Ventura County Look for Bike to Work news in Ventura County including "Tour du Green" on May 15, at vcapcd.org

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Myrtle Parker
5 years ago
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Orange County Transporation Authority (OCTA) is working with employers to host bike rallies in Orange County on its Bike to Work Day May 21 check octa.

2 California Bike Commute Week is May Here s what s happening: Pit Stops & Rallies Metro will host more than 60 "pit stops" on May 20 from 6-9 a.m. to greet bicyclists and distribute giveaways. Pit stops are located throughout Los Angeles County go to metro.net/biketowork for a complete list. Orange County Transporation Authority (OCTA) is working with employers to host bike rallies in Orange County on its Bike to Work Day May 21 check octa.net/biketowork for updated information or to get involved. Two pit stops in Ventura County will be at the Ventura County Government Center and Thousand Oaks City Hall, vcapcd.org Bicyclists Ride Bus/Rail Free Cyclists who mix riding with transit on May 20 will be able to ride free on many transit lines. They can either bring their bike on board (where allowed) or if they stow it a bike helmet will do as proof. Participating transit includes Metro, Los Angeles Commuter Express buses, as well as Beach Cities Transit and the cities of Commerce, Culver, Gardena, Glendale, Norwalk, Pasadena and Torrance. Events Throughout Southern California For details on Bike to Work events throughout Southern California or to register to participate and win a bike, visit the California Bicycle Coalition (CBC) at californiabikecommute.com The CBC also offers support materials such as an employer s guide, sample press releases and newsletter articles, as well as a poster you can download. Event t-shirts are available for purchase. Several county rideshare agencies are also planning campaigns, including: Los Angeles County Metro is celebrating with events throughout the week: May 17 Bike to Work kick-off at LAPD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, 8 a.m., will focus on safety for bicyclists May 18 Blessing of the Bicycles at Good Samaritan Hospital, 8 a.m., goodsam.org May 20 Bike to Work Day, with morning pit-stops for cyclists and free rides on Metro and other transit providers (see above) May 21 Bike to School Day Pledge online or download a pledge form that you can distribute to employees that will qualify them to win a folding bike, Utah ski resort vacation, lift tickets, gift cards and more. Go to metro.net/biketowork for details. Orange County OCTA is urging employers to host Bike Rallies and will provide posters, water bottles and other support materials. The three employers with the most participation will be honored. Contact Judy Leon at , jleon@octa.net OCTA will promote the campaign with advertising and on its web site and is urging participants to upload bike rally photos to facebook.com/octasharetheride May 21 Bike to Work Rally and ride with OCTA CEO Will Kempton. Pledge online or download a pledge form that you can distribute to employees that will qualify them to win great prizes - plus everyone who pledges will receive a $25 coupon to Jax Bicycles. Go to octa.net/biketowork for details. Ventura County Look for Bike to Work news in Ventura County including "Tour du Green" on May 15, at vcapcd.org

Bicycling in the News Bicycling magazine names top 50 "bike friendly" cities Only one Southern California city made Bicycling magazine s annual list of "bike friendly" cities: Long Beach, which came

) Bicycling looks at such factors as bike lanes, routes, shops and other facilities to determine its list. Warm weather, however, must not have been a consideration: Minneapolis came in at No.

com/topbikefriendlycities Google bike routing on the web The same routes that work for drivers aren t always good for cyclists. You can now get bike routing at google.

3 Bicycling in the News Bicycling magazine names top 50 "bike friendly" cities Only one Southern California city made Bicycling magazine s annual list of "bike friendly" cities: Long Beach, which came in at No. 23. (Long Beach has a longstanding commitment to bicycling and is home to the first bike station in the region.) Bicycling looks at such factors as bike lanes, routes, shops and other facilities to determine its list. Warm weather, however, must not have been a consideration: Minneapolis came in at No. 1, whereas the only other California city to make the list was San Francisco. The full list is at bicycling.com/topbikefriendlycities Google bike routing on the web The same routes that work for drivers aren t always good for cyclists. You can now get bike routing at google.com (select "bicycling" from the pull-down menu below Google Maps directions form). Other routing sites are Map My Ride at MapMyRide.com, and Bike Metro at BikeMetro.com. These sites give turn-by-turn directions that give priority to off-street trails and bike lanes and try to avoid hills, busier streets and crowded intersections. Bike stations open in Claremont and Covina Great news for people who like to mix transit and bicycling: Bike stations are now open at Metrolink stations in Claremont and Covina. Part of a network of seven nationwide, they provide indoor bike parking, restrooms, accessory sales, bike repairs and rental services and more. For details, go to bikestation.com America s largest cycling event finishes in Big Bear May 21 The Amgen Tour of California will finish in Big Bear Lake on May 21. The largest cycling event in America, it features world-class cyclists such as Lance Armstrong. Then on May 22, cyclists of all ages and skill levels can ride portions of the same route professionals raced the day before as part of Tour de Big Bear. For information on these events, go to AmgenTourofCalifornia.com, TourDeBigBear.com Resources & Links Bike Maps: Los Angeles County metro.net Orange County octa.net/bikewaysmap San Bernardino County ie.511.org Ventura County goventura.org or call Fast Lane Blog: US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood s blog (in which he recently stated his support for biking and walking as important parts of the transportation mix) is at fastlane.dot.gov LADOT s Bike Blog: Bike news for Los Angeles at ladotbikeblog.wordpress.com iphone App: B.iCycle for iphone is combination GPS, odometer, calorie counter...pretty much does everything but pedal, apple.com Commuter Tax Benefits for Bicyclists: You can offer your employees $20 per month (up to $240 per year) tax-free for "reasonable" expenses associated with bicycling to work, thanks to expanded commuter tax benefits (bicycling used to not qualify). Find out more at commutesmart.info/commuter-choicebenefits. Inland Empire Cycling Incentives: Riverside and San Bernardino county residents who bicycle to work may qualify for $2-a-day when they start biking to work, go to ie511.org/commuter-incentives.aspx or call RIDESHARE.

Poll shows Americans strongly support public transportation More than four-in-five Americans (82%) believe "the United States would benefit from an expanded and improved transportation system,"

38% that want to build more roads). 75% say they have no choice but to drive as much as they do and 57% would like to spend less time in their car. For the full study, go to t4america.

Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The process is open for public review and comment, and the AQMD will hold regular meetings to get input.

gov Ventura transit giving free tickets Ventura County s transit operators are giving away more than 15,000 free bus tickets tickets are good on VISTA, Gold Coast Transit, Thousand Oaks Transit,

4 Poll shows Americans strongly support public transportation More than four-in-five Americans (82%) believe "the United States would benefit from an expanded and improved transportation system," according to a new poll conducted for Transportation for America. Some other findings: Nearly 60% would choose adding more transportation options to the mix to solve our traffic woes (vs. 38% that want to build more roads). 75% say they have no choice but to drive as much as they do and 57% would like to spend less time in their car. For the full study, go to t4america.org/resources/2010survey AQMD to amend Rule 2202 The South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) is planning to amend Rule 2202, which will affect commute management programs in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The process is open for public review and comment, and the AQMD will hold regular meetings to get input. AQMD expects to present amendments to its board for approval in October. For meeting dates and times, go to aqmd.gov. Draft amendments are posted at aqmd.gov Ventura transit giving free tickets Ventura County s transit operators are giving away more than 15,000 free bus tickets tickets are good on VISTA, Gold Coast Transit, Thousand Oaks Transit, Camarillo Area Transit, Moorpark Transit and Simi Valley Transit until May 10. To get a ticket, call or request one online at trytransitventuracounty.org Metro to terminate Metro Rewards program Metro recently announced that due to budget cuts and the prospect of more cuts to come it must end the Metro Rewards Program once the existing stock of reward gift cards is exhausted. "We anticipate that we can carry the program through June; however, applications submitted will be fulfilled on a first come, first served basis," says Metro s Donna Blanchard. Metro is currently pursuing alternative programs to help employers that have been using Metro Rewards as a Rule 2202 strategy continue to receive this credit. Look for updates in future issues of CommuteSmart News. Shortest railroad in the world reopens in Los Angeles After nine years, the "shortest railroad in the world" Angel s Flight reopened to shuttle passengers up and down Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles. A local landmark dating back to 1901, the 300-foot railway has installed improved safety measures (after a fatal accident closed it in 2001) and costs a mere 25 cents. For more information, go to angelsflight.com

5 To find out how to solve some sticky rideshare situations, we took our questions to the experts ETCs themselves. Here s what they had to say... "Help! There's only a day left of my survey time and my response rate is just 60%. What can I do?" "First confirm that your original head count was accurate then enlist the aid of the department heads to have their staff complete the survey. After all, it is a mandatory survey." Laura Reyes-Velasquez, County of Los Angeles Housing Authority "Send out an blast alerting employees when the deadline is." Enrique Benitez, City of Compton "Conduct an audit of who has completed the survey. If some of the culprits are rideshare participants, send them an and start making phone calls their survey makes all the difference in your company achieving its AVR target goal." Emma Corona, Transamerica Life Insurance Companies "I divided the list of people who had not responded amongst my department each of us personally delivered a survey and stressed the importance of completing it. This raised my response rate by 25%." April Chen, Lionsgate "The bus route many of my employees take to work has just been canceled - what can I do to make sure they don't start driving alone?" "ETCs should be on the notification list for the bus services in the area. When (transit providers) are getting ready to cancel a route, they sometimes send out a blurb to their subscribers. This could allow you to your staff notifying them of the cancellation and telling them to contact the ETC office." James Baca, Patton State Hospital "Get a list of those employees' names and go into your ridematch.info link. Punch all the names in and try to salvage as many riders as possible by finding them carpoolers or vanpools by expanding the miles near their home and office to five miles." Greg Bernard, Boston Scientific Neuromodulation "My management just cut my budget in half - how do I cope?" "Revisit your current program and see where you can cut costs. Ask local businesses for discounts for ridesharing employees as well as freebies. Remember, time off for ridesharing is still a big bonus and doesn t cost the employer out of pocket but at the same time gives something of great value to the employee: time." Ellie Knapp, City of Burbank "A display of the 'Ridesharer(s) of the Month' might be a good way to encourage more participants, as people like to be recognized." Andrew Wasif. Yahoo, Inc. "Raffle off things that don t cost the company money, such as preferred parking spots, casual day, etc." Alex Martinez, Lowes DC "I do a monthly carpool drawing for all the carpool participants so I would just spend less on each item so I can still buy the same quantity a month. For example, instead of spending $25 for each item, I would spend $10 to $15." Lillian Huerta, Angelus Sanitary Can Machine Co.

6 EVENTS May is Clean Air Month, sponsored by the American Lung Association, LUNG.USA, californialung.org May is National Bike Month; visit the League of American Bicyclists at bikeleague.org Association for Commuter Transportation public policy meeting is May 5; for details go to actsouthernca.org National Train Day is May 8 at Union Station in Los Angeles see model trains, train equipment and more, nationaltrainday.com Inland Empire Commuter Services marketing workshop is May 11 at the Ontario Doubletree Hotel, 8:30 a.m. noon. Marketing certificates will be distributed. To RSVP or for more information, call IECS4HELP. The 2010 Pedestrian Symposium: Walking into the Future City is May 12, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Metro offices in Los Angeles, metro.net National Transportation Week is May 16-22, celebrating careers in transportation, , ntweek.org Employee Health and Fitness Day is May 19, extolling the health benefits of walking or biking to work, , physicalfitness.org May 20 is Bike to Work Day, sponsored by the California Bicycle Coalition and local agencies and part of Bike Commute Week May 17-21, BIKE, californiabikecommute.com NETWORK MEETINGS Coachella Valley ETC Network meets bi-annually; call IECS4HELP. Glendale TMA meets regularly; call Orange County Network meets regularly; call or sharetheride@octa.net Pasadena TMA meets every other month; call John Miranda at Riverside County ETC Network meets triannually; call IECS4HELP. San Bernardino County ETC Network meets tri-annually; call IECS4HELP. Santa Monica ETC Network meets regularly; call South Bay/Westside TMA meets monthly; contact Christina Corrales at , christina_corrales@equityoffice.com Torrance Transportation Network meets regularly; call Kim Fuentes at Warner Center TMO meets monthly; call TRAINING Metro Commute Services upcoming briefings where Los Angeles area employers can learn about the transportation survey process and services Metro has to offer are May 19, 9:30-11:30 a.m.; June 9, 1-3 p.m. and July 14, 9:30 11:30 a.m. For more information or to reserve a space, blanchardd@metro.net. South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD)offers one-day ETC training for $ Upcoming sessions are May 19 at AQMD offices in Diamond Bar, May 12 in Sherman Oaks, June 2 at LAX and June 16 at OCTA offices in Orange. Contact the AQMD's training program at etctraining@aqmd.gov or visit the AQMD at aqmd.gov COMMUTESMART NEWS Editor/Writer: Jill Smolinski Art Director: Harlan West For subscription information or to change your COMMUTESMART NEWS address, contact your representative at the rideshare office nearest you. Metro Commute Services One Gateway Plaza MS Los Angeles, CA Business: OCTA s Commuter Solutions 550 S. Main St., Orange, CA Mailing address: PO Box Orange, CA Business: Ventura County Transportation Commission 950 County Square Dr., Ste. 207, Ventura, CA Business: , ext. 119 Inland Empire Commuter Services Office location: 7355 Magnolia Ave. Riverside, CA Mailing address: PO Box Riverside, CA Business: IECS4HELP ( ) Commuter Information COMMUTE ( ) commutesmart.info HWDS04/10

National Train Day in Southern California May 3

National Train Day in Southern California May 3 Your Southern California regional rideshare newsletter for ETCs is undergoing some big changes. Starting with the July/August issue, we will no longer be called CommuteSmart News plus we'll have a whole