Today was another scorcher - big surprise there!Tip: Ask your employer's HR department if you can get a free bus pass.
While discussing some work related matters today, I discovered that my company will GIVE employees a bus pass. That's right. The City of Phoenix's Valley Metro (bus and "soon-to-be" rail line) sponsors an Employer Trip Reduction Program.
And apparently, one of the benefits that employees at my company are offered is free bus passes. Now this is not going to cause me to give up biking to work - far from it actually. But now, I have a guaranteed back-up plan in case I get 3 tire blowouts, or some other major mechanical problem, in one day. All I would have to do is walk to the nearest bus stop and catch the bus. All City of Phoenix buses have bike carriers on them too, so I don't even have to leave my bike behind.Valley Metro Rideshare offers FREE services to help your company promote alternative commute options to the worksite. Our goal is to provide services and resources to help motivate employees to commute to work by ways other than driving alone. Your company and employees may benefit from using alternative commute options:
- Easier recruitment and retention
- Reduced employee commuting time and expenses
- Less stress among employees
- Improved employee morale, job satisfaction and productivity
- Reduced absenteeism and tardiness
- Achieve Trip Reduction Program goals
Problems associated with long commutes and traffic congestion don't have to be problem at your company!
So, the moral of the story: ask your employer if they participate in a Trip Reduction Program. You never know what resources you might uncover.
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No Impact Man is quickly becoming one of my favorite blogs to read daily. The author lives in New York City and has committed himself to one year without making any net impact on the environment: In other words, no trash, no carbon emissions, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no plastics, no air conditioning, no TV, no toilets…The guy writes some really interesting pieces. Today's blog, titled "Wisdom without Science," was about a recent article published in the Times about a Brit who claims that because of the environmental impact of growing the food that fuels our bodies, walking is worse for the planet than driving.
It's a sad day when this is what we resort ourselves to. I thought the original blog written by Colin Beavan (aka No Impact Man) was very well done. Of course the comments and "dialogue" that ensued are not the kind of thing you would want to read to help restore your faith in humanity.
Personally, I have never been one to really jump in on the "comments" scene in the blogosphere. I have always felt too timid and too unimportant to try to contribute anything. However, after getting into the blog thing myself, I guess I have developed a certain raison d'etre - a reason to be - even if no one actually pays attention to what I have to say. Check out the comments and see if you can figure out which one is mine (hint, I used the name 'Jeff')...
The Velorution says that riding a bike is better for you, me, and the environment! Cheers.
3 comments:
I'm enjoying reading your blog. I commute in San Bernardino, CA where it gets hot but not as how as your area. Our county offers some incentives for using alternative transportation. Some are - we can buy our bus/rail passes out of our paychecks before taxes, and if we have an emergency (like when my bike broke down), I can take a county car home or someone can give me a ride to where I need to go.
Christy
I am getting seriously tired of people claiming that the impact of growing food makes human powered transport less efficient that the petroleum fueled variety. I've seen this several times before, and the thing that they seem to ignore is that the car has a driver, and from what I've seen, these drivers tend to eat, too. If anyone can prove that a person who walks to their destination eats twice as much as someone who drives there (go agead, prove THAT), then they might have a case, but otherwise, the "food impact" of the two individuals is pretty much the same. The only difference is that one of them burns petroleum, too. Personally, I rode 210 miles in the last five days, and I know that I didn't eat any meals that I wouldn't have eaten if I had been staying home reading a book. Val
I convinced my employer to "raffle" $50 bucks to whomever rode their bikes to work at least 8 times per month. We used to have at least 6 people riding their bikes to work, but unfortunately most of them have moved on and I'm the only riding my bike to work most of the time. I thought that the $50 bucks would have motivated some people to ride bikes to work, but, sadly I was wrong.
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