By Katy Bryce, for Commute Options
Get moving for 2015 Oregon Drive Less Challenge, Oct. 5-18! Discover healthy, green travel options for work, school and play that can save you money. Burn calories instead of gas by biking to work or divide the ride and the cost by carpooling. Take the bus and let someone else do the driving so you can relax and listen to music, or read that page-turning suspense thriller. Get quality time with your family by walking to the store.
Last year, Oregonians eliminated 1,082,491 motor miles over the 14-day Drive Less Challenge and Central Oregon alone made 11,440 trips using transportation options. This year, we hope to see record participation and enjoyment from the community.
Here’s how to participate:
Sign up at DriveLessConnect.com. Then, take the bus, carpool, vanpool, bike, walk and/or telework and log your trips. Any trip counts for all days, including weekends…for work, school, errands or play. You’ll be entered to win daily and grand prizes…KEEN shoes, Kindle Fires, REI gift cards, a custom Bike Friday folding bike, $500 cash cards & more! Plus, you’ll enjoy the many benefits of driving less! Get details & to sign up visit DriveLessConnect.com/Challenge.
Win Daily and Grand Prizes!
Thanks to top sponsors—PacificSource, Metromile and Amtrak Cascades—you could be one of over 100 winners in this year’s challenge. All participants have the opportunity to win prizes just for participating and logging trips. This year, in addition to the prizes below, we have some wonderful Central Oregon prizes from local businesses: Cascades East Transit, The Gear Fix, Ruffwear, Savory Spice Shop, Worthy Brewing, Hutch’s Bicycles, BendFilm, ExoBright and Deschutes Brewery. See official rules for prize eligibility details.
Daily Prizes
• Walk Mondays (Oct. 5 & 12) – $75 KEEN Gift Cards
• Train and Transit Tuesdays (Oct. 6 & 13) – Kindle Fires & Amtrak Cascades Tickets
• Rideshare Wednesdays (Oct. 7 & 14) – $25 Dutch Bros Gift Cards
• Telework Thursdays (Oct. 8 & 15) – $100 Office Depot Gift Cards
• Bike Fridays (Oct. 9 & 16) – Nutcase Helmets
• Walk Weekend Warrior Days (Oct. 10-11 & 17-18) – $50 REI Gift Cards
Grand Prizes
Log eight or more one-way trips to be entered to win a grand prize.
• Custom Bike Friday Folding Bike (value $2,600), plus Amtrak Cascades Tickets
• $500 VISA Cash Cards, plus Amtrak Cascades Tickets
Join this year’s challenge to discover what more you can get by driving less. www.drivelessconnect.com/challenge. Need information, help, or resources on how to drive less? Contact Commute Options. We can help!
Commute Options promotes choices that reduce the impacts of driving alone. For more information, contact Executive Director, Jeff Monson at 541-330-2647 or visit www.commuteoptions.org
Katy Bryce is a freelance writer in Bend. www.katybryce.com