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Frequently Asked Questions |
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Please
choose from the FAQ below: |
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How does the Commute Challenge work? |
The Commute Challenge is a friendly competition that runs
for all of August and September, with five member teams
making round-trips using sustainable transportation instead of
driving alone. Team members log each day they use an
eligible mode of transportation using the
Commute Calendar. At the end of the competition, the team
with the highest number of sustainable transportation days
wins the grand prize. The top 101 teams will receive prizes,
and we’ll also have raffles at least once a week. Please see
our Prizes Page for more details. Our
interactive website means participants can track teams'
progress and post fun pictures and other information about
their teams.
When does the Commute Challenge happen?
The Commute Challenge starts Friday, August 1 and ends
Tuesday, September 30, 2008.
How are teams formed?
Create your own team:
Come up with a team name and create your own team. You can
make your team "Restricted" and invite specific people to
join your team or you can "Allow Anybody" to join. Each team
must have at least 2 "Converts" to qualify for
prizes. A Convert is someone that drives alone most of the
time, but for the Commute Challenge starts to use an
eligible mode of alternative transportation.
or
Join an existing team: You can select "Join this
team" to join a team (a yellow lock means it is a restricted
team). If you were sent an email invitation for a restricted
team, your Pass Code is embedded in the email message you
were sent.
You will each begin to track the days you use eligible modes
of transportation via your personal, web-based Commute
Calendar. Registration begins on July 1, 2008, and the
Challenge begins on August 1, 2008.
How do I track my Trips?
During the contest, you and your team members log in to your
Commute Challenge/Traffic Solutions accounts and log each
commute day using the Commute Calendar. The Commute
Challenge website provides users with real time status
reports so you can find out how your team is doing compared
to the other teams in the contest. Start logging your round-trips
on August 1, but teams are welcome to join at any point
during the two month completion.
Do all 5 team members need to live in the Santa Barbara
area?
The Traffic Solutions Commute Challenge is open to anyone
who lives or works in Santa Barbara County. People who live
in Ventura or San Luis Obispo are eligible to participate as
long as they work in Santa Barbara County.
Who is a Convert?
Converts have used alternative transportation for
utilitarian trips, on average, less than once a week over
the 6 months prior to registering for the Commute
Challenge. In other words, if on average you use
alternative transportation less than once a week, you are a
convert.
What kind of commutes count for the contest?
Points are earned for every day a ROUND-TRIP is made using
an eligible mode(s). This could be your commute to work,
but also includes other utilitarian trips, such as taking the kids
to the park or to soccer practice, going to the gym, the
movies , or to meet up with your friends for a recreational
bike ride (if you use an eligible mode to get to the meet-up
point). If your eligible mode eliminates what would
otherwise be a normal drive-alone car trip, it counts.
Things like family trips to the grocery store in one car do
not count as an eligible carpool mode, since you are not
reducing a car trip.
What kinds of transportation count for the contest?
Bus, bike, walk, carpool, vanpool, telecommute, train, or
skate.
Can I count multiple trips daily? How about mileage?
Although we encourage you to use eligible modes as often as
you can each day, only one round-trip a day counts for the
Commute Challenge contest. You will earn one point a day,
regardless of the mileage or number of trips in a day.
However, to keep track of your personal cost savings, as
well as mileage and air pollution reductions, you should
make sure your “average one-way daily commute” is updated
before logging your commute days. The original mileage is
calculated based on your home and work addresses.
Why don't multiple trips or mileage count?
Many participants already use alternative transportation to
go many places in a day and feel that these trips and
mileage should count for the Challenge. Traffic Solutions
has created the one-point-a-day rule to keep the playing
field even for our valued converts, who are just getting
used to using alternative transportation. The Commute
Challenge contest allows them to think about short round-trips
they can take using alternative transportation and still be
competitive with more seasoned users.
What is a utilitarian trip?
Utilitarian trips include round-trips when the purpose of
the trip is to go to a particular place where you might have
otherwise driven alone. Here are some examples of
utilitarian trips: a round-trip to a restaurant, to the
grocery store, to the beach to take a walk or run, to the
gym to work-out over lunch, to work, to school, or to a
trailhead to go for a hike. Keep in mind that things like
family trips to the grocery store in your car do not count
as an eligible trip using the carpool mode, since you are
not reducing a car trip.
How do I find a team to join?
If you don’t want to form a team with coworkers, friends, or
family, you can always join an open team when you create
your account. Teams without yellow locks displayed are open.
What are the prizes?
Our prizes are all summarized on the
Prizes Page.
What if I bike one way and take the bus or carpool back?
This type of round-trip would count as a multi-modal trip, and
there is indeed a button to code such trips on the Commute
Calendar. Our goal is to eliminate car trips, so you can
use any combination of eligible modes that you’d like.
However, if you ride your bike to work and have someone get
in the car to come and pick you up and drive you home, that
doesn't count because a car trip was generated.
Are electric bikes eligible for the contest?
Electric bicycles are eligible for this contest, as long as
the bicycle has pedals (not an electric scooter, in other
words).
Are motorcycles or scooters eligible modes for the contest?
Motorcycles and scooters, (including electric ones), are not
eligible modes if there is only one person riding. If you
carpool with someone on your motorcycle or scooter, then the
round-trip counts as an eligible carpool mode. Please note - it
must be a utilitarian trip that would have otherwise
required two cars/motorcycles - recreational rides are not
eligible. Why? After much discussion internally and
with others, we made the determination that motorcycles and
scooters create too much variability in terms of congestion
relief and air quality benefits to include in the Commute
Challenge. They only reduce pollution if they are newer
bikes. They only reduce traffic congestion if the cyclist
lane splits. Motorcycle and scooter use would present too
many questions and variables to deal with for this year's
competition, but we will revisit it again next year. Is your
scooter a polluter? Two-wheeled gas sippers, including
motorcycles, put out more emissions per mile than an SUV,
says the EPA. View the
article.
What are the Weekly and Monthly Raffles?
There will be weekly iPod Shuffle and monthly
iPhone raffles for all Commute Challenge participants
logging eligible commute days on their Commute Calendars.
The more round-trips you log for the week or month, the greater
your chances are of winning that weekly or monthly raffle.
The weekly raffles are not based on total team performance,
but your personal trips for the prior week or month. Visit
our Prizes Page for a list of all prizes and
updates on winners.
What about the Team Bike Challenge?
Due to the tremendous success of our Team Bike Challenge
events, we decided to expand the Challenge this year to
include other modes of sustainable transportation. It is now
called the Commute Challenge. Teams can be exclusively made
up of bicyclists – as in years past, or they can be a mix of
other sustainable transportation users (bus, walk, carpool,
vanpool, skate, train, or telecommute). Unlike the one month
long TBC, the Commute Challenge will last for two months -
August and September. This will benefit the community by
getting even more cars off of the road, and will help reduce
congestion as the roadway construction project begins this
summer on HWY 101 between Milpas and Hot Springs. We may
still hold a Team Bike Challenge in the future, and look
forward to seeing you and other bicyclists out on the road
this year and beyond!Please note that your TBC account from
last year cannot be used for this year's competition, you
need to register at
Traffic
Solutions Online.
What are the stats from last year’s Team Bike Challenge?
The 2007 competition was a great success – we had over 250
teams participating – an increase of 10% from 2006, (with
almost 1,200 participants in 2007). Team Bike Challenge
participants took a total of 44,108 one-way bike trips and
logged 127,691 miles. That means we collectively rode
5.13 times around the Earth in just one month! More
importantly, our follow-up surveys show that Team Bike
Challenge participants continue to ride more after the
competition ends, meaning the competition directly affects
their daily lifestyle throughout the year.
What if one of my team members doesn't have internet access?
If one of your team members does not have internet access,
then the team captain or a fellow team member should create
an account for him/her using a different email address and
login name on the Traffic Solutions Commute Challenge
website. The captain or fellow team member will be
responsible for using the second account to log their team
member’s commute days.
Can children participate?
Yes. If there is an automobile round-trip eliminated by a child
biking, walking, skating, taking the bus, or carpooling with
another family, then the child can log this as an eligible
day. If no automobile round-trip is eliminated, then the trip is
not eligible. Recreational biking, walking, and skating
are not eligible. We encourage families to form a team
and do things like biking together to school, taking the bus
to summer camps, sports practice and lessons, or carpooling
with other families to church and beyond! Children should be
old enough to create their accounts, log-in for themselves,
and keep track of their progress in their own Commute
Calendar. We suggest that children who bike be old enough to
ride their bikes safely on the street.
Can Students Participate? (e.g. SBCC, UCSB, Westmont)
Yes. But participants must be sure to NOT sign up as an
employee of their school when they create their account.
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Registration Troubleshooting
I can’t log in
Make sure you are not trying to use your Team Bike Challenge
login from last year. For the Commute Challenge you will
need to use your existing Traffic Solutions Online account,
or create an account.
I can’t join a team because it is locked
If a team is locked, the captain has chosen to restrict it
to certain people. If you are asked to join a locked team,
the captain should send you an invitation email that
contains the passcode to join the team. If this is not
provided, please ask your captain to confirm that he or she
has indeed set the passcode. |
Where can I get the Commute Challenge posters?
Download the full color Commute Challenge Poster |
Can I use my Team Bike Challenge Account?
You cannot use your TBC account information from
last year to participate in the Commute Challenge 2008.
Please follow the registration links and you will be
prompted to create a new account or use your existing
Traffic Solutions Online account. If you have forgotten your
password, you can use the "forgot password" button and it
will be e-mailed to you. |
What if
I've forgotten my password?
If you have forgotten your Traffic Solutions
Online/Commute Challenge password, you can use the "forgot
password" link on the login page, and your password will be
e-mailed to you. If this doesn't work, you can
email us.
Please note that you cannot use your Team Bike Challenge
account information from last year to participate in the
Commute Challenge 2008. Please follow the registration links
for the Commute Challenge, and you will be prompted to
create a new account or use your existing Traffic Solutions
Online account. |
How
can I fill my team? I need more members.
If you
have 3 or 4 members and need help filling your team to 5,
you should open it up to everyone. To unlock your team, log
in to your
Traffic Solutions Online account
and go to the MY CHALLENGE section.
Scroll down to your team info and follow the link to Edit
Team Info
Once here, confirm that you have chosen "Allow Anybody" and
that your team is not closed out.
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My
team is too small. I need to switch teams.
If you
have a team of 1 or 2 members and can't find people to fill
your team, please consider joining an open team. First log
in to your
Traffic Solutions Online account
and go to the MY CHALLENGE section.
Scroll down to your team info and follow the link to Delete
yourself from the team.
Re-click your MY CHALLENGE button once or twice and then
scroll down to the list of teams and join an open team (one
w/o a lock) that has less than 5 people
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How do I log trips w/different mileage from my normally
programmed work mileage?
To
keep track of your personal cost savings, as well as mileage
and air pollution reductions, you should make sure your
“average one-way daily commute” is updated before logging
your commute days. The original mileage is calculated based
on your home and work addresses. If you choose to make
utilitarian trips that have different mileage, you can
update your mileage box before you color code any day on
your calendar. The mileage box will hold the last value you
enter, and continue to assign that mileage to every date you
color code from then on (until you change the mileage box
again). Please make sure to keep this value up to date so
all calculations will be accurate.
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What if I use more than one mode of transportation in one
day?
If you
use more than one eligible mode per day, we have a "multi
modal" option on the Commute Calendar. Choose the grey multi
modal button, then click on the appropriate day, and the day
will expand such that you can log mileage for each mode you
used. You will still only receive one point per day for the
Commute Challenge.
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