Lynnwood Commuter Carpools to Pay Off Mortgage 20 Years Early
Community Transit Honors 1st Quarter Choice Connections Winners
Snohomish County, Wash. – For more than 11 years Lynnwood commuter Lindsay Ward has used carpooling and riding the bus to get to work. In that time Ward has saved on vehicle maintenance and fuel with the goal of paying off her home mortgage by the end of this year, nearly 20 years early.
Ward joined Community Transit’s Smart Commuter Rewards program to help motivate her to save money by not driving alone for her commute. Everett’s Mary Grassl has also used Community Transit programs to put her money saved from not owning a car to good use. Grassl’s participation in the Curb the Congestion program for the past year has allowed her to save enough to take a four-day New York vacation.
Community Transit’s Smart Commuter Rewards and Curb the Congestion are two programs that target large employers and the most-congested corridors to reduce drive-alone trips, and recognize individuals who use smart transportation options. In the first quarter of 2017 these programs combined removed almost 139,000 drive-alone trips from our roads, and prevented 2 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the air we breathe.
The two innovative transportation demand management (TDM) programs are offered in addition to Community Transit’s bus, vanpool and paratransit service 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 [link archived] 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 award winners for the 1st Quarter of 2017:
Smart Commuter of the 1st Quarter 2017
Lindsay Ward of Lynnwood is a Quality Analyst at AT&T in Bothell. For more than 11 years she’s been dedicated to riding the bus or carpooling for her work commute and daily errands. That dedication has paid off in large dividends as she is working on pay her mortgage off by the end of 2017, nearly 20 years early. Keeping track of her trips in the Choice Connections program have helped motivate her to continue toward her goal. She’s helping the environment, too, by not releasing over 10,500 pounds of carbon dioxide into our air last year. Watch: Lindsay Ward tells her story here: https://vimeo.com/218046386
Curb the Congestion Champion of the 1st Quarter 2017
After costly car repairs, Everett’s Mary Grassl said enough is enough and chose to go completely car free about a year ago. By taking the bus and walking to her job in Lynnwood she has saved about $1,200 and unmeasurable amounts of stress that comes from driving in traffic. In her first year of the program Grassl saved enough money to take a trip to New York City. Grassl works at Zumiez in Lynnwood and always talks to her coworkers about how much easier and stress-free her commute is, and she’s become the “go-to” person for public transit questions at her workplace. Since joining Curb the Congestion, Grassl has removed more than 600 drive-alone trips from Snohomish County roads. Watch: Mary Grassl tells her story here: https://vimeo.com/218045839
To learn more about the Choice Connections program and to sign up to start receiving rewards for your smart transportation choices, please visit Choice Connections.
