This year, the getDowntown Program gave out 8 special prizes for people who met their Commuter Challenge Goal.  The winners were drawn at random from all of the people who logged either an equal number or more commutes than their Commuter Challenge Goal.

Here are the 2010 winners and what they have won:

Paul M. (Zingerman’s Delicatessen), Evan R. (Google), and Sherry A. (JSTOR):  One Gold Card Membership to the Michigan Theater (Includes FREE admission to all Michigan Theater-sponsored films for an entire year and FREE popcorn, too!) and a tote bag full of Michigan Theater Swag.

Steve   M. (U.S. EPA National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory),  Ben H. (Michigan Tech Research Institute),    Aaron  H.  (U.S. EPA National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory),  James G. (JJR) and Ryan P. (JJR):  5 $25 Gift Certificates each from the following downtown restaurants: Arbor Brewing Company, Ashley’s, Old Town Tavern, Cottage Inn, and Café Japon, Red Hawk Bar & Grill, Tios Mexican Cafe, Jolly Pumpkin, Cafe Habana, and Grizzly Peak.

Congrats to all of the winners!

Here is a rundown of the 2010 Commuter Challenge statistics compared to the previous years

Number of Organizations Participating
2010: 164
2009: 138
2008: 117

Number of People Participating (logged at least 1 sustainable commute)
2010: 1,848
2009: 1,748
2008: 1,482

Total number of Sustainable Commutes logged
2010: 20,522
2009: 19,967
2008: 16,609

Fun Fact
If all of these people drove alone for those 20,522 commutes, that would be equal to filling up every downtown parking structure and lot with cars for 5 days in a row!

Total Sustainable Miles logged and CO2 Avoided
2010: 326,992 miles and 279,871 lbs
2009: 286,883 miles and 253, 433 lbs
2008: 247,413 miles and 211,760 lbs

Fun Facts
What is 326,992 miles?  That’s like driving around the earth 13 times!

By not driving those miles alone, Commuter Challenge participants saved a collective $441,535 for the month of May. That’s like each person in the Commuter Challenge getting a $239 bonus for the month! (from the True Cost of Driving Calculator)

The amount of CO2 (a greenhouse gas) avoided during the Commuter Challenge is equivalent to

• The C02 emissions from 14,280 gallons of gasoline and 295 barrels of oil
• The C02 equivalent of the energy use of 10 homes for a year
• The amount of carbon sequestered annually by 27 acres of pine or fir forest or by 3,255 tree seedlings grown for 10 years.

(from the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator)

Total Commuter Challenge Ambassadors
2010: 33
2009: 60
2008: 47

The 2010 getDowntown Commuter Challenge has finally ended!  We had a great Awards Ceremony last night where we presented a variety of awards.  Here is a run down of who won what for Commuter Challenge 2010.

Commuter Challenge Winners 2010

getDowntown Leadership Award

The getDowntown Leadership award is given to the Manager or CEO who showed the strongest commitment to sustainable transportation during the Challenge.  These individuals were nominated by their employees. Click here for a list of all the nominees. The winner was the person who got the most votes of all of the Leadership Award Nominees

Winner: Bill Wilson, Manager, Thomson Reuters Healthcare and Science.
According to one employee, “Bill rides to work almost everyday on his bicycle…snow, sleet and rain. He cares about our environment and is conscientious of his energy usage, the impact of our corporation on the environment. Plus he’s a brilliant software engineer, musician, coworker and a good manager.”

Super Commuter Award

The Super Commuter award is given to the individual who has shown an incredible commitment to using sustainable transportation during the Commuter Challenge and also got the most votes of all of the Super Commuter Nominees.  Click here for a list of all the nominees. The winner was the person who got the most votes of all of the Super Commuter Award Nominees.

Winner: Alan Zoltowski, Washtenaw County Trial Court, Friend of the Court.
According to a co-worker, “Alan is a tireless, fearless bicyclist and commutes 36 miles round trip each day from his home in Canton to our office in Ann Arbor. Rain never stops him!  Alan is an inspiration to us all during our commuter challenge. Alan’s positive attitude has encouraged [a co-worker] to get out there more and not just be a “fair-weather commuter.”  Plus his consistency in commuting has given the rest of our office pause to think about finding other alternative ways to get to work.”

Multi-Modal Super Commuter Award

The Multi-Modal Super Commuter award is given to the individual who used the most different types of transportation during the Commuter Challenge

Winner: Gene Darnell, U.S. EPA National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory.
Gene did 6 different types of sustainable transportation during the Commuter Challenge.  The types were bike, walk, bus, carpool, telecommute and other (running).

Alpha Ambassador Award

The Alpha Ambassador award is given to the Commuter Challenge Ambassador who got the most people excited about the Commuter Challenge and using sustainable transportation and who did the most to promote sustainable transportation during the Challenge.  Click here to see all of the Ambassadors. The winner of this award was determined by a vote.

Winner: Katy Derezinski, Thomson Reuters-Healthcare and Science

Most Miles Biked and Walked Awards

These awards were given to the individuals who logged the most bike commuting and walk commuting miles during the Commuter Challenge this year.

Winner: Kathleen Vonk, City of Ann Arbor. Kathleen logged 733 bike commute miles during the Commuter Challenge!

Winner: Xiaohong Wu, Washtenaw County-Finance Dept. Xiahong logged 140 walk commute miles during the Commuter Challenge!

Commuter-Friendly Workplace Awards

The Commuter-Friendly Workplace awards are given to the organizations who won the Commuter Challenge in their size category.  Winning was determined by which organization had the highest number of average sustainable commutes (walk, bike, bus, carpool/vanpool, telecommute, moped/motorcycle, etc) per employee.  Click here to see what they win.

2010 Commuter-Friendly Workplace Award Winners

• 1 person organization: Andrea Yun of the Ann Arbor Cello School (34 average commutes per employee)
• 2-10 person organization: Dascola Barbers (24.5 average commutes per employee)
• 11-25 person organization: ApplEcon (22.2 average commutes per employee)
• 26-50 person organization: Quinn Evans Architects (9.9 average commutes per employee)
• 51-100 person organization: UM College of Engineering, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences (6.1 average commutes per employee)
• 101-500 person organization: JSTOR (5.9 average commutes per employee)
• 500+ person organization: Thomson Reuters-Healthcare and Science (2.5 average commutes per employee)

While the Commuter Challenge is over, participants still have until June 4th to enter all of their May commutes.  Here’s how things stand as of now.  We’ll have the Final Stats next week:

(above) Ted before the fateful journey

My oh my are those Menlo Innovations employees innovative people!  Take Ted Layher, a programmer at Menlo Innovations.  Ted thought it would be fun to kayak and canoe from his job in downtown Ann Arbor near Gallup park to his home over by Dixboro Dam.  This inspiration came to him while participating in this year’s getDowntown Commuter Challenge. Usually, Ted bikes to and from work, a trip that takes about 40 minutes one way.  He thought the commute by Kayak and Canoe would take about an hour and a half.

So on one fine spring day in May, Ted recruited a bunch of other people (at Menlo you always work in pairs, so this wasn’t something he was going to do alone) and set off along the river.

Ted documented his journey (complete with pictures) on the Menlo Innovations blog.  Read about the commute, what they saw, and much more here.

Among the thousands of people who have participated in this year’s Commuter Challenge are a select few Super Commuters.  These are people who have done something super during the Commuter Challenge–be it hopping on the bus for the first time or biking to work 20 miles in the pouring rain.

getDowntown would like to recognize these Super Commuters with the getDowntown Super Commuter Award.  This award is given to those Commuter Challenge participants that have done super things during the Commuter Challenge.  Commuter Challenge participants can nominate these individuals and will also vote on who should win the award (first, second and third place).  We will announce the winners at a special Commuter Challenge awards ceremony in early June and  we will also announce the winners on the getDowntown blog.

To check out all of the Super Commuter Nominees, click here.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned during the Commuter Challenge, it’s that organizations that do best are the ones where the management is biking, walking, carpooling, etc. along with everyone else.

The getDowntown Program would like to recognize these leaders and also give others a chance to see that anyone, even a high-lever manager, can try a sustainable commute during the Challenge.

As part of the Commuter Challenge, the getDowntown Program gives out the getDowntown Leadership Award to the owners/managers/CEOs who have shown a commitment to using sustainable transportation during the Commuter Challenge and beyond.  Commuter Challenge participants nominate these leaders and vote on which ones should win the Award.

We will reveal the winners (first, second and third) of this award at a special Commuter Challenge Awards Ceremony in early June and also on the getDowntown blog.

We’ve already got 20 nominees for the getDowntown Leadership Award.  Check out all of the nominees here.

Check out the photos from Bike to Work Day 2010!

Great gathering at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market this morning to celebrate Bike to Work Day. Quite a crowd of hearty folks who came out in spite of the constant rain. Thanks to Nancy and crew for pulling it all together. Thanks to Zingerman’s for the nummy coffee cake, bagels and fruit. I’m feeling quite a rush, because I ate too much coffee cake! Thanks to Mighty Good Coffee too for coming out with a warm up. Great to hear from Major Hieftje – thanks for all you do to support bicyclists. Fabulous turnout from all the bike shops in the area too. What a treat to hear the Ann Arbor bike choir and see them roll in on the circumference bike. Our rally was a huge success and a great way to start the day.

This post is from Commuter Challenge Ambassador E. Tidd

For years, I have been a bus commuter, and have learned to love the resource of having the bus in town.  Sometimes I walk, and occasionally I bike, but riding the bus has become the most frequent way for me to get downtown.

Having been an employee of a couple of firms located in the downtown area for the past decade, I developed a deep affinity for riding the bus rather than having to drive to and from work every day.  Before coming to Ann Arbor, I had lived in the Chicago area, where I had a 40-50 minute commute each way.  Now, my commute is typically a 5 minute bus ride.

Not only is my commute easier than it once was, but I have turned it from an obstacle that had to be overcome each day into a productive part of my day.

For those of you taking part and logging your commutes, you already know that if you are walking or biking, the Commuter Challenge lists the calories expended by commuting in that fashion.  A lot of people (and myself included) have used our travel to and from work as a way to get more exercise.  But that’s not the only way you can turn your commute into something useful.  I’ve also made my bus commute a productive part of my daily routine.

Although my commute is relatively brief, I do spend a few minutes each day waiting for the bus.  But, I have learned to capitalize on this by using my commute time as reading time.  Having 10-15 minutes twice a day – counting both waiting and travel time -  gives me a decent chunk of time for reading.  It can be time to squeeze in another chapter or two from a novel I’m reading, or a chance to browse a magazine or to read an article.  I keep up an a number of architectural and trade magazines that I like to regularly read by bringing them with me, and reading on my way back and forth each day.

This blog post is from Commuter Challenge Ambassador Phillip P.