June 2014
Drive Less. Go Green.
Ground level ozone is heating up
During the hot summertime, one pollutant of great local concern is groundlevel ozone (GLO). With the highest levels occurring from April through August,
GLO is a severe lung irritant. GLO is formed when two chemicals - often from
vehicle emissions, power plants and
factories - combine in sunlight.
Currently, GLO levels in Pima County
are close to reaching the federal
health standard. As a commuter,
here’s what you can do to help:
Vehicles leave behind pollutants.
Leaky automotive fluids, brake pad residue, tire wear
and exhaust particles on streets end
up contaminating stormwater,
which flows into fragile desert washes.
Keep vehicles tuned up and
tires inflated. This can improve
gas mileage by up to 3 percent, save
money and help the environment.
Removing excess items from the trunk also can improve your gas mileage.
Reduce idling. Idling uses a quarter
to half gallon of fuel per hour. If you are
going to idle for more than 30 seconds,
turn off the engine.
Polluted washes affect wildlife.
of our wildlife relies on riparian habitat
(environments supported by perennial
or seasonal water flows).*
Use alternative transportation
modes. Sharing a ride saves gas and
money, and keeps air pollution down.
Over 23 million miles are driven each
day by Tucson area residents. For every
31 miles driven, 1 pound of pollution is
produced.
It’s a big deal.
One quart of motor oil leaked onto
the ground can contaminate
250,000** gallons of stormwater.
You can make a big difference.
Share a ride or go car-free by riding the bus,
biking or walking.
Fewer vehicles on the road = a healthier watershed!
PAGstorm.com
*Arizona Riparian Council, 2004 **EPA (NPDES website)
Take the Clean Air Starts with
Me Survey. Win a bike helmet
and lights or gift certificates!
To take the 5 question survey,
visit www.PimaCleanAir.com Ride the Sun Link streetcar starting July 25
The Sun Link streetcar will begin passenger service on Friday, July 25. To
commemorate the new service, all passengers will ride for free the first
weekend, July 25-27.
The streetcar system is pretty impressive. There are eight all-electric/green
streetcar vehicles. Each streetcar
vehicle can carry up to 150
passengers. The streetcars and
stops are ADA accessible. Bike
riders can wheel their bikes onto
the streetcar and stand by them
as they travel. And streetcar
passengers can seamlessly
transfer to and from Sun Tran bus
system and select Sun Shuttle
routes.
Before You Board ► Buy a pass: Purchase 1-Day Passes at ticket vending
machines at each streetcar stop. You can also load passes or value onto your
current SunGO Card or SunGO ID & Card at any Sun Tran transit center, sales
outlet or online at www.suntran.com/sungo. You must purchase your fare
before boarding.
Onboard ►Tap your card or
ticket on the card reader just
inside the main doors as you
board the streetcar. The 1-Day
Pass sold at the ticket vending
machines at the streetcar stops
costs $4. The Day Pass will allow
you unlimited rides during a 24hour period from the time you
Sun Link will travel from the UA Medical Center through University of
Arizona, Main Gate Square, 4th Avenue, Downtown and Mercado District.
The schedule and frequencies are subject to change, based on rider usage.
tap your Day Pass on the ticket validator.
How to pay to ride on Sun Link ► Cash will not be accepted to ride the
streetcar. There’s a 2-step process to paying to ride.
Now you’re ready to go! Give it a try and enjoy the ride.
Full fare riders with cash value loaded on their SunGO Card pay $1.50 per trip
on the streetcar and can transfer seamlessly to and from Sun Tran.
Sun Link Schedule:
Mon-Wed
Thurs-Fri
Sat
Sun
7 AM - 10 PM
7 AM - 2 AM
8 AM - 2 AM
8 AM - 8 PM
Frequency of vehicles:
On weekdays from 7 AM to 6 PM,
the streetcar is scheduled to run
every 10 minutes.
On weekdays from 6 PM to 10 PM,
the streetcar is scheduled to run
every 20 minutes.
On weekends, the streetcar is
scheduled to run every 20 minutes.
For more information, visit:
www.tucsonstreetcar.com
Transportation Coordinator and Commuter Spotlights:
Fonda Franklin - van der Sanden and Kory Cornelison, LivingSocial
Fonda Franklinvan der Sanden
Kory Cornelison
Commuter Benefits
Most companies provide
some sort of employee
benefits. We’ve all
heard of a 401(k) plan
or health insurance
benefits. At LivingSocial
this is also true.
Beyond these health
or financial savings
benefits, LivingSocial
also provides commuter
benefits.
A recent Wall Street Journal article, Ten Ways You’re Probably Leaving
Money on the Table, explains:
“While roughly 11.7 million workers have access to a commuterbenefit plan, consumer-directed benefits administrator
WageWorks estimates that fewer than 3 million sign up for it.
They’re missing out on potentially hundreds of dollars in annual
savings.”
LivingSocial helps its employees get to work and beyond
LivingSocial employees work directly with their benefits administrator,
WageWorks, and commuter subsidies are directly added to the
employees’ paychecks. LivingSocial provides the following commuter
benefits to its employees:
• 50% subsidy on public transportation (e.g. bus) up to $100/month
• 50% subsidy on parking costs up to $100/month
• Bike subsidy for up to $20/month on bike costs and repairs
How LivingSocial promotes alternative forms of transportation
In May 2013, LivingSocial kicked off National Transportation Month by
rolling out the incentives provided by Pima Association of Governments’
Travel Reduction Program. Employers were able to create their own
incentive programs to promote alternative transportation.
LivingSocial raffled off monthly gift baskets to those who carpooled,
biked or rode the bus to work in a given month. The program proved
to be a huge success for LivingSocial, as measured by an increase in
bike ridership, carpools, and overall education and transparency of the
commuter benefits the company offers its employees.
The biggest internal challenge has been finding the best way to
communicate and promote the Sun Rideshare information to employees,
and trying to answer “What do people really want?” LivingSocial saw that
people love incentives and information. From gift baskets to bike maps,
to information on bike events, the LivingSocial employees liked getting
involved.
LivingSocial has continued to offer information to its employees and is
still seeing the number of people using these alternative modes of
transportation grow.
Congratulations to LivingSocial for going above and beyond.
Brian Alden and Aaron Peckels, B/E Aerospace
Why did you start carpooling?
BA - I just bought a new house, and I now have a
45- to 60-minute commute every day. Gas costs
are a big part of my budget, and this really can’t be
good for my carbon footprint either.
How do you effectively arrange the carpool?
AP - Brian drives since his vehicle is much more
efficient. We split the cost of gas 50/50 and keep
track of the tab on a shared spreadsheet. We tend
to like the same music, so Brian will play his music,
or we’ll listen to the radio. Being new homeowners,
we talk about projects we are working on and other
house-related topics.
What do you like about carpooling? And what
don’t you like? Any concerns?
BA - I like reducing my gas bill and carbon footprint. I like that Aaron and I have become closer friends as Brian Alden and Aaron Peckels - Design Engineers at
a result. I like that it forces me to leave on time every B/E Aerospace
day (to and from work). I have lost out on some
audio book listening time, but that’s chump change.
AP –It has helped both of us get to and from
work at a consistent time. Since I don’t have my
vehicle to go to lunch, I have opted to bring my
lunch to work – which has resulted in further
cost savings. However, I can’t run errands over
my lunch break.
Any recommendations for someone interested in carpooling for the first time?
AP - Sign up on the Sun Rideshare website
and search for carpool matches. Take the
initiative to contact the matches and try
to set up a carpoolarrangement.
BA - This is how Aaron and I learned we
lived across the street from each other [Sun
Rideshare travel database]. It even allows you
to set match restrictions based on how far out
of your way you’re willing to go, how you want
to divide responsibility and what personal
preferences you have for radio/talk, etc.
TRAVEL REDUCTION PROGRAM (TRP) NEWS:
Silver Bell Mining
T.C. - Debbie McMorrow
TRP companies
win May awards
Sun Rideshare will
recognize all TRP
companies for meeting the
2014 TRP goals as shown
below:
1) Achieving a 60%
response rate on their
company’s employee
survey
2) Increasing their
company alternative
mode usage by 2
percentage points from
current level
3) Meeting their
company’s TRP
ordinance goal for
overall alternative
mode usage
Bronze Awards are given
to companies who meet
one goal, Silver Awards
for meeting two goals and
Gold Awards for meeting
all three goals.
Sun Rideshare also will
recognize these companies
online and in the Arizona
Daily Star in July 2014.
Caid Industries
T.C. - Laurie Vance
TUSD Cholla Magnet
High School
T.C. - Sandy Miller
TUSD Morrow Education
Center
T.C. - Vanessa Hernandez
Sun Rideshare
Rewards Program Results
January - May
•
•
•
•
60,353 alt. mode trips
443, 860 pounds of greenhouse gas eliminated
37 winners
684 participants
TUSD Sahuaro High School Arizona Daily Star
T.C. - Sarah Genung
T.C. – Jessie Menard
Living Social
T.C. – Gail Collins
Walmart Store Foothills
2922
T.C.’s - Emily Merriman and
Renee Aitken
U.S. Census Bureau
T.C. – Martha DiCampli
Campos
Arizona Inn
T.C. – Patrick Cray
TUSD Pueblo High School M3 Engineering &
T.C. - Susanna Ugalde-Vazquez Technology Corp.
T.C. - Stella Myers-Rosas
TUSD Rincon/University
High School
Sun Tran
T.C.’s - Lorraine Blackmon
T.C. - Dolores Brumit
and Amy Cislak
Westin La Paloma
TUSD Transportation
T.C. - Anamaria Ballesteros
T.C. - Marcela Arizpuro
IQor
Jim Click Automotive –
T.C. - Gloria Lodwick
Auto Mall
MUSD Marana High School
T.C. - Bonnie Massino
T.C. - Kelly Rose
Jim Click Automotive –
KVOA
22nd Street
T.C. - Gabriella Trejo
T.C. - Bonnie Massino
Holmes Tuttle Ford Inc.
T.C. - Bonnie Massino
Dillard’s Park Place
T.C. – Kristy Dunham
Hilton El Conquistador
T.C. – Rachel Mannino
Mountain View Care
Center
T.C. – Juanita Skidmore
Westward Look Resort
T.C. – Eduardo Fernandez
Xeridiem Medical
Devices
T.C. - Chandra Kimmel
Sam’s Club
T.C. - Ashley Magliocco
TRP Task Force Meeting
The next TRP Task Force meeting will be at
10 a.m. on Monday, July 14, at Pima Association of
Governments, 1 E. Broadway Blvd., Suite 401, Santa
Rita Conference Room. All TRP employers are invited.
FOLLOW US!
Six lucky people will win $100 each in June. As
always, points (one-way trips) are cumulative
from January.
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/SunRideshare
Sun Rideshare, a program of Pima Association of Governments, assists Pima County
residents in finding affordable, reliable and
convenient transportation options for their
daily commutes and personal travel needs.
• 50 points required – 4 winners
• 180 points required – 2 winners
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/SunRideshare
1 E. Broadway Blvd., Suite 401
Tucson, AZ 85701 (520) 792-1093 [tel]
www.SunRideshare.org
June Rewards