3.2 Million Pounds of Carbon Dioxide Prevented in 1st Quarter

Choice Connections honors 1st Quarter award winners

Snohomish County, Wash. – Community Transit’s Choice Connection program promotes smart transportation options throughout our community. In the first quarter of 2016 these programs combined removed more than 188,022 drive-alone trips from our roads, and prevented 3.2 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the air we breathe.

Two innovative incentive programs are offered to help reduce traffic congestion and pollution and encourage healthy travel options.

• Smart Commuter Rewards is an incentive program that helps large businesses motivate employees to reduce their drive-alone trips to work.
• Curb the Congestion promotes smart transportation options to residents and employees on six of Snohomish County’s most congested corridors.

Each quarter Community Transit recognizes standout participants who are dedicated to smart transportation choices. Congratulations to the Choice Connections award winners for 1st Quarter of 2016:

Curb the Congestion Champion of the Quarter

Cherelle Patton of Everett rides the bus and carpools every day to her job at the City of Seattle. She finds it important to find alternatives to driving alone to help reduce traffic congestion and pave the way for clean air for her children and grandchildren. Patton has been an advocate for smart transportation choices for both work and personal trips for more than 22 years. She loves riding the Community Transit Double Tall bus to work and finds it so relaxing she even gets in an occasional nap during her trip. Since joining the Curb the Congestion program, she has saved more than $2,500, and prevented almost 6,100 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.

Smart Commuter of the Quarter

Dima Lyapustin of Seattle is a Systems Engineer at Crane Aerospace in Lynnwood. Over the past 11 years he’s chosen to bicycle as his main mode of transportation, and has logged an impressive 25,000 miles by bike in comparison to only 5,000 miles by car. Lyapustin is a barefoot rider, and prefers to bike without shoes even in the harsh Pacific Northwest elements. Choosing to have a single car household, Dima is committed to setting a strong example for his children in terms of environmental stewardship and also by living a healthy and active lifestyle. In his personal adventures, he recently biked 500 miles across the Cascade Mountain Range on a tandem bike with his wife.

The Choice Connections program recognizes individuals and worksites in Snohomish County and the City of Bothell that support Washington State Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) goals. They go above and beyond to use smart transportation alternatives to driving alone, and encourage workers to do so.

To learn more about the Choice Connections program and to sign up to start receiving rewards for your smart transportation choices, please visit www.communitytransit/ChoiceConnections.