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Frequently Asked Questions |
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Please
choose from the FAQ below: |
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How does the
Commuter Challenge work? |
The Commuter Challenge is a friendly competition that runs
for all of May and June 2009, 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
Commuter Challenge happen?
The Commuter Challenge starts May 1 and ends
June 30, 2009.
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 either:
a) someone who didn't participate in the
2008 Commuter Challenge OR
b) someone who drives alone most of the
time, but for the Commuter Challenge starts to use an
eligible mode of alternative transportation (from Jan.1 -
Mar. 31 used alternative transportation for less than 13
days)
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 April 1, 2009, and the
Challenge begins on May 1, 2009.
Upload your a team photo to earn an automatic 5 points.
How do I track my Trips?
During the contest, you and your team members log in to your
Commuter Challenge/Traffic Solutions accounts and log each
commute day using the Commute Calendar. The Commuter
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 May 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 Commuter 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?
This year we are expanding the definition of a “Convert.”
For 2009, a "Convert" is either
a) anyone that did not compete in the 2008 Commuter
Challenge, OR
b) anyone that has used alternative transportation rather
than driving alone less than once a week on average over the
past 3 months (this means less than 13 days using
alternative transportation from Jan. 1 through Mar. 31).
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 point can be earned per day for
the Commuter Challenge contest - you earn one point for any
day you have completed one round trip or more. It is still
one point,
regardless of the mileage or number of round 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. You can
also use the
multi modal trip option to detail mileage for multiple
modes in one day.
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 Commuter
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.
Logging multi-modal trips.
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 Commuter
Challenge. They only reduce pollution if they are newer
bikes. They only reduce traffic congestion if the
motorcyclist lane splits. Motorcycle and scooter use would
present too many questions and variables to deal with given our current
resources.
You may be interested in this article, "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 Commuter 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, in 2008 we decided to expand the Challenge to
include other modes of sustainable transportation.
Participants embraced the new model, so we have decided to
host the Commuter Challenge again for 2009. 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 Commuter Challenge lasts for two months - May
and June. This benefits the community by getting even more
cars off of the road, and can help reduce congestion during the roadway construction project on HWY 101 between Milpas and Hot Springs. We look
forward to seeing you and other bicyclists out on the road
this year and beyond! Log in to your Commuter Challenge
account at
Traffic
Solutions Online, or create a new account if you have
never registered with Traffic Solutions online.
What are the stats from the 2008 Commuter Challenge?
1,568 Registered Participants!
1.25 million lbs of CO2 - Eliminated!
43,241 Car Trips - Eliminated!
65,411 Gallons of Gas - Saved!
1,373,634 Miles - Reduced!
11,032 trips - Eliminated in the HWY 101 Milpas to Hot
Springs construction zone!
$743,136 - Total Participant Savings!
...more details
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/Commuter 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
If you can't remember your password from the last time you
used your Traffic Solutions Online account, you can click on
the "Forgot Password?" link at
www.TrafficSolutionsOnline.info. If you cannot remember
the email address that you used for your account, please
email
info@trafficsolutions.info or call 963-SAVE. Please do
not create duplicate accounts, you should use your existing
Traffic Solutions Online 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 or Commuter
Challenge card that
contains the pass code to join the team. |
Where can I get the Commuter Challenge posters?
Download the Commuter
Challenge Poster |
Can I use my old Commuter
Challenge Account?
You should definitely use your 2008 account from the
Commuter Challenge, this is exactly the same as a general
Traffic Solutions Online account which you may be using for
our other programs, or your employers benefits program. 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. You can also call 963-SAVE or email
info@trafficsolutions.info for help. |
What if
I've forgotten my password?
If you have forgotten your Traffic Solutions
Online/Commuter 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, or you don't remember
your login name you can
email us or
call 963-SAVE. |
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
Commuter Challenge.
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 Can
I log trips while on vacation?
If you are using a bus, train, walking,
biking, or skating while on vacation, you can use the new
"Carfree Trip on Vacation"
button on your Commute Calendar. The Commuter Challenge is
for employers and individuals who work or live in the County
of Santa Barbara, so you only need to use the Carfree
Vacation button if you are outside the tri-county area and
using one of the eligible modes. Remember, only bus,
train, walk, bike and skate modes fall under "Carfree
Trip on Vacation." Carpools and plane trips on vacation are
NOT eligible
trips and cannot be logged on your calendar. |
How do I
make team name or photo edits?
Log in to your Traffic Solutions
Online/Commuter Challenge account and click the button on
your top toolbar that says My Challenge. Scroll down about a
third of the page and you will see links to "Edit Team Info"
and "Manage Photos." Use these to make edits to your team
name or to upload your team photos. Remember, teams get an
automatic 5 points for their first team photo. |
Email us or call 963-SAVE if you still have questions. |
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