parking.

Learn more about the A2 Chelsea Bus by clicking here

This Curb Your Car Month post comes from Andy Brush.  He’s in the IT department at Washtenaw County:

Bike Commuting: There isn’t a better time than now

If I don’t get to ride my bike to work, I have to *find* time to exercise. If I don’t get that morning snootful of fresh air, I feel much more antsy at work.  Biking is good all around. It lets me know that I’m not so busy that I have to rush to work. It lets me know that taking care of myself and the planet are important to me on a daily basis. I feel good about it.

These days I commute from my home southeast Ann Arbor to where I work for Washtenaw County on Fourth Avenue downtown. It is about 3 and a half miles and takes between 15 and 20 minutes depending upon the route, my pace, and whether or not I stop and visit with people. I’m lucky because I don’t have much competition for parking my bike inside the building in stairwells or an uncluttered hallway. Parking right at my building shortens the overall commute time, since I don’t walk from a parking lot.

Ann Arbor is a great biking town and it is getting better. Things are getting better with bike lanes, but for me, the main thoroughfares aren’t as interesting as the side streets. The things that cars hate about side streets make them great for bikes: narrow roads, slower speed limits, more choices and turns.

Ann Arbor has a small town feel and you can emphasize that in your choice of bike routes. You can find many ways to get places. If you have a regular commute, you’ll find a route, or several routes, that really work for you. It just takes a little thought. You’ll find the fastest, the flattest (and easiest), the most scenic, the quietest. All it  it takes is a willingness to explore. I have my fast route, and then about 7 variations of the scenic route.

Not only is biking good for you and the environment, it is good for you and the car that you leave at home. As gas approaches $4 a gallon, I haven’t really noticed. And 4 mile commute is rough on a car. And the fewer miles, the longer things last. Think about it: two oil changes a year; tires that last for 5 years or more. Leaving it home to rest is much better; a 2000 model year vehicle that feels like new. I don’t even know how much money I’m saving.

Some people think it extreme to bike to work often, regardless of the season. To me it is more about a choice and a commitment and then finding a way. If you need motivation, it isn’t hard to find. Just look around:

· Global warming. Zero emission commute.

· High fuel prices. No gas tank.

· Stress at work. Quiet side streets.

· Skyrocketing health care costs. Built in daily workout.

Check out this front page article on the Bike to Work Day rally in Ann Arbor!

Thanks to all who made it a success:

Wheels in Motion
Two Wheel Tango
Great Lakes Cycling and Fitness
Ann Arbor Cyclery
REI Ann Arbor
Circumference (Provided the Conference Bike)
League of Michigan Bicyclists
Washtenaw Walking Biking Coaltion
Bike Ypsi
People’s Food Co-op (donated bananas and coffee)
The City of Ann Arbor
Bike Ambassadors!

In this Sunday’s Ann Arbor News, Menlo Innovations CEO Richard Sheridan shares his thoughts on biking to work. Among his many observations:

• Biking to work helps him get in shape for the summer.
• Biking to work is a great way to take in all of the summer sights, like the Art Fair.
• Biking to work is cheaper than driving ($4 a gallon gas anyone?)

But he says it much better that I do. Read his Other Voices Piece in the News here.

Ann Arbor Googler Ashley Schubert, 24, is an AdWords Account Coordinator who works on supporting  Google’s growing base of advertisers. After graduating from Wake Forest University in May 2007, she moved to Ann Arbor and has been working for Google since December.

Ashley is an avid supporter of sustainable transportation. She shares her thoughts below.

Why should you walk, bike or bus to work instead of driving?

There are so many answers to that question- it’s hard to know where to begin. As a young 24 year old that has just started her first job at Google after many years of schooling, it is a simple answer: money. Don’t get me wrong- I’m a hippy at heart and I try my best to help the environment, but I also need to be fiscally responsible right now. And have you seen the price of gas lately?? Taking the bus or biking to work everyday for two weeks will save me over 40 dollars in gas. And that’s not even adding on the cost of car maintenance and insurance.

I take the bus most days to and from my office in downtown Ann Arbor. If it is a particularly beautiful day, I’ll bike or walk. In addition to money, it actually saves me time by taking the bus because then I don’t have to walk to and from the parking garage, the bus picks me up right outside my office door! And in the winter you quickly realize after spending 10 minutes scraping snow off the car and defrosting it, that if you’d just taken the bus, you’d be in transit by now- and be significantly warmer. I also hate driving in the rain. And who wouldn’t want to walk to the bus stop on a beautiful day?

My favorite days are the ones when I can bike downtown and complete all my errands without ever having to park. I especially like being able to get places faster, like Kerrytown, because I don’t have to follow all the one-way streets on my bike. The Farmer’s Market, my Pilates class above Café Zola, and the Dawn Treader bookstore are my three most common places to commute to-… but it would be a shame to miss all the stuff in between. Ann Arbor is full of great people, but you can’t appreciate its diversity and how unique it is from inside your car.

So just to recap why YOU should bike, bus, or walk:

- Save MONEY (and we love to do that)

- Feel good about curbing CO2 emissions

- Save time and worry over driving in snow and rain (which we have a lot of)

- And connect with the city- really appreciate all the great people and opportunities we have in Ann Arbor. You miss so many great restaurants and little unique shops when you are cruising past them at 30 mph.

I hope to see you on the bus or sidewalk soon!

–Ashley

Since there is going to be a car-lite, car-less discussion tonight at the Ann Arbor District Library, I thought I’d take this chance to highlight some of the Curb Your Car Month Ambassadors.

Here are some Ambassadors that are clearly living car-less and car-lite, as indicated by their reasons for being an Ambassador:

—-

Jeff Gaynor
AAPS-Clague Middle School
Bike and Bus Ambassador

Why do you want to be an Ambassador? I have gone happily carless for 2 months, and plan to continue. I bus or bike to work - 11 mi round trip. (I did not buy my first car until 15 years ago - when I was 42 years old, and had children to drive).

—

Michael Rice
U of M - Kresge Business Administration Library
Bus Ambassador

Why do you want to be an Ambassador? I have been a full-time U-M employee for just over ten years now and do not own a car. I enjoy walking to work, but the bus becomes *invaluable* in the winter and when the weather is inclement… I don’t know what I would do without it! — I am very fortunate that U-M and the AATA have an arrangement that allows me to commute to work and I use it quite often; I am therefore, very grateful to both of them and hope that this would be one way to show it. Thanks!
—

Astrid Larsen
US EPA on Plymouth
Bus Ambassador

Why do you want to be an Ambassador? I finally started riding the bus to/from work this past February after living in Ann Arbor for 3.5 years. And it’s been GREAT! I can’t imagaine driving my car to work anymore. There’s a bus stop near my house and a bus stop very near the office. My commute couldn’t be anymore convenient. I’m encouraging my office “cube-neighbors” to give bus commuting a try during Curb Your Car month. Maybe wearing a T-shirt and posting signs outside my cube will inspire other’s to give AATA a try.

—-

Jason Voss
Zingerman’s Mail Order
Bike Ambassador

Why do you want to be an Ambassador? I love riding my bike to work and hope to completely curb my car for the whole month of May, commuting entirely by bike. I would like to share my passion by encouraging others to use alternative commutes.

—

Jackie Bendsen
Ann Arbor YMCA
Bus and Walk Ambassador

Why do you want to be an Ambassador? Since moving to Michigan, I’ve committed to riding the bus and/or walking as much as possible. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the bus system and am so grateful that I’m able to ride the bus to and from work almost every day. Busing, carpooling, biking, and walking are terrific ways that everyone can make a positive impact in the communitiy and environment. Walking and busing are an important part of my daily committment to living a more enviornmentally, socially, economically sustainable life. This is a terrific way to introduce others to the benefts of making changes that will have a profoundly positive affect on their community, and in their individual lives as well.

—

Jennifer Zimmer
UM - Ross School of Business - Kresge Library
Bike Ambassador

Why do you want to be an Ambassador? Riding my bike to work is the best part of my day. When I get to work I have a smile on my face because I just got some fabulous exercise and didn’t have to drive my car. I want to share this feeling and experience with others and help them realize that they CAN commute by bike to work, especially here in Ann Arbor, and that getting to work can actually be fun and good for you at the same time!

—-

Rebecca Lopez-Kriss, one of the organizers of the Women’s Exchange of Washtenaw and a participant in the Commuter Challenge, shares some excellent tips for living car-lite in Ann Arbor:

Driving Less Isn’t “All or Nothing”

After my car’s transmission died two years ago, my husband and I decided not to replace it. If our parents had one car in the early years of their marriages, then heck, we could do it too. After all, we live in walk-able/bike-able Ann Arbor, we have options to telecommute, and the stars were aligned to be a one-car family. After two years of sharing a car and making it work, we aren’t carbon-neutral, but we’ve come a long way. Here are just a few tips from experience that I hope you’ll find helpful when you take the “drive less” plunge.

1. Stop feeling stupid waiting for the bus. Growing up in South-east Michigan, I grew up thinking only weirdoes wait for the bus. (Seriously! Studies have shown that people will take a monorail, light rail, or a street car, but buses are “icky.”) Trust me, I have felt foolish leaving a business meeting at Weber’s, only to cross the street to grab the 9 to downtown. Get over it! The sooner you make the decision to make a difference in your commute, the sooner other business folks will stop feeling foolish waiting for the bus with you.

2. Stop feeling stupid asking for a ride. Carpooling is an immediate way to save gas and cut carbon emissions. Is your office downtown, and is your best friend, also downtown, heading over to the same Ann Arbor Area Chamber event out at the Polo Fields? Perhaps you won’t feel foolish asking for a ride if you send over the occasional Thank You note with a gas card in it, or offer to drive to next month’s meeting.

3. Invest in a wagon, cart, or saddlebags. If you are lucky enough to live close to a neighborhood grocery store or the Farmer’s Market, take advantage of the summer weather with a walk or bike over. But if you plan on buying a lot, visiting many stores, or frequently walking, you may consider buying a wagon to pull your purchases. This is especially handy if you want to bring a cooler along during the hot months, or you find yourself at Downtown Home and Garden with three flats of plants to carry home. And unless you have a strong back for a backpack, grocery bags can get very awkward on a bike. Saddlebags are the way to go.

4. Try some structure in your schedule. Since I share a car, I know that I will only have the car on specific days of the week. It isn’t the scheduling acrobatics that it sounds to schedule out-of-office appointments only on days that I have a car. Take a hard look at your work schedule. Can you coordinate with your partner to telecommute on specific days? Can you schedule appointments at locations within walking distance of your office? Do you have specific days that you don’t leave the office?

Even in large metropolises it is sometimes more convenient to have a car; driving less doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition. Try an alternate commute a few times a month, try things on for size and see what works. And when something comes up? I hope you aren’t too bashful to wait for the bus or to ask for a ride.