Program rewarding commuters with incentives for alternative transportation expands to all of Santa Cruz County
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission announced Thursday that in honor of Earth Day, the GO Santa Cruz program will be expanding county-wide.
The program offers commuters incentives for choosing Earth-friendly means of transportation. The commission said commuters earn miles when they walk, bike, skateboard, carpool or ride the bus to work, and participation in the program is free.
“Earth Day brings a heightened awareness to the need to choose less-impactful modes of travel,” said Shannon Munz, Communications Specialist, Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission. “Encouraging more climate-friendly transportation options is always important, and we hope people will take this opportunity to get out of their vehicles or consider a COVID-safe carpool option.”
Program participants can earn rewards, such as electronic gift cards, by logging alternative transportation. Participants can also enter quarterly drawings.
The commission said both employees and employers can participate in free educational workshops on green transportation through the program, and sessions will be offered online and in-person, once it is safe to do so. Some of the topics they will cover include urban cycling, eBikes and bike commuting basics.
The GO Santa Cruz program was first launched in 2019 in the City of Santa Cruz, and it currently has more than 1,100 participants who have logged more than 23,000 alternative trips, according to the commission. They said the trips have cut down CO2 emissions by 26.9 metric tons.
Anyone who lives or works in Santa Cruz County can register for GO Santa Cruz County by visiting the website here and joining the network.
