Metro employees rack up 14,164 bike miles and help keep our air clean during the September Bike Commute Challenge. Metro Zoo took second in their category and Metro Regional Center placed fifth.
Both the Oregon Zoo and the Metro Regional Center were healthy competitors in last month's Bicycle Transportation Alliance's Bike Commute Challenge, which is a friendly competition among work sites to encourage employees to bike to work. Overall, nearly 1,300 workplaces and 11,000 people participated in the event this year, logging more than 1 million miles of bike commutes.
The Oregon Zoo team finished second in its category, demonstrating continued commitment to sustainability with 19.5 percent of its commutes by bike. The team included 45 riders who rode a total of 6,803 miles and kept 6,667 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air. The zoo is proud of its record finish and especially of its increased participation from employees. Primates keeper Asaba Mukobi pedaled 734 miles – more than 10 percent of the team's total – with his 44-mile round-trip daily commute from Camas, Wash.
The zoo offered special activities during the month to encourage bike commuting, including a bike maintenance clinic, a breakfast, an Attack-the-Hill ride and a bicycle law clinic. As a result of the challenge, many employees renewed their commitment to riding, and the zoo plans to continue to offer bike-related events.
The Metro Regional Center team placed fifth in the same category, with 18.3 percent commutes by bike. The team had 84 participants and 17 of these participants rode to work every day. Overall, the team racked up 7,361 miles total and is proud to report that 7,214 pounds of carbon dioxide would have gone into the atmosphere if they had driven to work instead.
Metro and Drive Less/Save More are proud to be sponsors of this collective effort to support clean air and healthy communities.