Bike & Bus Everywhere Challenge Winner

Ethan Hess, 24, of Arlington logged more than 600 miles on rideshareonline.com to win the Bike & Bus Everywhere Challenge, which netted him the grand prize of a Rad Power Bike electric bike from Community Transit.

This was the first year for the Bike & Bus Everywhere Challenge started by Community Transit. The challenge spans Bike Everywhere Month (May) and Ride Transit Month (June) to encourage people to use sustainable transit options in their commutes, with prizes as an incentive for the most miles logged on buses, bikes, or other forms of eco-friendly transit.

Eighty-seven participants took on the challenge, which was held from May 13 to June 16.

Over that span, riders took 1,766 trips totaling more than 11,000 miles, saving 7,167 pounds of CO².

"Participation in the Bike and Bus Everywhere Challenge highlights the importance of exploring diverse, eco-friendly transportation options, promoting a culture of sustainability and active living,” said Colton Davis, Marketing Program Strategist at Community Transit.

“We wanted to ensure inclusivity for Snohomish County residents in places where transit service is sparse, so combining biking and bussing in the challenge was the ideal solution,” Davis said.

Hess, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Idaho working a summer internship at Snohomish County PUD, has an athletic background. He played multiple sports in high school. He credits his brother with getting him started on the challenge, where he logged over 155 trips over 28 days.

“He really encouraged me and pushed me to start getting back into fitness,” Hess said about his brother. “I have to thank my family a lot for that encouragement, and my co-workers too.”

While Hess didn’t use public transit in his commute, “…his commitment to biking still aligns with the core goals of the challenge,” says Davis. “His actions underscore the challenge's broader objective of encouraging sustainable and active transportation choices. Ethan demonstrated that there are multiple ways to support environmental and community health beyond just using public transit."

“I can only say thank you,” Hess said about the Rad Power Bike grand prize funded by the adopted 2024 Community Transit budget.

He plans to bring it to Idaho when classes start this fall. “It’s a small town,” Hess said about Moscow, where the University of Idaho is located, “I was already walking to class, but now I can bike to class.”

When asked if he has any tips for people looking to enter next year’s Bike & Bus Everywhere Challenge, Hess had some advice:

“Just get on the bike every day. That’s what I did. Find somebody willing to push you. Plenty of people constantly asked me about (the challenge), encouraging me to keep going.”

Click here to learn more about the Bike & Bus Everywhere Challenge, and check back in 2025 for more information about next year’s competition.