Take Care of Your Health, the Michigan Economy, and the Environment...Become a Commuter Today!

We all need to get places on a regular basis, but how we get there is another issue. Commuting is about preventing pollution, burning calories and improving cardiovascular strength, saving money, and exploring fun and interesting alternatives to single occupancy vehicle use.

Ways to Commute:
> Bicycle Commuting
> Walk and Living Closer to Work
> Carpooling
> Vanpool
> Bus/Public Transit
> Telecommuting (work from home)

Bicycle Commuting: works for most people who live 15 miles or less from their workplace and can identify safe routes to work and kid drop-off locations. Even if you live farther, you can build up to a longer commute over time, or drive/take transit for part of your route.

You'll be surprised that bicycle commuting doesn't add that much extra time to your commute. You'll also be surprised at how much energy you'll have when you get to work and when you get back home. It's a very energizing mode of transportation, as well as relaxing. It gives you a chance to move your body, increase your cardiovascular strength, and "smell the flowers."

It will also save you a bundle of money. The average cost of keeping an automobile running for a year is $3,000. For a bicycle, it's less than $300 annually. (Those numbers don't include what you pay for parking!)

More Bicycling Commuting Information:

• Download our Getting Started and Bicycle Commuting Brochures
• Bicycle Safety Information (What Every MI Bicyclist Must Know)
• Bicycle Route Information
• Find a Local Bicycle Club
• Other Bicycling Resource
• Google Maps Route Planner & Online Pedometer

Naturally, there are some folks who won't be able to bicycle commute each and every day. But if you even do it once in a while, you'll definitely feel the difference.

Walking to Work: obviously only practical if you live near your workplace-- most people find it takes too much time to walk more than two miles to work.

That said, have you considered living closer to work?

• Plan your walking commute using the Google Maps Route Planner & Online Pedometer (great tips and walking resources too!)

Carpooling: particularly effective for those commuting more than 20 miles. It will save you money, give you a break from driving, and save parking hassles. It will also give you time to spend on a hobby like reading or knitting, or give you more time to sleep or socialize.

• eRideShare.com is a FREE service for connecting commuters, or travelers going the same way. We hope that you'll find this service a good way to commute or travel inexpensively, and maybe even make a few friends. eRideShare.com is the top carpool and cross-country rideshare site in the US and Canada.
• RideShare is a free carpool and vanpool matching service that links commuters traveling into or within Southeast Michigan for work.

Vanpooling: also great if you are commuting more than 20 miles each way. Benefits are very similar to carpooling. In Michigan, we have the MichiVan program, developed by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).

Basics of how it works: one person volunteers to be the Primary Driver of the van and is allowed to ride free. Riders are assessed a monthly fee. Commuter vanpools are open to the public.

• Check for available routes and call MichiVan for more details (click here).
• Contact MichiVan at 1-800-VAN-RIDE (800-826-7433) to find out more information. If you are unable to find a current route, click here (PDF) to learn how you can start your own commuter vanpool group.
• RideShare is a free carpool and vanpool matching service that links commuters traveling into or within Southeast Michigan for work.

Riding the bus: get some exercise on your way to the bus stop, spend time reading or relaxing on the bus, save money on gas and parking, and get some more exercise after you get off the bus.

Too much of a hike to the bus stop nearest you?
Consider bicycling to the stop and loading your bike onto the front of the bus.

Telecommuting: working from home or a satellite office is another option that you may be able to work out with your employer. The Research Triangle Park (RTP) in North Carolina, which employs 38,000 people, started what is now one of the nation's most robust smart commute programs. The most popular commute
alternative in the RTP is telecommuting, and it has had the most impact on reducing traffic congesting and improving air quality. Below are benefits of telecommuting:

Employee benefits:

• Increased job satisfaction
• Increased productivity as a result of continuous, uninterrupted work time. (click here to view a graph showing telecommuter productivity, and a discussion on productivity and telecommuting)
• Flexibility to manage work and family life schedule
• Reduced absenteeism
• Financial savings
• Reduced traffic congestion
• Improved air quality
• Reduced car maintenance
  

Employer benefits:

• Increased employee productivity
• Improved employee morale
• Expanded hiring opportunities
• Improved recruitment and retention of employees
• Reduced absenteeism
• Increased compliance with commute trip reduction policies
• Emergency readiness
• Expanded parking space
• Reduced need for office space
• Financial savings
• Reduced traffic congestion
• Improved air quality

The RTP has developed a great manual that employees will want to have in hand when talking to employers about this option. Click here to view (PDF).

Interesting Commuting Facts:

• If every commuter car in the U.S. carried just one more person, we'd save eight billion gallons of gas a year.
  30 Simple Energy Things You Can Do to Save the Earth. Los Angeles: South California Edison, 1990, p. 11.
• Bicycling is a $5.5 billion+ industry
  The bicycle industry in America is strong and diverse, building momentum
  every year. A major contributor to the U.S. economy, it employs close to 100,000 people in research and development, manufacturing, distribution, retail sales, service, and tourism.
  National Sporting Goods Association
• Approximately 5,000 specialty bike dealers do business in the U.S. These independent shops are community hubs, providing personalized service, sponsoring local events, and spearheading efforts to build bike facilities.
• In 2003, U.S. consumers bought 18.5 million bicycles. That’s 3.7 million more than all the cars and trucks purchased in the U.S. that year.
  National Bicycle Dealers Association, Bureau Of Transportation Statistics
• $76.6 billion Potential annual healthcare savings if Americans were more active
  U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services
• Just three hours of bicycling per week can reduce a person’s risk of heart disease and stroke by 50%.
  League of American Bicyclists
• In 2003 20-24% of Michigan residents were obese.
  Centers for Disease Control

Other Useful Commuting Facts & Resources:

• The Economic Cost of Physical Inactivity in Michigan ~Physical Inactivity Costing Michigan $8.9 Billion!
• Bikes Belong's colorful, new booklet portrays bicycling and highlights its benefits to the economy, communities, health, families, and quality of life.
• Bicycle Universe Transportation Almanac Statistics about Cars, Energy, Pollution, Bikes, and more
• Google Map Route Planner & Online Pedometer and/or
  www.gmap-pedometer.com/