Roseann G. commutes to Bethesda every day from Northeast D.C. In the past, she has been a passenger in a carpool, or driven alone, but for the past two years she has been the driver in a 2-person carpool. When she received an email from a lady asking to ride with her, she was hesitant at first. But after thinking it over and meeting the woman, she decided it could work because, as she put it, “If those people can stand out on 395 in Virginia and hail a ride, I can do this.” So she goes a little bit out of her way to drop off her riding companion near White Flint, and then drives down to Bethesda to her job at ProQuest. She sees driving a carpool as her way of giving back. In her life, she has had many people give her rides or treat her kindly, and she tries to “pay it forward” as often as she can. Carpooling is not pure philanthropy, of course. Roseann says her commute is less stressful with her carpool buddy, and she also enjoys a significant amount of savings on her commuting costs – she estimates she saves about $80 per month, in gas and parking.

Carolina B. lives and works in Bethesda, and carpools every day with her family - husband to work, child to daycare, before she lands at CBIZ MHM, an accounting firm in downtown Bethesda. She and her husband moved here from San Francisco, where they have excellent carpool incentive programs, so "It was just natural for us and easy to do it here." They save a huge amount of money being a one-car family, without the additional insurance, gas, maintenance, etc. The carpool parking permit helps, too. Since she lives in Bethesda, she has not needed the Metro to get to work, but she is an advocate for alternative modes of transportation in her office, and encourages her company to take advantage of incentives and programs that enable her co-workers to take transit or carpool. Many times when you think about carpooling, you think about riding with strangers. Carolina shows us that sometimes you can work with your family to find a better commute.

Deb J. lives just about two miles from her job at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Bethesda, and since giving up her car in the summer of 2009, she has commuted primarily by kickbiking or walking, and sometimes taking the bus and Metro on the worst weather days. Being from the midwest, Deb says owning a car was just expected, and she got attached to it. When she moved to this area, she was able to live near her work, and started commuting by car less and less often, until finally giving up her car entirely. She estimates she has probably saved $3,000, given apartment parking fees, gas, insurance and maintenance. Her employer provides SmartBenefits to cover her occasional transit use, so it’s really a win-win for her.

Learn more about the kickbike and see if it might be your better way to work: http://www.kickbikeamerica.com/mrktng/why.html

"Prior to the Walk and Ride Challenge, I drove alone to work everyday. I found myself driving out of convenience more than anything else as my commute is a short 2 mile round trip. Once the Challenge started, I pushed myself to walk to work. I absolutely loved it! It was a much better way to start and end my work day. It gave me time to enjoy my coffee on my walk into work and time to decompress on my way home. Now that the challenge has ended, I continue to walk to work when weather permits. So, I’d like to say thank you BTS for challenging me to put “a little step in my commute!”

-Jennifer D., Chevy Chase Land Company